Greetings,
I have enjoyed playing my high D Susato and low D Ian Lambe whistles. I am considering purchasing another whistle in a different key. I have read (and discovered myself) that G is the second most common key for Irish music (D being the first). I also read that, globally, C is the most common key.
That being said, can anyone give me advice on my third whistle? Would having an alto G provide me with much more flexibility than I have with a high and low D? Or would C be the way to go?
Thank you,
Michael
Are you aware that you can play in the key of G with a D whistle.
Yes, I am aware. As I understand it, the alto G would give me a somewhat higher range than the low D?
Low F. Great key, easy to play. 
Depends if you are playing alone for personal enjoyment or with others. A Bb Gen might be a good cheap half-way house between your low and high D whistles.
Welcome to the C&F Whistle Forum.
You’ll get varying advice on how to go about choosing additional whistle keys beyond the high D (and low D). If you are looking to play Irish traditional dance music you can generally get by with just the high D playing tunes in both the key of D and G just as Tommy pointed out. Most tunes fit the range of the D whistle just fine or can be arranged to fit. The Low D gives you another voice (or for when your ears hurt). While you could choose whistles in additional keys with no motivation other than wanting to buy another whistle it can be useful to see what you need based on what keys you run into playing with others. Fiddlers like tunes in A and E too. So an E whistle might be in order to play with them. Harps like to play in C (with no sharping levers). So maybe that is the time to get a C or G whistle. Maybe you want to accompany a singer and their range is best suited to the key of F. Then you would buy an F whistle. Maybe you don’t play with other musicians much but want to play along with CD’s. Mary Bergin plays Eb and Bb whistles so you buy those. Perhaps you like Lunasa’s whistle trios and you get an F whistle to play along. Do you see the logic at work here? Buy what you need first. Others will probably offer differing strategies. Having a complete set of Gens is never a bad idea.
Feadoggie
I wonder if that’s really true.
Violinists and pianists seem to prefer sharp keys. Brass players seem to prefer flat keys.
Anyway, as far as whistle goes, Generation Bb whistles seem pretty popular. It can work for playing in F (similar to A on a D whistle - half hole L3), which my harp friend likes a lot (F, that is – he tunes his B strings flat so all levers up = F).
I just got one in low-G, which I like a lot. It plays easily in C and can also play in D.
It’s really just a function of what you want. If my only D whistle was a Susato, I think my next whistle would be a Jerry Freeman Mellow Dog with the extra C barrel. The Mellow Dog sounds a lot better (to me), and the C barrel gives you that many more keys for only a few extra $
I think the OP is confusing concert pitch (C) with the named keys of the whistles and with the keys (key signatures) of the tunes. Three different things.
I was about to say that 
No, really.
The members who have answered above are light years beyond me in their knowledge and playing expertise. So if you are like me, a beginner both in playing and music theory like myself, I can sympathize. They have helped me a great deal, but I am still as “thick as a brick” in most areas.
There are lots of postings that answer similar inquiries that indirectly are music theory related. Here are two threads that members posted answers on for me and which clarified much:
1st - https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/key-of-c-music-with-d-fingering-is-in-what-key/71000/1
2nd - https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/doppler-pairs/71034/1
I hope you find these helpful. If on the other hand you already know this, skip it.
ps - you would do well to skip references in these 2 threads to “how fast the motorbike is traveling” and other similar references to moving sounds 
This is very helpful; thanks to all of you for taking the time to contribute!
Hi Michael, even though G may be the second most common key signature of Irish trad tunes, those tunes can be played just fine on a D whistle, in fact usually better than on a G whistle, because of their spread of notes. I’d say the D whistle has the advantage over the G whistle in this.
So I would go for a C whistle. There is still a big tune repertoire in ITM for which the C whistle would be perfect, and even more so in non-Irish trads. A C whistle in addition to the D whistle will indeed provide you with greater flexibility to join in, than a G whistle would.
All this presumes of course that you want to play music in the keys it is noted down. I personally do not to stick to that, and play for instance tunes “in D” on a C whistle or a low G or low F whistle, because it sounds good and I enjoy it. Using a different keyed whistle automatically transposes the music, which can give it a different character, or suit different other instruments better, or suit a singer better, if you accompany a song.
Now, as a corollary to this, an A whistle with G fingering gives the key of D with a different spread of notes. It fits some tunes in D much better than a D whistle does. So I find ‘Ashoken Farewell’ and ‘Eleanor of Usen’ fit more easily on an A whistle although they are both in D. How common this is only the experts could say…
[Warning: my musical knowledge is fairly limited, so take my opinions with a pinch of low sodium salt substitute.]
Yes, that’s sometimes the case with fiddle-centric tunes like “Ashoken Farewell” that drop down to the G string (i.e., below D on the whistle). Then you have to hope the tune doesn’t go above high g, else you have to start folding in the other direction. 
Yep, that happens to me a lot as a fluter playing with fiddlers! It’s a whole subject in itself…where to make the jumps for each tune. Sometimes I change my mind later on.
As for most useful whistles, depends on the tunes you’d like to play. Much of it not terribly relevant if you’re strictly rooted in the Irish trad session scene.
I end up doing a lot of French Canadian tunes and modern trad (if that’s not an oxymoron) in addition to Irish and Scottish. These are the whistle keys I’ve used most often (in addition to D), in approximate order:
C … mostly for tunes in F, sometimes in C major and G dorian, and the odd tune in D dorian
Bb … mostly for Bb major, a few tunes in Eb (plus male singers favor Bb)
A … rarely for A, more often for tunes in D when I want a whistle sound and “folding” isn’t right somehow
high E … useful for some A tunes, but tricky to hold pitch and my finger size starts to be a limitation
G … not as agile, but can be very good for some C tunes
I don’t have a whistle in F yet but am working on getting a Goldie in that key. I do play an F flute and it’s very useful sometimes.
If you’re looking for just one, for sure I’d pick the C.
All the best,
- Bill
I don’t play much Irish music with others, but participate in a loose ensemble playing old English music. The whistle I pick up the second most often in that context is a high C, which I use for most of the tunes in F as well. The Bb also comes in handy. (Most useful is still the D).
I also play for a Morris side, all English folk/dance tunes - exclusively in G and D, all playable on the high D.
My recommendation would be either a C (which also plays in F) or an F (which also plays in Bb). I only use my low G for tunes which have a funny range, where the D can’t reach. But then I really don’t like my low G very much.
You may be correct.
I have, however, seen on other music forums the assertion made (by people who are not confused) that the key signature of C is most common. I think it would be cool to do a survey of some sort – maybe looking through one of those books of 1000 pop tunes and count the key signatures. And then similarly for classical and jazz and so forth.
Let us know what you find.
This might be of interest, although the term “dance music” might not refer to folk dances…
yes, you have two whistles in D - lets say that they make whistle 1
now, if you are focussed on CTM (thats meant to cover Irish, Scottish, Breton etc)
then whistle 2 should be in G
and then you will know, after some time, what your optional whistle 3 should be.
there is nothing global about a C whistle.