I am new to this site but I notice in the discussion on whistle keys in the Tutorial the comment:
“However if you see a whistle listed as “A”, you can be sure it is a Low A because no one makes a high A.”
I recently purchased a little brass whistle in an antique shop which I initially thought was a toy. It is well made about 19.5cm long has a lead fipple and is stamped with an ‘A’. It is in excellent pitch (A) and plays quite sweetly, nothing like my Generation G. It looks old - Can anyone shed any light on origin or age?
One of these ?:
The one in the photograph is 21 cm long and stamped ‘G’ but like most of the older whistles it actually sounds a semitone above a=440
The type itself is relatively common, they were made from the mid 19th century to well into the 20th. Various brands come up, one of them the actual forerunner to the Generation whistle which originally was made in this form.
As far as I know high and low is listed like this:
high whistles: G, F, E, Eb, D, C, B, Bb, A
low whistles: low G, low F, low E, low Eb, low D, low C, low B, low Bb
a high A or low A is the same. An A is the lowest high whistle and often called a low whistle.
Somewhere on C&F there’s mentioned a high A that is higher than a high G. There seems to be someone who makes it, but question is whether it can be played and listened to it properly or especially suitable for calling dogs.
The initial post mentions a 19.5 cm whistle. A high A. Not a low one.
True Peter, now I see, a real high A indeed.
Thanks Guys, Yes it is exactly like the picture but stamped A. I searched the message board but found no other reference to a high A. Actually you are not quite right about the dog; he leaves the room when I play it.