Where I live these are the cheapest whistles you can buy, so I have been keeping a small supply of them and giving them away to the kids friends and visiting musicians from other countries who I come across in the orchestral world.
I did a comparison with my sweettone and the difference seems to be that the metal is a bit heavier and the paint thicker. The plastic mouthpiece is not as well moulded and the biggest difference is the sharpness of the blade which is quite rough on the meg compared to the Sweettone. However it gives it a more interesting sound I think, closer to the direction of the clarke original. They don’t need much air either which is good for kids.
I did a recording today on one and it really does a good job, not bad for a n instrument that costs £3:
What a terrific idea, Gordon. The design of the Meg makes it an ideal first whistle, especially for those with smaller hands. Before the Meg was offered I would keep a handful of Sweetones around to give away to any youngster that showed an interest (and a few went to adults as well). Now I make my own whistles and hand those out when such an occaision comes along. I don’t know of another musical instrument that is so affordable that you can just give them away to get someone started playing.
Great playing, Gordon!
I used to have a Meg, and gave some away, too. I should have kept one. The mouthpiece on mine cracked, and like an idiot I threw it away instead of gluing it. I still have my Clarke original, through.
The megs are good players, and if they sound toyish sometimes, it just means you need to lean into it a bit more.
Hi there, I figured I would chime it a bit. I recently purchased a Jerry Freeman Clarke Sweetone and I really like it. It has that breathiness that is nice and cool and it has that innocent child-like tone. It’s my first conical bore whistle. I recently bought my sister who was recently diagnosed with cancer a feadog with the book and the Clare McKenna book on Irish whistle playing. She was delighted and has really enjoyed playing it and learning. She is laughing and really excited when we talk on the phone about the whistle world. So much joy from so humble an instrument. She is in the early stages of her cancer and hopefully (God-willing) she will pull through fine. Sorry to spill my guts a bit but I feel so good she is learning the whistle.
Gordon, I wonder how you would describe the style of your own whistle playing?
It’s definitely not Irish, with rapid-fire tonguing and recorder-like articulation and ornament. But it does remind me a bit of Alex Green, proponent of a self-described Northeast Scottish whistle style.
So I wonder if you’re after a particular approach, or if your playing is sui generis?
MT Guru, not to hijack this thread, but I do some pretty rapid-fire tounging with the Ballydesmond Polka in spots, but recently I stopped it and just played the notes in the fast part instead of the ta-ka-ta-ka kind of thing. Which is right? (I’m hoping you will say don’t tongue so fast, as I tend to push air in front of the tonguing on the low A whistle, and it changes the sound, not to mess with your verdict too much…)
OK, so I’m rambling, so what!!
Get thee behind me, Riverman! Seriously, I’m not going to bite that apple here. I’d really have to hear what you’re doing. I do use some double and triple tonguing (sparingly) in my own playing.
Two years at university. My punishment for choosing literature and linguistics instead of something more useful.
Get thee behind me, Riverman! Seriously, I’m not going to bite that apple here. I’d really have to hear what you’re doing. I do use some double and triple tonguing (sparingly) in my own playing.
Blast you, MT Guru! You’re just like those DOCTORS! You can’t diagnose me over the phone or give me a year’s subscription, you always have to see me and poke me!!
Every 2 years there is an arts day at the elementary school on the island where I used to live. There are all kinds of artists and projects for kids to do. The kids fill out a ticket (like a sushi one) on which activities they want to join in on. I used to do harp but now it’s grown to harp, whistle, flute, bodran, concertina…basically everything I mess with. The kids LOVE it.
I’ve been playing with the idea of getting a batch of meg’s for the next time I do this to pass out to the interested students. Do you know where I can get a bunch closer to wholesale for this purpose?
When I was gifting Sweetones, I bought them through Elderly Instruments in Lansing. I’ve known them for too many years. Anyway, they offered a good discount on bulk purchases of Sweetones. I was spending about $4 per whistle then if I recall correctly. Elderly still offers the Sweetone but with no discount for volume purchases. They do offer the discount on Megs though.
The cheapest way to do this is to make your own whistles. That’s what I do now. But the personal cost in time and effort is great, and there is the cost of the tools too. Maybe you could find a benefactor or sponsor to fund the whistles.
Good luck with the arts day. Let us know how things turn out.
Am I to understand that I can take my obsession to a whole new level? I am removing the thought from my consciousness before it takes hold. Wish me luck
Yes, remove that thought quickly and do not look back. I added the little bit about the cost of tools because that has to be well considered. You can make decent whistles with the common hand tools many people have at home. Check out Guido Gonzato’s low tech whistles. In fact you can make a whistle out of a plastic straw if you don’t care too much about the quality of the finished product. But like other obsessions some of us can’t stop there. But after you have the shop full of tools, the cost of materials for a non-tunable CPVC whistle is pennies.
Good luck, celticmodes.
I have to thank GordonH for brining up this topic. The Meg does indeed deserve commendation.
Hi, not sure why I didn’t see your reply and your question.
The Meg whistles are £3 here compared to a coffee in Starbucks which is about £2.25, so having a few spares and giving them away to visitors is not an expensive habit.
I am Scottish and I learned my style from playing with other local whistle players. I also had lessons at high school from a biology teacher! We used to get one afternoon a week for other activities and the teachers ran clubs based on their own interests. I went to the whistle classes. So a lot of my technique is the fault of a man called Alan Stevenson, who remarkably is still around. After early retirement from teaching he went into music, still has a band and I think an interest in a record label.
That recording is of a set that used to be played by a local dance band. The set was named after another old friend of mine called John Whyte who was an accordion player.
I am not an Irish music person and I tend to treat the whistle more like a flute.
The double and triple tonguing is probably the result of me being a trumpet player.
I don’t think there is one whistle style, although the Irish style is predominant in the USA.
Thanks so much, Gordon. Whenever I hear whistle played in a very different style, I always wonder if there’s a method behind it, or if it’s something idiosyncratic. In your case, it sounds like there’s a lineage, maybe in the context of Scottish Ceilidh.
There have been a few discussions here with Kenny Hadden and others about modern Scottish whistling and fluting, given the lack of a strong tradition of those instruments in fiddle-centric Scottish music. And there was a young lady a few years ago who wrote a Master’s paper at the University of Aberdeen about North East whistling, but I’ve yet to read it.
What I usually hear is a style rooted in Irish whistle, with an added influence of the more “percussive” elements of Scottish fiddle - double and treble bows, strathspey snaps, etc. Julie Fowlis’ playing is a good example.
For those who have reservations about the Meg / Sweetone, the Waltons Little Black Whistle is available for $4 US from Musician’s Friend, and also makes a good giveaway or classroom whistle.
That pretty much settles that bit of research. I had been cruising this part of the forum checking out people’s posts on the different tin whistles. I am still going to have Dan Bingamon make a tin whistle for me, but I am going to pick up a few of these Megs. My 3-yr had to have his own harmonica when I started playing them. He had to have his own guitar when I got one. He even had to have his own drum like daddy’s bodhran.
Seriously, I’m not going to bite that apple here. I’d really have to hear what you’re doing. I do use some double and triple tonguing (sparingly) in my own playing.
