I’ve been loving my Killarney whistle in D and playing daily, but I’ve been curious about a higher-pitched whistle (for my own enjoyment, not playing with others) and I’m considering a Generation G or F (based solely on the price and free shipping from Amazon…) - I know its not a substantial investment, but I wondered if anyone here has had a good experience with the G (or F), as I’ve heard plenty of complaints about the G in particular (too small, poor quality, etc…). If one of these doesn’t come recommended, can anyone else speak for another high-pitched whistle, preferably in the ‘entry-level’ range? Does Dixon make a G or F (or an Eb) or are there others to consider? Is the Killarney Eb know to have a nice tone? I have an older Generation Eb and it’s rubbish (to my ears)…
Anyway, thank you all for any advice you may have!
I have an older Generation Eb and it’s rubbish (to my ears)…
Well there you go, there’s no way of telling, is there?. My first whistle was a Generation E flat and to this day it’s one of the nicest whistles I have. I have other Gen Eflats and they’re fine too. The Killarney E flat is the easiest, nimblest and sweetest of them all, perhaps.
There is a discussion on F whistles running parallel to this one. They’re fine but few people actually play them. The little G, I don’t know, if you have a use for the squeaky little thing, it’s fine. There’s not much point to it otherwise.
I bought a six set of Generation nickel whistles when I started out, (G F Eb D C Bb), & whilst I don’t use the higher ones on a regular basis, I’ve found them to be pretty good, especially at the price.
I’ve got regular man sized hands & find the F quite easy to finger, whilst the G is a little bit cramped, but quite playable.
(But I’m more of a low tone man myself, so I tend to use the D, C, Bb, or my alto G most of the time.)
I’ve got an old Gen high G and a high F. The high G works perfectly well, but it’s a pain to play (literally) - it’s too cramped, in my opinion, for adults hands, and mine aren’t all that big. It’s also a bit shrill, though with a perfectly clear sound. The F, on the other hand, is lovely and sweet and relatively easy to play. Mind you, I never do play it, because it’s not of much practical use for the music that I play, i.e. normal Irish trad.
Any G will feel cramped. The Generation is shrill on the higher notes, but just about any high G would be.
I happen to own one of the few high G whistles that Glenn Schultz ever made and it’s the only non shrill one I’ve ever heard. It’s very birdlike in tone and is a marvel of craftsmanship.
I have a Gen G. It is tiny, and it takes some concentration of where fingers are placed, because the spacing is close, but I don’t find it particularly cramped. I find the tone sweet and not particularly shrill. But then, I’m used to listening to the very high upper work of the pipe organ. It IS high pitched, of course, but if you focus your wind instead of providing sheer volume of wind, it’s not too bad. I enjoy playing mine for a diversion, although I’d probably never play it in a session or in a public venue.
I’m assuming it’s documented somewhere that it’s a G? Because the recording’s sounding a semitone down if it is and it could otherwise be an F sounding a semitone up…
In fairness, Ennis makes a fine job of it and while at it, puts to rest the notion that you need small hands to play one.
It doesn’t sound particularly shrill, but then it’s sounding as an F# whistle in the key of B (fingered G) there and barely out of the normal D whistle range when the highest note’s a sounded D# (fingered B).
I’m assuming it’s documented somewhere that it’s a G? Because the recording’s sounding a semitone down if it is and it could otherwise be an F sounding a semitone up…
I have always known the recording as sounding in G (Ennis’ Forty years of Irish piping recording) so I didn’t check when I looked up the clip yesterday. You’re right but there’s a possible explanation. Given the time the recording took place it’s not unlikely he was either using a little G like this:
or indeed an F of similar vintage. Tuning of those whistles can be sharp, from the key indicated on the instrument, by a semi-tone up compared to A=440 while others are at today’s pitch. I suppose it depends on when they were made and what standard pitch was in use at the time. The Generation F in the photo below is spot on in today’s F, for example.
So, playing speed of the tape aside, there’s a degree of uncertainty. On second thought, I wouldn’t perhaps rule out a high pitched F (I have a few of those and played along with the clip to compare tone). Willie Clancy used to play one of those all metal Fs as well, for his solo party pieces.
I had a (modern) Generation in high-g which was a screacher, even given my very modest whistling talents. That one didn’t last long!
I’ve a couple of the old brass-n-lead style high-g whistles, one of which might be a Generation. Most of those seem to play well enough. The one in “high-a” doesn’t quite play so well. They’re more or less like the ones Mr. Gumby kindly showed pictures of.
I’ve also got a Clarke (I think) high-g, which needs some fippular work, but I think will sound nice when set up.
