I need help fast! (please)

Whistle
1

Hello everyone,

I’m a professional flutist who has never played the penny whistle. I play a traditional silver flute. Alas, I’m playing flute in a concert that requires me to double on the penny whistle for a short Irish jig (in 10 days!!) I’d like to know what I should buy. The jig is in the key of G and if I understand correctly, I should be able to accomplish this on a D whistle. But, it needs to produce a C natural. I need advice on what I can get that would work. I think my local music store may have the Clark D whistle so is this a good choice?

I just found out I’ll have to play the whistle, hence the panic. However, I’ve wanted to get a whistle for awhile and now is as good a time as any. Many, many thanks in advance.

2

Hi, and welcome. We’d need to know the actual tune (jig) you plan to play to say with certainly what would work. But yes, in general a D whistle is commonly used to play G tunes, and traditional G tunes from the Irish wind repertoire will fit in the range of a D whistle. C naturals are played by either cross-fingering, or by half-holing the top hole. The lowest note is D (there’s no C foot).

As for the whistle … We’d need to know the setting: amplified or not, large venue or small, accompanied or not.

Clarke make 2 types of D (and C) whistle: the Original, and the Sweetone/Meg.

The Original is a single piece, and non-tunable. If you’re playing with accompaniment, that can be an issue. The tone is breathy with low backpressure, and not as loud or penetrating as some other whistles, which may be a problem in a larger venue.

The Sweetone/Meg is 2 piece, and can be tuned to a degree if you can move the head. The tone is clearer and a bit louder. Some are reported to have intonation issues. They’re available in black and natural colors, but stores sometimes have them only in garish primary colors.

Other non-local inexpensive and reliable choices available to you might be:

o A tweaked whistle from Jerry Freeman. His Mellow Dog or “GenDog” might be a good all-around choice. 2 day USPS priority shipping standard. Contact info in this thread: https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/cp-gendogs-for-sale-new-frankenwhistle-soundclips/67997/1

o A Dixon Trad D from someplace like Hobgoblin Music or Whistle & Drum.

o A Susato Kildare D whistle directly from Kelischek

You can ask for expedited shipping, and have them in 1 or 2 days. The Freeman and Susato are fairly loud and louder; the Dixon has a quieter voice. All are tunable.

Good luck!

3

Good advice, but I wonder if there is a local shop in her area that carries an Oak or a Generation. She needs to get this whistle soon so she can practice. I agree with being wary of Clarks. If she orders, she can always buy the Clark anyway, practice on it until the other arrives, then switch.

4

If she lives in the Cleveland are, I’d let her borrow.

5

I’d guess South Carolina.

Oconee isn’t too common a word.

6

Don’t buy a Clark or anything else that can not be tuned. Some of them are nice whistles, but I’m assuming you’ll be playing with others where the pitch level will need to be matched. You can get a Susato D direct from http://www.susato.com/konakart/Welcome.do quite rapidly if you can’t find one locally, or at some web site.. Susato makes tunable and non tunable so be sure you get the right one. You can spend more for a whistle but the Susato will be a satisfactory whistle for a long time. There are other whistles that are good, but this is a quickly available one that will satisfy in your rush.

C natural is fingered OXX OOO (X is finger down) Some whistles will need a finger or two down on the lower hand to bring it into tune. You’ve already got the motion down from the flute so it should not be a problem

7

where are you?

8

What I’d like to know is who was the professional who required a concert flautist to double on a tin whistle with 10 days notice? I know ten and tin look similar but thats not relevant.

9

Hi Rachelellen,

I have a tunable Susato D that I’m not using right now. I’d be happy to lend it to you. If you can pm me your address, I could send it to you tomorrow. As long as you are located here in the states, you’d have it in plenty of time. You might want to pick up the one at your local music store to practice on for now.

10

Hmmm…

Get a real whistle player to join you!

He or she will be able to play the jig and you can concentrate on the flute playing :wink:

\

C nat = OXXOOO or OXXXOO or OXOXXX or OXXOXO or %OOOOO (ie half-hole the top tonehole and bring the C nat in tune by using your ear…gives a very trad Irish slurred effect)


Boyd

11

I tend to agree. I mean if it’s just background music in church or a nursing home, that’s one thing. If this is a real concert, and you’re not a whistler, I wouldn’t take it on. The tin whistle is a “real” instrument, and can’t be learned in ten days.

12

I agree with this. Even in my heyday of playing tenor sax (which has extremely similar fingering to a whistle) in a symphonic band, I’d be hard pressed to do this. Mastering the breath control is one thing, but learning the right ornamentation to make it sound authentic would have been a completely different beast. At least, for me. I know the learning curve is not as steep for some as it is for me! :blush:
I’d be very interested to hear a follow-up to this when all is said and done.

13

More than can be learned in ten days, but a great resource: http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/
There’s even a page specifically on jigs.

14

I’d like to thank everyone for the great advice about how to start on the whistle. I’m getting a Mellow Dog whistle; It should be here on Wednesday. I especially appreciate the detailed and encouraging responses I received from a few of you. I’m definitely using some of that advice. It’s nice to have a community of folks to share what they love. Thanks to all!!

15

Thats getting very precise I’d say. You will do well with whistle.
:smiley:

16

The Mellow Dog is a great whistle, the only I play every day. Best of luck to you. :thumbsup:

17

I wanna know how things turn out.

18

She should have said couple instead of few, then she would have been spot on. Unless she left out the word ‘detailed’, then few would have be absolutely precise. Unless of course we take the words ‘detailed’ and ‘encouraging’ to be stand alones, in which case the word ‘several’ would have been the most precise word instead of ‘few’. I personally would take the section as a whole, ‘detailed and encouraging’, this would bring me back to using the word ‘couple’ :poke: :smiley: .

All jokes aside, I wish the lady all the best with her foray into whistle playing, however long (or short) it lasts.


Mick

19

Can you imagine the reverse situation - a whistler being asked to play a concert flute at ten days’ notice?

My first (jazz) band was called “Ten Days’ Notice”. Happy days…

20

Indeed. Inquiring minds want to know. Nosey ones, too!