If you want an app that listens to you play and scores you for free, in a browser, TinWhistleTab's Play Mode and Tin Whistle Trainer both do it. If you want thousands of tunes offline on your phone, Little Session and Session Whistle are the stronger picks. TinWhistleTab is our site, so we have tried to say plainly where the others are better.
At a glance
App
Platforms
Price
Tunes
Listens to you?
Best for
TinWhistleTab Play ModeTinWhistleTab (this site)
Any browser: phone, tablet or computer
Free, no account needed
1,200+ tabs, 900+ of them playable in Play Mode
YesScores pitch and timing of every note, on your device
Learning tunes from tabs with a score to beat, without installing anything
Tin Whistle Trainertinwhistletrainer.com (maker not named on the site)
Any browser
Free, no account needed
322 tunes, sorted from training tunes to advanced
YesScores each run with a model on its server
Beginners who read staff notation and want to learn a tune a little at a time
Session Whistle: Tin WhistleMitaanshu Agarwal (Playsoloist)
iPhone (Apple silicon Macs can run it, but it is not verified for macOS)
Free app and tune book. Subscriptions from $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year; Pro $9.99 a month, $59.99 a year or $6.99 once for Lifetime
3,000 community-sourced tunes, browsable offline
PartlyGrades pitch only; its listing says pitch practice does not assess rhythm
iPhone players who want a big offline tune book with whistle tab
Little Session: Irish TunesTriangulate
iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows
Free; Premium is a one-off $17.99 on the US App Store (€19.99 on its site), no subscription
23,000+ tunes from TheSession.org, all offline
YesIts Trainer listens and scores your timing and notes; 2 Trainer games a day on the free tier
Session players who want the whole session repertoire offline on any device
Irish Tin Whistle Notes & TabsSergey Pogodin (Dr. Pogodin Studio)
iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android
Free with ads for a handful of tunes; subscription $2.99 a month to $17.99 a year
150+ melodies
YesRecognises what you play through the mic and scores it against the sheet
Players with whistles in unusual keys who prefer a native app
Irish Whistle TabsCharles Grassin (open source)
Android
Free, no ads, open source
Hundreds of Celtic tunes
NoNo listening; it is a tab book with playback
Android users who want a simple, free tab book in their pocket
Prices are from each app's own site or the US App Store and change often, so check before you buy.
Better at: Every tune is written as tin whistle tab, the scoring checks timing as well as pitch, it works for any whistle key from high G to low D, and the sound never leaves your device. There is a guide melody, drone and rhythm to play against, and nothing to install or pay for.
Weaker at: It needs an internet connection and there is no app to download. About a quarter of the tabs can't be scored yet because they have no rhythm data, the library is far smaller than Little Session or Session Whistle, and it doesn't grade ornaments. Lessons live in separate guides rather than inside the play-along.
Better at: Its Learn the song mode is better than anything we have for the very first steps: it takes a tune two bars at a time and waits for you when you are stuck. Three short beginner lessons (first note, tonguing, slides) are built in, and the tunes are sorted into a clear difficulty ladder.
Weaker at: It shows staff notation and fingering diagrams rather than whistle tab, the scoring happens on its server rather than in your browser, and we found no option for whistles in other keys.
Better at: Three thousand tunes with staff notation, whistle tab and fingerings, all offline and free to browse, plus a free first-tune course. Paid tiers add a second course and guided technique exercises.
Weaker at: It is iPhone only, its listening checks pitch but not rhythm, and it is new (first released June 2026) with only a couple of ratings so far.
Better at: The biggest library by far, fully offline, on every platform. Fingerings light up as the tune plays, and you can loop a whole tune, one part or a selection with a gradual speed-up, with bodhrán or metronome backing. It covers 19 instruments, so it suits players who also play flute or fiddle.
Weaker at: Free use of the Trainer is capped at two games a day, and as a general trad app for 19 instruments it isn't built around the whistle in particular.
Better at: Light, free, ad-free and fully offline, with tabs and sheet music, and a choice of whistle key and tempo on playback.
Weaker at: Android only, and it doesn't listen to you.
Which one to pick
You want feedback on your playing for free, today, on any device
TinWhistleTab Play Mode or Tin Whistle Trainer. Pick Play Mode if you read tab, Tin Whistle Trainer if you read staff notation.
You are on your very first tune and need it broken into small pieces
Tin Whistle Trainer's Learn the song mode, then Play Mode at 50% once you know the notes.
You want thousands of session tunes offline
Little Session on any device, or Session Whistle on an iPhone.
You play a whistle in an unusual key
Play Mode (high G to low D) or Irish Tin Whistle Notes & Tabs (low C to high G).
You want to learn ornaments and style
None of these replace a teacher or a video course. Use the apps between lessons.
How we checked
We read each app's own website or store listing on October 31, 2026, and wrote down what it says it does. We haven't tested the paid tiers. Rating counts for the newest apps are still tiny, so we don't quote them. TinWhistleTab is our own site. If something here is out of date or unfair, tell us and we'll fix it.
It depends on what you need. For free feedback on your playing in a browser, TinWhistleTab's Play Mode (tab) and Tin Whistle Trainer (staff notation) both listen and score you. For a huge offline library, Little Session runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows, and Session Whistle offers 3,000 tunes on iPhone.
Is there a free tin whistle app that listens to you play?+
Yes. TinWhistleTab's Play Mode and Tin Whistle Trainer are both free in the browser with no account. Play Mode scores pitch and timing on 900+ tunes and analyses the sound on your device; Tin Whistle Trainer scores each run on its server. Little Session's Trainer also listens, with two free games a day.
Which tin whistle app works offline?+
Little Session (23,000+ tunes) and Session Whistle (3,000 tunes) both keep their tune books offline, and so does Irish Whistle Tabs on Android. The browser tools, including TinWhistleTab, need a connection.
Is there a Mooney's tin whistle app?+
We couldn't find one. Brother Steve's Tinwhistle Page, which often comes up alongside it, is a long-running website of tunes and tips, not an app.
We use cookies for analytics (to see which tunes and features people use) and for advertising measurement. Decline and the site works exactly the same, just without those cookies. Privacy & cookie policy
