Hi All,
I LOVE the Tin/Penny Whistle!! unfortunately for me, i am a complete amateur.
I own 2 whistles so far (and these may seem slightly pathetic to all you pro’s) a waltons high c, which i think i produce a quite pleasing sound from concidering the cheapness, and a generation high g ( my 20 month old daughter gets more use out of this than i do). Unfortunately, i have made an attemp to modify the quality of my C whistle and now it sounds quite frail (my words) and i was debating whether to purchase another C of better quality, or, alternatively, a whistle of a different note.
Ill get to the point of this letter. I can play almost everything on the whistles i already own, but,(and im ashamed to admit it) i have no idea what whistle is lower than my C. How embarassing i know, but i am not sure which whistle is lower than my C. i have not seen any A or B whistles in my local stores. id be very grateful for any help.
yours very sincerely and extremely embarrased,
jasmin.
p.s. my baby daughter, aged 20 months, is really getting into playing the whistle. she walks around (under very supervised environments, as not to choke) whistling like the mini pied piper. LOL.
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Unlike many instruments, with the whistle, cheapness is not a barrier to getting a good instrument. There are many who love Oaks, Waltons, and Generations, and even many professionals who play these.
There are many whistles lower than C in any key you want. They go down to Low D and even below that. Susato, Shaw, and many many fine craftsman make them in most keys. Check out thewhistleshop.com, and the main Chiff & Fipple board for information on these. Also, search the archives here on the message board. You may find more opinions than you want!
This board is a great place for information and good people. Enjoy.
The most common key for Irish music (all of the whistle turtorials are in this key) is high d (between the two whistles you have), so yes, you should get a d whistle. As for brand, there are many different opinions on that. If you get a good Generation, it could be all you’ll need, but good ones are not guaranteed. A Clarke Sweetone, though not as pure in tone as a good Gen, is a very good starter whistle. In my experience they are reliably good. If you want a pure-sounding whistle (as opposed to slightly less focused, more whistly) and you don’t mind spending a little more, you could get a Cillian O’Briain Tweaked Generation whistle from either http://www.shannaquay.com or, in the USA, http://www.whistleanddrum.com - Mr. O’Briain is a pipemaker who has made whistles for some time, too, and though he is focusing more now on his pipes, his tweaked Gens are excellent - not too loud, wonderful tone, easier to handle than pesky untweaked Gens.
[quote=“ducklingmum”]Hi All,
I LOVE the Tin/Penny Whistle!! unfortunately for me, i am a complete amateur.
Jasmin, you humble yourself too much! It’s great that you have discovered the Tin Whistle. Lots of people go through life and never even realize what a wonderful thing it is. Plus you’ve discovered about the best place in the world for a beginner to learn. Show up, hang around, read and post. You’ll learn a lot here, make friends, and probably accumulate a whole bevy of whistles before long. Good to have you aboard!
Kids and whistles can be fun. My younger daughter (10) is mostly a pianist, but she likes to play whistle with me, too (and she can carry the whistle around in her pocket )
I’ll chime in with the rest - you should probably get at least one decent D whistle (and Sweetones are usually pretty good). Walton’s C whistles are usually very nice whistles, even if they are cheap. Oak C whistles are very nice also - about twice the cost of a Walton’s, but much more solidly built. I have both, and though I like the heft and tone of the Oak I still think the Walton’s C is a must-have.
In standard/cheap whistles, Generation makes a Bb whistle - it may need some tweeking, but if you get a good one it’s a very nice key (and the Gen Bb is still very cheap).
Once you get below Bb, you’re talking mid-range to premium whistles. I’ve heard good things about the Dixon A and G whistles, and have heard that the Susatos in those keys are decent, too - here, you’re looking at >$20 US per whistle. You may want to browse through the archives here, or look at the whistle descriptions on the main Chiff and Fipple site.
But in general, in the soprano whistle range (Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G) you can get a very good whistle inexpensively. The premium whistles can be very nice - and I love the ones I’ve tried - but some of the best whistlers out there still like the cheapies. Low whistles tend to cost a bit more, but are far from “expensive” - you can get a hand-made low whistle from a reputable maker (Overton, Chieftain, Reyburn, Hoover, Alba, Serpent . . .) for less than the cost of a halfway decent beginner’s flute or guitar.
If you’d like to take a shot with an inexpensive whistle in a lower and “interesting” key, try a Generation Bflat. I have two that are really very good and know a bunch of others who’ve had good luck with that key Generation in particular. It’s also an easy size whistle to handle while still giving you some of that lower tone quality to go along with that required soprano D that Jessie spoke of.
A warm welcome to the board,
Its great to see more Aussies enjoying whistle music,
Apart from catologues from your local music store, the main and i think best resourse for both whistles and folk music in Australia are the guys from celtic southern cross, in tasmania.
Check out thier web address and have a brouse, if you see anything you have to have and are like me and dont like getting mail order off the internet, give them a ring, they are most helpful, the address is www.celt.com.au
Regards
David
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