Dear whistle enthusiast,
Welcome! It is a pleasure to have you here, and thank you for taking the time to read this.
Please let me introduce myself.
My name is Bojan (pron. as Boyan) and I’m the founder of LearnTinWhistle.com website. In 2020, when this website saw the light of day, I initially intended to refrain from publicly exposing myself. Instead, my focus was merely on sharing valuable information to help you (and other fellow whistlers) learn to play and improve the techniques on this beautiful instrument we all treasure.
Interestingly, as the website gained popularity soon, I kept getting a lot of questions, with many people wanting to know who actually runs this whole thing.
So, here’s my little story.
My tin whistle beginnings
Back in the early 2000s, when I started playing the tin whistle, YouTube was nonexistent, and neither was there practically any access to the tin whistle resources for me, both offline and online. Do the days of dial-up internet ring a bell for you?
I got the first whistle for my 17th birthday. A nice gift from one of my relatives living in the US. It was a little black whistle by Waltons, the one with a Guinness logo and the fingering chart sheet included. And even though I had fundamental musical knowledge (on the piano), I was astounded that I could figure out the fingering and roughly play my first song by the end of the first whistling day. Of course, with some squeaks and blimps here and there. But it looked relatively easy and kept me motivated.
Later on, I found out about Brother Steve’s whistle pages, probably the only online resource at the time (thanks, Brother Steve!). It really helped me get going. That, and listening to Irish music, a lot!
And although we do have some Celtic heritage in this part of Europe, in the city where I was born and raised (Belgrade, Serbia) there were no places and people to learn the whistle from. If you are in Ireland, UK or US, you are eventually introduced to sessions at a very young age. I can only imagine how it feels to get tips and tricks from friends and relatives. Even your father or grandfather possibly plays the whistle, right? But I wasn’t of that luck.
I was a completely self-taught musician, loving Irish music and striving for more.
The idea behind LearnTinWhistle.com
As soon as I became more proficient with the instrument, an idea came up straight away. What if I had the knowledge and talents to create a place where people could have access to what I didn’t have when I started? For all the aspiring tin whistle players from all around the world?
I quickly searched for an appropriate website domain, LearnTinWhistle.com was available and seemed like a good one. And I kept paying for its renewal every year since then, waiting for enough spare time (and skills!?) to actually publish something valuable there.
And guess what? I had been waiting for more than 10 years. Finally, somewhere in the middle of 2020. the website embarked on its journey.
Since then, the primary goal has remained the same. I want you to have access to what I didn’t have. In both a comprehensive and structured way. In one place. A shortcut!
If you are a beginner, I want you to learn the whistle as soon as possible, focusing on the most important stuff first. If you are an experienced player, I want you to become the best player you possibly can be. And to have a lot of fun along the way.
However, I won’t lie to you. I’m not Mary Bergin, nor Brian Finnegan, nor… you name it. But I believe I do know quite a few things about the tin whistle that I’ve learned over the past 20 years. And I can only promise to do my best to share all this knowledge with you.
You might not be aware of this, but… You are not only playing the Irish tin whistle, you are keeping the music and tradition alive. And I’m thrilled we are in this together, along with many other whistlers.
Some of my work in the past decades
You might already be familiar with some of my work because I’m also a singer, songwriter and composer. And in 2003. I founded a band called Irish Stew of Sindidun. So, there is a chance that we bumped into each other on some occasions, as the band tends to play internationally and is still actively performing. If not, we released four records to date, and you are welcome to hear some of our music.
For several years, I had also been touring and playing the tin whistle with the Orthodox Celts, arguably the most prominent band related to Irish music in this part of the world. I also recorded the whistle for one of their albums. You can listen to it here.
Being on the stage and playing music for others has been such a privilege. That is what truly inspires every musician. And I did play small venues for one hundred people as well as large festivals for many thousands. I was so lucky to meet wonderful people who share the same passion, and I hope to get to know you in person somewhere along the road too.
See you soon!
Yours truly,
Bojan Petrovic – Founder at LearnTinWhistle.com
P.S. I would be delighted to hear from you. Feel free to let me know your story and what else I can do to help you on your whistle journey. If you’d like to get in touch for any reason, just drop me a message through this contact page or join my mailing list for exclusive whistle resources.
P.P.S. I also invite you to get in touch on the following social media channels: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.