How to Play The Sweets Of May on the Tin Whistle
G major · 6/8 · 180 BPM · Jig · Beginner
The Sweets Of May is a jig you can learn on the tin whistle, set in G major (6/8, around 180 beats per minute). It uses 9 distinct notes, ranging from D5 up to E6 — all within the D whistle’s range.
Jig in G major — 194 notes, difficulty 2/5.
The tin whistle notes for The Sweets Of May start D C B G A F# D G G A B G… 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 Sweets Of May with these notes in order. Same letter in a higher octave uses the same fingering — overblow for the second register.
D C B G A F# D G G A B G G A B C D C F# G A A A G E F# G A B A C D E D C B A A B C D D D D C C D D E F# G D G A B G B C D D D E F# G
Sheet music
ABC notation
X:8252 T:The Sweets Of May R:jig M:6/8 L:1/8 K:Gmajor |:d2 c|B2 G AFD|G3 G2 A|B2 G GAB|c3 d2 c|! BAG AFD|GAG G2 c|B2 G AFD|G3:|! |:F2 G|A2 A A2 G|E2 F G3|ABA c2 d|e2 d c2 B|! ABA AB/A/G|E2 F G3|A2 A BAG|A3:|! |:AA/B/c|d3 d3|D3 D3|c3 c3|D3 DEF|! G2 D G2 A|B2 G B2 c|d2 d DEF|G3:| % Source: https://thesession.org/tunes/8252 setting 8252 (traditional, public domain)
Fingering chart
The Sweets Of May uses these notes on the D tin whistle: D5, E5, F#5, G5, A5, B5, C6, D6, E6.
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