How to Play The Blackthorn Stick on the Tin Whistle

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

The Blackthorn Stick is a reel you can learn on the tin whistle, set in e minor (4/4, around 220 beats per minute). It uses 9 distinct notes, ranging from D5 up to F#6 — all within the D whistle’s range.

Reel in e minor — 218 notes, difficulty 3/5.

The tin whistle notes for The Blackthorn Stick start B E E D B A G F# D D 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.

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Tin whistle notes

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

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

Sheet music

ABC notation

X:35861
T:The Blackthorn Stick
R:reel
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Eminor
|:BEED B2AG|FDDE FAFA|BEED B2AG|F/E/D F/E/D E2GA|! BEED B2AG|FDDE FAFA|B2BA BddB|AFDA E4:|! |:e2BA BddB|DFDF E2f2|e2BA Bdde|fdfd e4|! e2BA BddB|DFDF E2GA|B2BA BddB|AFDA E4:|
% Source: https://thesession.org/tunes/18345 setting 35861 (traditional, public domain)

Fingering chart

The Blackthorn Stick uses these notes on the D tin whistle: D5, E5, F#5, G5, A5, B5, D6, E6, F#6.

F#5

F#6

Tin whistle notes

Sheet music

ABC notation

Fingering chart

More tin whistle tunes