I never learned reading sheetmusic but always wanted to learn to read those "dots" and playing an isntrument by them.

So i started 6 month ago to play the penny whistle and reding sheetmusuic.
I am still very bad in reading this notation.
Because i transcribed all dots into numbers (6 for D, 5 for E, and so on, because by playing a D on a standard D whistle i have to close all 6 holes). So i was able to read those "dots" slowly but never fast enough to play tunes by reading them.

Now, since i changed my Tutorial from the bad German one to the well known and often recomended Bill Ochs Book, i became very slow in my learning progress because i struggle with those dots.

I play all i now by Memory, i learn fast by Tabs or Numbers and even by Ear but i want to learn also reading sheetmusic fast enough, i think its time for it now, if i dont learn it now, ill never do.

So i went back to the forst and easy tuines i learned,, the ones with just 3 notes, like maybe B, A, G or F, E, D, ...a and of course i can read those, but if there is more than 4 Notes, maybe 5 or 6, i struggle ....and it takes a loooong time to identify an E (a realy easy one id say) sometimes.

I guess, one reason, why i have those problems, is the tounging on the Whistle.
If i would read a "D" in the Notation and pronaunce a "D" in my mind or even with the mouth, it would be easier for me as if i always "pronaunce something like a "T" or "D" by tounging,...because then its getting hard to sepperate the , D, E, G; B, .... in my mind, ... they all sound like "ti" and i guess its not helpfull to create connections in your brain for what the eye see, the mind has to understand and the finger has to do, if you "call" it all the same "Ti".

What do you whistlers think about it?
Did or do you have the same Problems?

I will try now, reading easy tunes and use "glotal stops" instead of "tounging" and "pronaunce" "Dee", "E", EF", "Gee" "A" "Be" in my Mind and Throat while reading the sheetmusic and playing.
Maybe just one time and than repeat one time by tounging.
I guess this will be a good way to "connect" the position of the dot and the note wich has to be played, better then as if i would be tounging.

Do you have other recomendations on how to be able to play what you read?
Maybe i just have to learn more tunes out of the Bill Ochs Book by reading the given notation there, but i already know the easy ones from that german tutorial wich gave me numbers written over the dots and even if i tried not to look at them, of course i did and never learned reading the dots propperly.

i did not but i thought about doing it 😉

of course i know that one shouldnt pronunce the name of a note which is played but i thought it may be helpfull for me at this stage because i find it hard to read for example a "B" and think "B" but then tounge the note on the whistle, that makes in my head a "de" or "Te" and confuses me

buit i had this idea and because i know its a stange idea (and feel its a bad idea), to pronounce the name of the note, i thougt i ask for other opinions about it

anyway, yesterday i started to practise realy easy tunes by reading from sheetmusic and it did work when i play them slowly
maybe with some practise i can easily become faster

i guess the problem is because when i learned 6 month ago, with this stupid german tutorial, there where the numbers, of holes to close, written above the sheetmusic, and even if i did make them less visible, of course i always did look at them, so i never had to read "the dots"

yesterday i did force myself to read only dots and started with the first lessons at Bill Ochs Book and found it hard to read and play but it did work.... probabbly i just have to start reading and stop using numbers

the next new tunes i will learn i will not transcribe into numbers to learn them, i will learn it by dots only, that will be a good practise

thanks
i did practise again today for maybe 2 hours, playing by reading easy tunes from sheet notation
from "D" to "B" its easy for me reading them now, all above "B" i still have to get into my head

by the way i did use the words "BAG" & "FED" for all from "B" to "D" or te 6 holes on the whistle

i did know those sentences and others but didnt use them, i will now, because, it may help with the higher notes

I also, finaly! took this as a chance, starting tapping to the beat and that was another challenge for me.
I should have started with the bill ochs tutorial much earlier but since i have it i always was busy with other practise.
And easy tunes with notes from "B" to "D" i can read (1) and play (2)and tap(3) now already, after just one day serious practise with this book 😉

this shows me that i feel like a real beginner again because i used the wrong tutorial, it did bring me somwhere, yes, but i did learn it the wrong way

i think it is bad that in that german tutorial the numbers are written above the notation
i even did copy every page and did make those numbers very light with photoshop, for not seeing them clearly but having the chance looking at them, i should have deleted them completely because of course i always looked at them
i did delete them today in the notation of 10 tunes and will continue practise them every day by just reading "the dots" now