Fingering chart for tin whistles in D and C. There are six holes from top to bottom; ● is covered, ○ open. All holes covered gives the whistle’s key note (D on a D whistle) and lifting fingers from the bottom raises the pitch. The second octave uses the same fingerings blown harder. Tap a note name to hear it.
Full-range fingering chart
Tap a note name to hear its concert pitch.
D whistle (the most common key)
Selected note (written)
—
Sounds (concert pitch)
—
Thumb | Left hand | Right hand
Click a note on the staff to see its fingering. The ← → keys also move between notes.
Show every note as a list (for printing)
Written note ｜ Thumb | Left hand | Right hand
D4
●●●|●●● Standard
E♭4
●●●|●●◐ Half-hole (varies by maker)
E4
●●●|●●○ Standard
F4
●●●|●○● Cross-fingering (varies by maker)
F♯4
●●●|●○○ Standard
G4
●●●|○○○ Standard
G♯4
●●●|○●● Cross-fingering (varies by maker)
A4
●●○|○○○ Standard
B♭4
●●○|●●○ Cross-fingering (varies by maker)
B4
●○○|○○○ Standard
C5
○●●|○○○ Standard (cross-fingering)
C♯5
○○○|○○○ Standard
D5
○●●|●●● Standard (open hole 1, blow harder)●●●|●●● All closed, blow harder
E5
●●●|●●○ Standard, blow harder
F♯5
●●●|●○○ Standard, blow harder
G5
●●●|○○○ Standard, blow harder
A5
●●○|○○○ Standard, blow harder
B5
●○○|○○○ Standard, blow harder
C6
○●●|○○○ Standard (cross-fingering), blow harder
C♯6
○○○|○○○ Standard, blow harder
D6
○●●|●●● Blow harder
C whistle
Selected note (written)
—
Sounds (concert pitch)
—
Thumb | Left hand | Right hand
Click a note on the staff to see its fingering. The ← → keys also move between notes.
Show every note as a list (for printing)
Written note ｜ Thumb | Left hand | Right hand
C4
●●●|●●● Standard
C♯4
●●●|●●◐ Half-hole (varies by maker)
D4
●●●|●●○ Standard
E♭4
●●●|●○● Cross-fingering (varies by maker)
E4
●●●|●○○ Standard
F4
●●●|○○○ Standard
F♯4
●●●|○●● Cross-fingering (varies by maker)
G4
●●○|○○○ Standard
G♯4
●●○|●●○ Cross-fingering (varies by maker)
A4
●○○|○○○ Standard
B♭4
○●●|○○○ Standard (cross-fingering)
B4
○○○|○○○ Standard
C5
○●●|●●● Standard (open hole 1, blow harder)●●●|●●● All closed, blow harder
D5
●●●|●●○ Standard, blow harder
E5
●●●|●○○ Standard, blow harder
F5
●●●|○○○ Standard, blow harder
G5
●●○|○○○ Standard, blow harder
A5
●○○|○○○ Standard, blow harder
B♭5
○●●|○○○ Standard (cross-fingering), blow harder
B5
○○○|○○○ Standard, blow harder
C6
○●●|●●● Blow harder
Semitones (D♯, F, G♯, B♭ and so on) use cross-fingerings or half-holes that vary between makers. Where the chart says “varies by maker”, check the pitch on your own whistle.
Get fingerings straight from your sheet music
Looking up every note of a piece in a chart is slow. Yubioto reads a photo or PDF of your sheet music, puts the fingering under each note and plays the melody back. Free, no account, nothing to install.
D whistle music is usually written at concert pitch, often an octave below the sounding pitch (the notation used in this chart). In Irish music players also read D-whistle notation on other keys of whistle.
How do I play the second octave?
Use the same fingerings and blow faster (harder). For the upper D, most players open hole 1.
How do I play the semitones?
F natural on a D whistle is a cross-fingering: hole 1 open, holes 2 and 3 covered. C natural is usually ○●●○○○. For other semitones, half-hole or try the cross-fingerings listed and check the tuning on your whistle.
Should I buy a C or a D whistle?
D is the standard for Irish music. C lets you play songs in C as written. The fingering shapes are identical, so you can switch between them freely.