I am new here..in case my handle didn’t give it away. I have decided to take up the tin whistle and need some advice on what to purchase. A little background on me…I come from a musical background. I played clarinet in HS and went to college on a music scholarship. Sadly, I have not picked up my clarinet in quite some time and I am looking for something new to get me back into playing music. I have recently fallen in love with Trad Irish music, so I thought a tin whistle would be a good place to start.
I have read as much as I could find on the internet about different whistle types, and I can’t seem to find a consensus as to what whistle most people prefer. I know I want a D whistle. Also, given my woodwing background, I prefer a whistle that has a more airy/woody/mellow sound rather than a shrill “bright” whistle.
I know most whistles are relatively inexpensive, so anything under $50 USD would be fine.
I was almost set to get a Clarke Original, but then read that the wooden mouthpiece means the instrument will not last long…and there is the fact that it cannot be tuned… I have also considered a Dixon Trad and an Oak.
Given my background with woodwind intruments, I am not too concerned about being able to develop the correct ambucture or breath technique. I am sure it will take some practice, but I am not necessarily looking for the “easiest, most forgiving” whistle to play.
Basically, I want a nice, mellow sounding traditional whistle that will last a while. I would appreciate yoru thoughts and suggestions.
Buy a couple of cheap whistle of different materials and characteristics and maybe keys. You’ll save money on the delivery charges if you’re ordering on-line. Keep each whistle in a different place all over the place, car, kitchen, backpack, livingroom. Play them all and get to know them. Then you’ll see what you like and what you can do over time.
I’m not even going to comment on the fact that you haven’t picked up your clarient in some time. OK, maybe one comment. Did you forget how fun it is to make music?
kind of a long story behind that. I dropped my music major in college out of frustration after my prof told me I would never make it as a musician because while I was “very technically proficient,” I had to work too hard (according to him) and wasn’t “a natural” and just “didn’t get it.” I didn’t touch my clarinet for a year after that. I then started smoking and doing a lot of other bad things not conducive to playing…, etc., etc. I then grew up and got a job with very little free time. Now that I am married and have a job with some free time, and stopped smoking, I finally picked it up again last year, but I could barely remember how to play any of my music and got very frustrated because I remember how good I once was. I still try and pick it up, but it is not “fun” anymore. I want to play Weber again, but am lucky to make it through some basic swing tunes.
I thought trying something new where I have no playing expectations might renew my interest in music (and confidence) and get me over my mental hump.
I don’t think the Dixon Trad would get you the sound you’re looking for. I would also recommend the Mellow Dog, or maybe a Susato*.
*I’ve only played one Susato. It was a fantastic, easy-playing whistle, but after reading others views on here, I wonder if the Susato I played differs from the typical. There’s my caveat.
Freeman whistles are great; and right in your price range…
if you want to avoid shrillness, i would recommend 2 things… one, get a wooden whistle. they, for me, tend to be much less shrill and softer on the ears.
they tend to be more expensive than your proscribed budget though (i’m not sure who told you “most” whistles are relatively inexpensive–they start around $8 but if you want a Copeland they’re going new on ebay right now for $340, and a Chris Abell blackwood D whistle is a 6-month wait and costs $450… i guess everything is relative though
so recommendation #2 would be to also pick up a whistle in a lower key… even dropping down to a C whistle makes a big difference in the potential for shrillness. or the regular Bb Gen whistle is pretty decent all by itself, or you can get the souped-up Freeman version.
after that it’s just practice… you can overblow any whistle and make it sound shrill until you work at it.
+1 Most of Jerry’s whistle’s would be good starter’s Hmmm…Black- Bird is not easy to play for a noob but you do have a back ground with a woodwind instrument it is more bird-like in sound. I really like his Gen-Dog whistle and as well as the Mellow Dog…can’t go wrong with either JMHO I bought his D/C pak which is a great deal from the Irish Flute Store…I put a green Walton head from a Walton Mellow D Irish Whistle on Jerry’s Brass C tube and it’s a great Whistle BUT so is the Walton Mellow D Whistle and now I can change back and forth…Dig? All kinds of things you can do with these great Whistle’s!!
Thanks for the tips. I went to the local music store last night and all they had was the Gen whistles, which all had some sticky goo on them and did not look very well put together.
I wound up order the D/C mellow dog package online.
Also, while at the music store, I bought soem x-mas music and my wife (piano) and I did some x-mas tunes last night. I really DID forget how much I enjoy playing (although transposing on the fly is still the same pain as I remember it.)
I’ll check back when my stuff arrives and let everyone know what I think.
Consider yourself lucky if you could find Gens in your local shop. That’s often not the case here in the States.
Hard to imagine what that goo is. The brass tubes are lacquered, but it shouldn’t be gooey. If there’s glue showing beneath the whistle head, that doesn’t matter because you’re going to want to remove the head and glue anyway to make the whistle tunable.
I think every aspiring trad whistle player needs to master the demands of a Gen or Gen-type whistle. The Mellow Dog and other Freeman whistles fall into that category, and are a good choice. But if you have access to a genuine stock Generation, don’t pass it up.
You are gonna dip the Gen whistle-head in a cup of hot water(15-20 secs) and twist it off and clean off all the glue(on the brass tube and whistle head) and replace it with cork-grease so you can tune the whistle…chapstick will work as well You can buy Gen whistles online as well and some of the orig. ones sound great but they don’t compare with Jerry Freeman whistle’s in Playability JMHO Jerry sells on ebay and you can contact him here on this forum…he is a member here. He also sells on the Irish Flute store… http://shop.irishflutestore.com/ Doc is a good person to deal with! Good Luck!!!
Ooh, that Clarke Sweetone slipped under the radar there. It’ll be interesting to hear what you make of it - they tend to evoke strong reactions (both positive and negative) here. I started on a Clarke Celtic Sweetone (actually the “Celtic” bit just refers to the paint-job, underneath it’s a Sweetone) and it remains my favourite cheapie, where I take “cheapie” to mean an unmodified Feadog, Walton’s, Generation and so on. I moved on to a Dixon Trad a while ago (which I don’t consider to be a “cheapie”) and I love it, but I still pick up the Sweetone from time to time.
Dunno where you read that, but I think the reason most Clarke Originals are discarded is more due to the metal around the window getting bent out of shape either unintentionally or intentionally (do a search for “thumb tweak”) than problems with the wooden fipple block. And since they are cheaper that a set of guitar strings and need changing a lot less often, I wouldn’t let that put you off. They have a distinctive appeal and although they can’t be tuned, if you’re just playing for pleasure or solo then they are well worth a go, but my advice is to stick with the two whistles you’ve already bought for at least three months.
Well, they both came in the mail yesterday and I got about 2 hours of playing time in before wife wife took my new “toys” away… First time ever playing a whistle…MUCH different than a clarinet. I was surprised at how loose i needed to keep my lips. I kept wanting to intinctively tighten up…I still haven’t figured out the optimal angle to hold the whistle or how much mouthpiece to use, or whether to hold it straight or to the side a bit (although I do seem to overblow holding it straight on)… I was able to at least hack my way through the sheet music that came with the Clarke and to play a very ugly rendition of Amazing Grace by ear.
It is very interesting how the Clarke and the Mellow Dog have very different tonal qualities and playing characteristics. From my “vast” 2hr experience playing thus far, it seems that the Clarke requires more air and sounds more “ephemeral,” whereas the Mellow Dog is “brighter” and “chirpier”–for lack of better terms. It is easier for me to keep a constant tone on the Mellow Dog, but I like the dreamy quality of the Clarke for slower pieces. I don’t know as if I like one “better” than the other at this point…they are just very different.
My wife says I have a new “obession.” … If taking your whistle in the car to work with you and playing in the parking lot before coming into the office constitutes “obsessed,” then she’s got me. I found out that my local university is holding 2 5 week classes on the tin whistle starting in Feb, as part of its adult continuing education series. $85 for 5 weeks of lessons with a clas size limited to 12. I am signing up today!
ANy advice or links to some beginner exercises? I’d like to be sure I get good technique down first betfore trying to flip, flub, and squeek my way through some reels.
I have a clark and don’t play it much but it sounds pretty good and is in tune. I have purchased a Dixon Trad(Brass)and I’m really into the sound of it as of this posting. I still really like my Jerry Freeman tweaked Gens ah, too many Whistles: I must have them all…LOL!
Thus far, I have found the Clarke easier to play, but I think I like the sound of the MellowDog better. The Mellow Dog has a more “pure” “solid” and “clear” sound. In fact, I have been playing the MellowDog most of the time. I am however, having significant trouble with the different registers on the MellowDog (I fully blame my own inexperience and not the whistle for this). I keep overblowing into the upper register when I try and sustain a note and, conversely, I am having trouble returning to the lower register. I do not have this problem when “going over the break” (e.g. going from b-c-d on the whistle); but I have a problem dropping down from notes in the middle of the second register. Also, technique wise, I am finding I have better luck going through the registers by tightening my embouchure and narrowing the airway in my mouth (thereby increasing the velocity of my breath), versus jut blowing more air into the whistle with a loose grip on the mouthpiece. However, from the videos I have seen of other whistle players, this seems to be incorrect technique…
All kinds of things you can do with these great Whistle’s!!
First time ever playing a whistle…MUCH different than a clarinet. I was surprised at how loose i needed to keep my lips. I kept wanting to intinctively tighten up…I still haven’t figured out the optimal angle to hold the whistle or how much mouthpiece to use, or whether to hold it straight or to the side a bit (although I do seem to overblow holding it straight on)… I was able to at least hack my way through the sheet music that came with the Clarke and to play a very ugly rendition of Amazing Grace by ear.