How to Play John Doherty's on the Tin Whistle

e minor · 4/4 · 220 BPM · Reel · Advanced

John Doherty's is a reel you can learn on the tin whistle, set in e minor (4/4, around 220 beats per minute). It uses 11 distinct notes, ranging from E5 up to B6 — all within the D whistle’s range.

Reel in e minor (118 notes after repeat-expansion).

The tin whistle notes for John Doherty's start E A A B C B A G B D C 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 John Doherty's with these notes in order. Same letter in a higher octave uses the same fingering — overblow for the second register.

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

Sheet music

ABC notation

X:36969
T:John Doherty's
R:reel
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Eminor
|:EAAB c2BA|GBdc BAGA|EAAB cdeg|gedg eAA2:|! |:eaag edBd|g2bg edBd|g2gf egge|dBgB BAA2:|
% Source: https://thesession.org/tunes/18871 setting 36969

Fingering chart

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

E5
G5
A5
B5
C6
D6
E6
F#6
G6
A6
B6

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