How to Play Carolan's Draught on the Tin Whistle

G major · 4/4 · 220 BPM · Reel · Advanced

Carolan's Draught is a reel you can learn on the tin whistle, set in G major (4/4, around 220 beats per minute). It uses 13 distinct notes, ranging from D5 up to B6 — all within the D whistle’s range.

Reel in G major — 224 notes, difficulty 4/5.

The tin whistle notes for Carolan's Draught start D G A B C D E F# D G F# E… 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.

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Tin whistle notes

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

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

Sheet music

ABC notation

X:1421
T:Carolan's Draught
R:reel
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Gmajor
D2|:GABc defd|g2fe d2Bd|e2ce d2Bd|c2Bc AcBA|! GABc defd|gfed ^cbag|gfed A2^c2|1 d3e dcBA:|2 d6 f>g||! afga bagf|e/f/gfe ed=cB|edef gfga|bagf efga|! bBbB aBaB|gBgB fBfB|edef gfed|e2ed e3f|! gfed cBAG|e2d2 d2BG|c2Bc ABGA|FGAF DEFD|! EFGE FGAF|GABG ABcA|d2g2 bagf|g2gf g2||
% Source: https://thesession.org/tunes/1421 setting 1421 (traditional, public domain)

Fingering chart

Carolan's Draught uses these notes on the D tin whistle: D5, E5, F#5, G5, A5, B5, C6, D6, E6, F#6, G6, A6, B6.

F#5

F#6

Tin whistle notes

Sheet music

ABC notation

Fingering chart

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