Tin Whistle Sheet Music & Practice Guide
Learn the children's song Mitty Matty on a High D tin whistle. A very simple G Major tune for absolute beginners.
Step 1: Play G-B-G-B
Step 2: Play G-B-B
Step 3: Put it all together
Mitty Matty is a traditional English folk song and children’s singing game that dates back to the 18th or early 19th century. It was commonly sung by children during circle and clapping games, where the repetitive lyrics and steady rhythm helped coordinate movement and participation. The song belongs to a broader family of English nursery and game songs that were passed down orally and adapted locally, resulting in many small lyrical and melodic variations. Its melody is simple, narrow in range, and highly repetitive, qualities that made it easy to remember and ideal for group singing. Over time, Mitty Matty became firmly established in school and community repertoires and was later collected in folk song and children’s song anthologies. Today, it is mainly used in early music education and traditional games, valued for its clear structure and its role in preserving everyday musical culture from historical English childhood life.
It is definitely one of the simplest, using only three notes.