Hello everyone!! I’m looking to pick up my first whistle from a love of Celtic music. I have been looking and there are soooo many to choose from and I don’t know which is more suitable for a beginner. I am seeing them in prices from $8 on up to $180. Which whistle is good for starting on? Should I opt for something middle of the price range? Say around $40 ~ $50? Also, what is a good tutor to begin with? (I have recorder experience) Thanks for the help.
As you can see by my post count, I am beginner as well. So please do not take what I say to be FACT. I find that almost any whistle can be made playable with the right practice. I have a Feadog, Susato, Clarke, & Oak, All in D. If I switch between them all the time i sound worse, If I play one of them for a week straight i sound pretty good on it. I think its just buying one and playing it. I personally prefer the Susato Kildare model I have but I am having a problem trying to play alot of tunes with A+ & B+ in them where the feadog hits those notes much easier.
whatever whistle you choose have fun with it, I have had a great time over the past few months learning this thing and I have alot of learning still to do.
There are many whistles indeed. I think it´s good to choose two-whistle way. First, you buy rather cheap whistle, later you switch it for high-end whistle. On the other hand, many people keep their “cheapies” and play great (for example Paddy Moloney).
For beginning, I think either Clarke Sweetone or Dixon Trad (probably that) would be good - they are nice “balanced” whistles, which are easy to play.
Welcome! One of the wonderful things about the whistle is that a $5 whistle may be as good as a $300 one, it’s all a matter of personal preference. I myself have never so much as held a high-end whistle. I have a Waltons C and D and a Clarke C. I personally prefer the Waltons, but I’m sure others will disagree. I would start out on a cheapie, just in case you don’t like it (gasp!).
As far as what tutor to get, I came straight from a recorder (from school no less) and didn’t need one. The blowing and breathing are almost identical between the two. The fingering of a whistle is almost the same, but simpler. You may find that you don’t need one. I certainly wouldn’t buy one at first. There are many web resources that have free tutors. You wouldn’t want to buy a book only to find that you don’t need it.
One thing I would suggest: if you mean to continue playing the recorder, practice regularly. I put mine aside for about three months and when I picked it up again I kept getting the fingerings confused, but maybe that’s just me.
Anyway, I hope this helps. Be sure to search all the threads here for information. There are many websites out there that can help you choose the right whistle. I hope you have fun.
start with a cheapie and keep buying whistles like nobody’s business. keep whistles all over the place, you car, purse, backpack, bathroom, garage. when you are in your first traffic jam and you have a whistle in your car, your level of stress will lessen. you’ll see.
how did you come to the whistle? do you play anything else?
I would recommend an Acorn whistle in Brass. I have had one since I started 5 years ago, and I still use it regularly as my ‘beater’ whistle; to throw in the bag and go. It plays great, not too much air needed, great resposne in both octaves, and only cost me about $10. They have them here. I have a painted one as well, but like the look of the all brass one more, and the paint is a little thick and will flake off if bumped too much.
Mutepointe is right on; collect all you can, compare whistle sounds, tones, etc., keep one EVERYWHERE (you should see my dorm room…no, wait, you shouldn’t 
one of the suitmates used a gen. of mine that had fallen on the floor to prop the window open) play any chance you get, AND listen to all the whistlers you can; be it live or recorded.
Best of luck to you!
I would recommend a Generation or Acorn, and if you want a C a Walton. The best tutor by far imho is the Clarke Tinwhistle Book, by Bill Ochs. Check it out here.
Just go out and get yourself a wee cheapie one..
You’ll find at most sessions most of the players have a Generation whistle which costs about 10 bucks!
I came to the whistle via recorder, which I play at a pretty high amateur level. I would DEFINITELY recommend a good tutor and would second Bloomfield’s choice of the Bill Ochs book.
There are a lot of similarities between whistle and recorder, but there are also some major differences, especially when you start to get into ornamentation of traditional music. This is NOT at all like Baroque ornamentation, although sometimes symbols are used to notate it. Get the book and work your way through it at your own pace. You’ll probably fly through the first chapters, but go all the way through. You’ll learn a lot.
My favorite is the Clarke Original design. you can get the Bill Ochs book with one.
Deluxe Learn-to-Play Tin Whistle Kit w/Clarke D whistle
• Item #3241dd
• 9 x 12 inch Clarke Tin Whistle book; 80 pages
• 74-minute CD in D
• Original Clarke D whistle (best for experienced players)*
• $29.95
Thanks for the replies everyone! The Bill Ochs book sounds like a definate must have. I’ll pick up a Generation and Acorn for now and then let the collection begin:) I would like to play a more expensive whistle after learning more to see how they play to the less expensive models. You know . . . curiosity . . .
You can also pick up a Dixon Trad, which is more consistent sound than Gens.
I would also recomend the Clarke original D. I think is sounds much better than Feadog or most other cheapies. For a C I would recomend an Oak they sound really good in C but I don’t like the D much
I would recommend a Shaw D. They’re real nice whistles.
The Shaw whistles take quite a bit of air unless they are tweaked. The sound is very close to the Clarke original design IIRC. It has been many years since I have played a Shaw.
BTW, welcome! I would suggest the same with a twist. Get a Jerry Freeman Tweaked Generation. Generation has hit or miss quality control.
If you get the tweaked version, you will be assured that you will get a good one and the cost is about $35 USD. Check out Doc Jones site, "The Irish Flute Store: http://www.irishflutestore.com/newsite/products.php?c1=58&c2=84 . And by all means, have fun! Cheers, Cyril.
The Susato O-ring tweak helps specifically to tame those two notes:
tinwhistler.com has a lot of reviews of cheapies as well as high end whistles. Very interesting.
Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for the replies and welcomes everyone.
I personally like the dixon trad more than anhy of my other cheaper ones. The only problem i really have with it is that the low d note requires a bit of breath control not to overblow, but once you can control your breath enough not to overblow it it sounds very sweet, even in the higher register. In fact, out of all my other whistles (feadog, gen, shaw) it’s the only one i can play the high a and b on without getting pain in my ears.
The dixon trad sounds so sweet that sometimes i want to bite the fipple.