First I really must apologize if this is the wrong place to post this. After searching through the forums I could understand the titles of I did not find one that appeared to be right for this question.
I want to learn to play the tin whistle. But I unfortunately suffer from “living on the wrong continent” as far as I can tell. I am in western Canada, Calgary AB specifically, and though I’ve looked for a someone any where near me to sell me a tin whistle the closest place I have found that lists is about 4000 km away in Eastern Canada. I have also found many places to order them online in the UK. I’m not opposed to this option but since tin whistles by and far don’t seem to be terribly expensive on the low end I really don’t like the idea of paying 3 or 4 times the cost of the whistle in shipping.
So the real question is do you fine folk (who were recommended to me by the way) know where one such as my self might find a very beginner tin whistle in western Canada? Even shipping from Vancouver would be better then Ireland or England.
Thank you very much for any answers that you might have, or even just saying hello.
Have you checked out Long and Mcquade in Calgary? They have Clarkes and likely others, too. The link above is to their store in Calgary. I usually order 50-60 Sweetone whistles from their Langley, BC store each spring for my students, so I can vouch for their reliability.
Definitely check out their band instrument counter. If you don’t see any whistles in stock, their computer will show how many (and what brands) are in their warehouse. I recall seeing Generations there too, at some point.
Or you could make your own, like I do, and many others.
Someone I know has been struggling with a Clarke, and found a PVC whistle easier to handle. The ones I make are polypropylene, but the principle is the same. All you need is a knife and a ruler, and maybe a saw and some sandpaper for the fipple. The DIY stores have the (plumbing) pipe, and also the dowel for the fipple.
Have a look here:
I’d second Long and McQuade…in Eastern Canada they also own or are associated with Musicstop, and you see L & M labels on some of the gear. They usually have a good selection of Generations and original Clarkes, plus Megs (haven’t seen any Sweetones though), and my local shop usually has a couple of Chieftains and sometimes some Susatos if you find you like the whistle. My shop may be an anomaly though, as I’m in Cape Breton, and traditional music is pretty strong here…other shops may only have the Clarkes and Gens. I bet they could bring in anything you want though.
I’m in Red Deer AB.
I haven’t been to the music stores in Calgary yet, planned to hit them last week along with the flea market but that fell through..
But I’ve visited the one here in Red Deer and two in Edmonton.
Gordan Price Music (http://www.gordonpricemusic.com/)
Has a collection of cheap whistles. They have waltons (I have an older Walton in D, one of my favourite whistles for control and sound) Clarkes and Generations.
The other store i went to was in the West Edmonton mall. Waste of a trip, they’re centered on the more ‘normal’ instruments like Pianos and Mandolins. Although they did have some Bohrans coming in from Newfoundland, but no whistles.
The store here in Red Deer only has generations. I got one in C and Bb and G. Not my favourites, but having the G is handy when i want to play along with my sisters Ocarina and don’t want to mentally work out how to play the tune in G on a D whistle.
If you want to get a more expensive whistle later on, Obrien whistles (http://www.obrienwhistles.com/) Are nice, I have a set from him, and hes making them in Chilliwack BC. I can’t remember now how long it took to get them here, but it was a short wait.
Ordering a clarke from Amazon won’t work though, i tried that. Amozon.ca doesn’t have half the items on Amazon.com, and Amazon.com refused to put the order for a Clarke through to Canada.
I still haven’t gotten one, decided to make my own instead.
Although the harmonicas I wanted to get at the same time had the same problem, and had to be ordered from ebay.
You may also look for local “Irish” shops. I would expect that in Calgary with it’s scottish and irish ties, there’ll be a place to buy a whistle locally. Even in Phoenix, I found a small Irish store (actually in Tempe) that sells Feadog whistles.
Surely there may also be music stores in malls such as the Chinook Mall that sells whistles, not that I’ve ever looked for a music store there, but it’s a big enough mall.
I didn’t even think of Long and McQuade even though it is the biggest and best music store in town. I haven’t been in years and don’t recall ever seeing any thing other then normal instruments there. But I was an oboe player at the time searching for reeds that didn’t need to much extra work. I’ll have to give them a call.
I know there are bagpipe (and related) stores in town I’ll have to give them a call and see if any of them stock tin whistles as well.
I’ve seen plans for PVC whistles but I’m wary about doing a good job on the fipple. I was also concerned that they wouldn’t have the same sound quality. But I’ll have to look into that now.
And finally, yeah I’m aware of the Amazon thing. Its partly what prompted me to find this board. Amazon.com most often refuses to ship to Canada and I imagine Amazon .co.uk also does, making them poor options.
But thank you all so much! This gives me a hope of finding a whistle on this side of the ocean, even if I have to make it myself! I’ll keep you posted and I’m sure I’ll have more questions in the future.
I cannot remember the name. It is located in the small strip mall on the SE corner of Priest and University. They also sell English biscuits and have a decent collection of tea.
I purchased my Feadog there a couple of years ago and haven’t been back since. We’ve had so many visitors from across the water visiting our son that we’ve still got a good stock of tea and biscuits.
I just googled it:
The Irish Gift House,
335 W University Dr # 7
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 731-9755
With any luck, I’ll begin whistle lessons at the AZ Irish Center. My wife is urging me, probably her ears are desperate for me to improve. Although she even mentioned us going to have ceili lessons there! Anyway, when I chatted with the guy who looks after their shop, he mentioned have a good stock of Irish and English produce BUT… no Pot Noodles!
