Which key is the most useful for overall playing with other instrumental players in Irish Traditional Music? Are A and Bb whistles generally classified as mezzo or low whistles? Who are your favorite makers for whistles in these keys and why?
Cayden
A - 3 or 2 sharps
Bb - 2 or 3 flats
hence:
Bb cons:
not many ITM tunes in Bb or Eb and the related minor keys (and modal keys) (unless every one decides to play down a third)
string players in general prefer sharps to flats
Bb pros:
the generation Bb whistle is pretty nice (much nicer than the D IMO - so is the Eb, but that is even more flats in the key sig!)
A pros:
the A whistle can play the key of D easily - sometimes this is very useful if the tune below ‘low’ D
A cons:
if you play a tune you know in the ‘normal key’ you will have to relearn the fingering (it’s good for you!)
So I’d vote for the A whistle - no contest, unless you have a particular purpose for a Bb (and if you do why are you asking?)
Mezzo or low? Well they are both just low enough to be quite different from a high D, but they’re not really low whistles so I guess you could call them mezzo (or alto, or baritone, or … do they really need a name beyond A or Bb whistle?)
Favorite makes…
as I alluded to above I have a Gen Bb which is quite a nice whistle (and an Eb which is also pretty nice) so perhaps a stock Gen Bb or a Freeman tweaked Bb (never tried one, so this is hearsay!) - every whistle player should have a Gen whistle of some sort
and the A - well perhaps my favorite whistle is an A whistle that I made. Small enough to be easy to play, and quick but it has more character and possibilities than a high D, enough of the low whistle charateristics to make slow tunes more interesting/soulful/poignent/..
I have not tried anyone else’s A’s so I can’t be of any more help.
I made a pretty nice Bb as well but sold it, taking a break from making another as I write this. It was a nice whistle - but personally I do not see using it as often as my A.
You don’t ask, but G is a pretty good/useful key for a whistle (for tunes in G and C and their relations) - it also is almost a low whistle.
Highwood,
Thanks for the very thorough explanation. How does the fingering on the A whistle differ in tne “normal key”? Is this fingering difference a difficult transition? I appreciate your help on this question. I have never played a whistle in this key. Do you feel A G whistle is more useful than an A for ITM?
Cayden
Playing a song in D on an A whistle would be like playing a song in G on a D whistle. The note that would be G on a D whistle is D on an A whistle. So you basically play the same fingerings but on the opposite hands. Kind of.
Get whistles in all keys, just because you can and want 
On topic, i rarely use my Bb except when playing along to the odd song.
As said, the A can be used quite easily to play in D, albeit with somewhat ‘queer’ fingering if it’s a tune you’ve learnt on a D whistle.
I call Bb and A “medium high” whistles. Close enough keys to be made from the same alu tubing, and even share the same head, so a good combination for a combo set, as an economically alternative for buying two separate whistles. My G whistle is wider, with a more complex head design, and I class it as “medium low”, the highest low whistle still playable even with small hands.
Not speaking about ITM, I think a G whistle is generally more useful for playing music of various traditions. An A whistle is useful for some Scottish trad music.
Despite an A playing in useful ITM keys I would suggest a Bb may be of more use in playing along with Bb pipes and flutes. You are more likely to have recordings of Bb
flutes and chanters than A. Most scottish pipe music in a is in a Mix so a d whistle can actually be more handy for that.
My low a flute is very handy for songs and the odd tune, also just playing on its own there is nothing like it. Neil Gows Lament for His Second Wife for example in G fingering but coming out in D on an A whistle as its commonly played.
Until recently Bb were the only low flutes available but you readily see C, Bnat and A as well, now I have seen even low A uilleann chanters so things may change.
IMHO it’s essential for some Scottish trad (NB we’ve had this discussion here before!), but I tend to regard Bb and A as pretty well interchangeable (like Eb and D) for solo playing and frequently swap between them.
I’ve got both an A and a Bb but I have to say I haven’t used either of them for Irish or Scottish trad other than when I’m deliberately playing is a certain key, usually with a band. I’ve never played either of them with anyone else at a session. They’re handy for songs and a nice change if you’re the only lead player. I would say the pros of the Bb is that, as folk say, the Generation ones are usually pretty nice and cheap as chips. The advantage of the A if that your likely to use it a bit more. With singers for example, at least in the trad world, they’ll sing in standard keys more often than flat keys. Bb, as dunnp says is perfect if you happen to get to play with a Bb set of Irish pipes - not Scottish though, you need an Eb for that.
Hey guys,
I really appreciate all the information you have provided on this subject. If there are more opinions out there keep 'em coming.
Cayden
I vote for A too. When I play in our band I use a D and an A for about 90% of the tunes where I play whistle (as opposed to mandolin).
My A is a Colin Goldie Overton and I don’t find the need to look for another. It has very different breath requirements than many whistles and it took me a while to get used to it, but now I really love it. It’s a very cool anodized Blue which is a bonus.
I really like my Freeman A for playing fiddle tunes without folding. The trick is to play them a fourth higher, and as the whistle is a fourth lower than the high D, it comes out in the normal key. To do this, you also need to get comfortable playing the (nominal) high C natural, C#, and D, which on the A are high G, G#, and A.
Here are a few tunes I do this with:
Martin Wynne’s, nos. 1 and 2
Ashokan Farewell
Pretty Peg
The Cape Breton Fiddler’s Welcome to the Shetland Isles
Sevens and Pat and Al, by Liz Carroll.
I’ve found that to really get comfortable doing this, I had to stop thinking of it as a D whistle transposed, and start thinking of it as an A whistle. I had to learn to think of xxx ooo as D, instead of as G. It got easier with practice. Now the A is one of my favorite whistle keys.
A lot of O’Carolan’s tunes were originally written in one of those concert keys with 2 or 3 flats, though they are usually played being transposed to G or D in sessions. And quite a lot of tunes in O’Neills are in these keys, also. Maybe it has just become out of fashion - could have been the fault of us whistle (and keyless flute) players!
Anyway, there are some exceptions, just listen to De Danann, for example. I won’t get off that old joke about that again…
I myself am flirting with a Bb Shaw at the moment.
PS: I think it’s alto.
In agreement with the previous posts, it greatly depends on what you want to do with it.
Play along with others?
In a session, you’d likely never use the Bb, & only occasionally use the A for some of those fiddle tunes during which whistlers/fluters/pipers head to the bar for a fresh pint.
Play regularly with a fiddler or learn from / play along with fiddle recordings? Go for the A.
Play regularly with a Bb piper or learn from / play along with Bb pipes recordings? Go for the Bb.
Play solo?
Get what you like the sound of.
Jerry Freeman’s tweaked nickel Generation Bb has (IMO) a gorgeous sound.
If you’re looking to work your way down gradually to the breath requirement & finger stretch of a low D, get the A.
Save up, get both! Have fun.
In theory, the A whistle is great for playing key of D fiddle tunes which go below the range of a D whistle. I’ve learned a number of tunes that way, too: “Pull Out the Knife”, “Bea Maye’s”, “McDermott’s Hornpipe”, etc. But in practice, I hardly ever actually do this in a session. That’s not wildly surprising, either – most (all?) of the great old Irish flute players would have never had an A flute, and got along just fine with low notes on their D flute via octave folding. The same method works just as well on D whistle.
I’ll usually use a D whistle or an E whistle to play in the key of A. (The only exception that comes to mind is “Christina’s Dream”, which has both a lot of notes below the D and a lot of G-sharps, so I use in the A whistle for it and octave fold the top notes.)
I don’t think I’ve ever played a Bb whistle in a session, but it is a great key for whistles, and essential for playing along with “Kitty Lie Over”, one of those “I must learn every tune on this album” CDs.
If you’re willing to kill for them, the best whistles ever made in Bflat and A were made by Glenn Schultz. I sold or donated my wooden versions (the wooden Bflat was killer, but I never played it), but still have the PVC. I always preferred the PVC A to the wooden, which was still really fine.
That said, invest $10 in a Gen Bflat before killing me for my Weasels. It’s a fine little whistle.