I am a high school student who began playing tin whistle this summer after hearing the Dropkick Murphys’ music. I have decided to audition in about a year to perform Ira-Paul Schwarz’s “Celtic Concerto” with my school’s orchestra as a “Senior Solo”. I would appreciate some advice on a tin whistle I could use for it.
I already have two Clarke whistles, one “Meg” and one “Original”, both in D. I do not like the harsh sound of the Meg, or the breathiness of the Original. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a good whistle, tone-wise? I would like to spend less than $50.
Another factor I would like to consider is the ease with which one can play accidentals. Significant portions of the concerto are written for a C whistle, so playing with a D whistle would require playing several F-naturals and B-flats.
You’ll get lots of conflicting advice on which whistle to buy here. If you don’t like the breathiness of Clarke whistles, then I’d recommend trying a Dixon Traditional (but I really like my Clarke Sweetone - see below for a sound clip).
If you can find someone locally with a range of whistles, it’d be worth hearing a few different whistles being played to get a feel for the various sounds that are possible. I think the tone of the whistle is influenced a great deal by the musician, so don’t expect to just pick up a different model and it to sound fantastic straight away - you need to practice a lot!
As to playing accidentals, if the music is written in C, then your best bet is to buy a whistle in C and transpose the music instead.
“Large portions” you say? If the whole concerto is written in C or any other mode without accidentals (just the white keys on the piano), you should definately get a C whistle, not a D. The D whistle will play 2 or 1 sharps (with cross-fingered C), whereas the C will play 0, or 1 flat.
There are a lot of whistles out there that might fit you. From what you say about harshness and breathyness, I’d recomend a Black Diamond. https://www.irishflutestore.com/newsite/products.php?c1=58&c2=80
It’s a little above your budget at $75, but it could be worth it. I found it very easy to play, had a clean sound which seemed very traditional without being harsh or breathy. To me it was just pure enough, not the purest sounding whistle out there, but I normally favour a sound with a bit of chiff, and it looks better than a regular cheapie. Another option is a Freeman tweaked Mellow Dog D/C set (search for it at the site I posted), that’s within your budget and you get both D and C with one head.
Hope that helps. I’d normally do a toast here, but I guess you shouldn’t yet drink
whisky
I second the suggestion of the Mellow Dog C & D set. With a bit of breath control practice you can’t go wrong. A great, inexpensive whistle. Nice and clear.
By “significant portion”, I meant that, for 71 measures out of 305, the composer recommends (but does not require) switching to a C whistle, as the key signature is either 1 flat or no accidentals at all.
As for the Mellow Dogs, are they better than the Blackbirds?
i’m not sure that “better” is a apt description. I have neither whistle, but from what I’ve read, both stand on their own.
it’s taking all my strength not to get the Mellow Dog d/c set. I’m in the market for a C whistle, and have a nice Oak D and Feadog Pro D, both of which I like. For your purposes, the Mellow Dog set seems about right.
One thing to consider - the Mellow Dog C/D set is one mouthpiece with two tubes. Swapping whistles in the middle of a piece would be relatively easy, methinks, but swapping the head could mean retuning the new tube. If you think head-swapping in mid-stream might be a problem, ask Jerry if he could provide an extra head so you’d have two complete whistles and what that would cost. With that in mind, I second the Mellow Dogs; great whistles.
A Mellow Dog D/C set doesn’t give you two well matched whistles. You get two very nice whistles, but because you have the same head on two different tubes, you end up with a wide body key of D whistle and a standard body key of C whistle, which is somewhat quieter because the bore is narrower relative to the length. Also, there’s the issue of changing tubes in the middle of a performance, which I think would be problematic.
On the other hand, if you get a Blackbird in D and a Blackbird in C, you’ll have two whistles that are very well matched, as both are standard body whistles, and they’re voiced to match.
If you go with the Blackbirds (which is what I would recommend), you’ll need to allow for the time and attention it takes to develop good breath control, as a Blackbird calls for a gentle touch on the lowest notes.
Blackbirds are $36.50 each plus $4.80 postage. I’ll take 10% off if you get both a D and a C Blackbird, so that would be $65.70 for the two whistles plus $4.80 postage = $71.50.
Does that make sense?
Edited to add:
Looking over the posts, I picked up the $75 figure, rather that the $50 figure as your budget ceiling. OK then, I’ll send you both whistles for $50, but don’t tell anyone else who reads this board, or I’ll be in trouble.
My favorite cheapie whistle is the Clarke original D, but I agree that out of the box, it is annoyingly breathy.
Since you are already at odds with the Clarke original, you might want to try the highly technical “Thumb-Mash Tweak”, which is standard procedure for every new Clarke original that I buy. If you end up with a whistle you like, so much the better. If not, well, no big loss.
Squash the top of the windway down just a bit, with thumb pressure. This will narrow the windway, and my achieve a more pleasing tone. If still too breathy, squash a bit more, until desired result is achieved. If you overdo it, you can use a thin screwdriver or nail file and gently raise the windway a bit away from the block.
My standard soprano D whistle is a Clarke that I have played so much that the much-maligned gold diamonds and other printing have completely worn away.
