How to Play Cuckoo's Nest on the Tin Whistle
A dorian · 2/4 · 220 BPM · Polka · Intermediate
Cuckoo's Nest is a polka you can learn on the tin whistle, set in A dorian (2/4, around 220 beats per minute). It uses 11 distinct notes, ranging from E5 up to B6 — all within the D whistle’s range.
Polka in A dorian — 140 notes, difficulty 4/5.
The tin whistle notes for Cuckoo's Nest start A B C D E A E F# G G G B… 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 Cuckoo's Nest with these notes in order. Same letter in a higher octave uses the same fingering — overblow for the second register.
A B C D E A E F# G G G B C D E D B G B A A A B A E E F# G G G B C D E D B G B A B C D E A E F# G B D C B A A G# A A E
Sheet music
ABC notation
X:35084 T:Cuckoo's Nest R:polka M:2/4 L:1/8 K:Adorian |:A>B cd|ea ef|gg gB/c/|d/e/d/B/ GB|! A>B cd|ea ef|gB dc/B/|1 A2 AE:|2 A2 A^g||! |:aa ab|ae ef|gg gB/c/|d/e/d/B/ GB|! A>B cd|ea ef|gB dc/B/|1 A2 A^g:|2 A2 AE|| % Source: https://thesession.org/tunes/18040 setting 35084 (traditional, public domain)
Fingering chart
Cuckoo's Nest uses these notes on the D tin whistle: E5, G5, A5, B5, C6, D6, E6, F#6, G6, A6, B6.
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