How to Play The Blackwater on the Tin Whistle

G major · 2/4 · 220 BPM · Polka · Beginner

The Blackwater is a polka you can learn on the tin whistle, set in G major (2/4, around 220 beats per minute). It uses 9 distinct notes, ranging from G5 up to A6 — all within the D whistle’s range.

Polka in g major (124 notes after repeat-expansion).

The tin whistle notes for The Blackwater start G F# E F# E F# E D F# F# E F# Full sequence below.

The interactive sheet music shows a fingering chart under every note. Press Play this tune to play along while the app listens to your microphone and grades every note, or print a clean copy of the score.

Tin whistle notes

On a D tin whistle, play The Blackwater with these notes in order. Same letter in a higher octave uses the same fingering — overblow for the second register.

G F# E F# E F# E D F# F# E F# E D E F# B A B D C B C E D C D G F# G A G E D E F# G E E D B D C D C B A G G A G G

Sheet music

ABC notation

X:21598
T:The Blackwater
R:polka
M:2/4
L:1/8
K:Gmajor
g2|:fe fe|fe df|fe fe|d2 ef! g2 f2|ed Be|dB AB|1 G2 Gg:|2 G2 GA||! |:B>A Bd|c>B ce|d>c dg|f/g/a g2! e/d/e/f/ ge|ed Bd|cd/c/ BA|1 G2 GA:|2 G2 G2||
% Source: https://thesession.org/tunes/12756 setting 21598

Fingering chart

The Blackwater uses these notes on the D tin whistle: G5, A5, B5, C6, D6, E6, F#6, G6, A6.

G5
A5
B5
C6
D6
E6
F#6
G6
A6

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