Out On The Ocean
Jig in G Major · difficulty 2 of 5
The story of Out On The Ocean
Chief Francis O'Neill - the Cork-born Chicago police chief who spent his career collecting Irish tunes from his own patrolmen - got this one from "Big Pat" O'Mahony, a West Clare flute player walking a Chicago beat. Petrie had noted a version half a century earlier as "The Bucks of Ahasnagh", and one scholar traces its bones all the way back to a Scots spinning song.
Whatever ocean it is, the tune rocks like one: an easy, swaying G major jig that has become a favourite first or second jig for tin whistle beginners. Play it unhurried and let the lilt do the work - this is a tune that sounds best slightly too relaxed.
How to play Out On The Ocean on tin whistle
Jigs swing in 6/8: two lilting groups of three per bar. Get that pulse steady at a walking tempo before you push the speed.
The tab under the notes shows the whistle fingering for every note - filled circles are covered holes, and a + means the overblown octave. If you are new to stave notation, you can try reading the stave and tab together which gradually will make you learn the notation.
Start slow with a metronome getting the base melody right. As the fingers learn the tune, try adding some ornaments and gradually increase the tempo without losing control.
Notation is sourced from The Session, the community archive of traditional music.
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