About finger spacing, here are “high whistles” in various keys:
About the bigger whistles, I took this photo to show Highland pipers how much bigger the spacing on Low Whistles is than on Highland chanters.
L-R Bass A, Low C, Low D, Low Eb, Low/Mezzo F, Highland chanter, High D
If you want to hear all these being played https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-fQhvleWq8&t=159s
Yes you’ll hear different people using different terms for various whistle pitch ranges. It’s inconsistent, and mostly unnecessary.
When I started playing all there were few whistles available:
Generations in (from lowest to highest) Bb, C, D, Eb, F, and G.
Clarkes in C.
And that was it.
These whistles were all called, simply, “whistles”. There was no need for any other denominators.
Then, according to Finbar Furey
“Bernard and I, over the summer of 1970, designed and manufactured the first of the Overton flutes.”
The title “flute” didn’t last long, and soon enough people starting calling these “Low Whistles”. Then the backformation “High D Whistle” was coined to avoid confusion.
Even today many/most people just use “high” and “low” because usually it’s sufficient.
High: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G (the old Generation keys)
Low: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G (some of the new Overton “low whistle” keys)
“A” whistles could just be called that at first because there were no others. But then Overton started making huge Low A whistles, a fourth lower than the Low D.
And Overton started making huge Low G whistles, a fifth below the Low D, so now you had THREE octaves of G whistles.
(Here are G whistles in three octaves by Alba)
So what to call all these things?
Some continued to call the one in the middle the “Low G” and the huge one the “Bass G”.
Some called the huge one the “Low G” and the one in the middle “Mezzo G” or “Alto G” or “Tenor G” or what have you.
I think some of the names are borrowed from Recorder naming practices, which is logical if you’re a recorder player, but potentially mystifying if you aren’t.
My primary whistles are my D whistles (high and low) followed by my low G whistle. For me, starting with the Bb was easiest to make small steps down to the low D, but that’s only because that was the most comfortable option for me and my hands. If you’re still using tab, then I would look and see what are the primary keys you come across and use that to help your decision. You can transpose songs to work with any whistle (think of it as a capo on the guitar) but might not be the most beneficial if you want to learn to not rely on tab.
-Mel
Now I’m even more confused. If they call the big one a tenor G and Freeman is calling his a tenor G https://www.ebay.com/itm/Freeman-Whistle-Tweaked-brass-tenor-G-Generation-Tin-Penny-LISTEN/281489765413?epid=1048569204&hash=item418a18f425:g:VtQAAOSwBP9UXCt~ his looks a lot smaller than yours. Would either of the Freeman G or A Whistle Tweaked brass alto A Generation https://www.ebay.com/itm/Freeman-Whistle-Tweaked-brass-alto-A-Generation-Tin-Penny-LISTEN/281481947336?epid=1148614703&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4189a1a8c8:g:aJwAAOSwF1dUPGzf&enc=AQAEAAACMBPxNw%2BVj6nta7CKEs3N0qXK38szlzc804w7gHXWWBXCGhx5BX%2B41ANDlmsa1iwg0ATOF6qIUyeRxuW0fdI0AqoVLEfk3%2F%2BFYaEcPh7M2WMoE7LlwSGciI6akHwp6EYwREftR8Mi9nmfhGXPN8PFLIxA7KXtY8Ek8HHAGhO4%2BfY49SMr%2BZnXzfMqhgh7C1fcR1LzIFYEXoHcRFrX7NUxvQPIeX13UJDf%2BeZSHTQeNW6%2FXp40XrEobRjaRzkEi7KAfea0Xc%2FLlIAuonmb3qz7pbp3OS00V%2Fxq%2FJOwzyDvkVJf4KZaLb4N72tY38tCEmdzWV4e1NVwVRb5bUHCEgXrwsGV%2Frb8kHH8Ad3knHRQwtAyH6WkmnnRn9PYJXoQ8GidQrdhvgt2lc1BRfVa%2FP%2Fsr%2FBmpDG3kdA415Hf457RtM%2BhoPOKgQt1q%2FG8H45Gzpxd5ySW7RWCwnxsQ5TzUTXkBKqv9sQr457roczLOouvmcC732idZMNwIxXgBwVZc9LLhqFmkRuJ1lg25oi%2FdwOK%2BtmG7i3mZkJsyNpx0ugcDYCe03%2F0JE3fXMFowyHW0Yqu5vDEORZcgrNwvm0YJAjZOBSE3Oxxj%2B1b0gWLQcja0Ic327rzltJNiep4dA22%2Fo31xBbSi3kVQ7W26glA3cH3JVA7JRGujI%2FBQJvFsbl504e8tnJ1kmOKc5iQ0ZvaalGZqxbdjRQ3fl7RGNFSFL3xTRMC9dIHJem%2BZKLGDOvxr1y1&checksum=28148194733611b36ece9d094387b8d00385414095d2&enc=AQAEAAACMBPxNw%2BVj6nta7CKEs3N0qXK38szlzc804w7gHXWWBXCGhx5BX%2B41ANDlmsa1iwg0ATOF6qIUyeRxuW0fdI0AqoVLEfk3%2F%2BFYaEcPh7M2WMoE7LlwSGciI6akHwp6EYwREftR8Mi9nmfhGXPN8PFLIxA7KXtY8Ek8HHAGhO4%2BfY49SMr%2BZnXzfMqhgh7C1fcR1LzIFYEXoHcRFrX7NUxvQPIeX13UJDf%2BeZSHTQeNW6%2FXp40XrEobRjaRzkEi7KAfea0Xc%2FLlIAuonmb3qz7pbp3OS00V%2Fxq%2FJOwzyDvkVJf4KZaLb4N72tY38tCEmdzWV4e1NVwVRb5bUHCEgXrwsGV%2Frb8kHH8Ad3knHRQwtAyH6WkmnnRn9PYJXoQ8GidQrdhvgt2lc1BRfVa%2FP%2Fsr%2FBmpDG3kdA415Hf457RtM%2BhoPOKgQt1q%2FG8H45Gzpxd5ySW7RWCwnxsQ5TzUTXkBKqv9sQr457roczLOouvmcC732idZMNwIxXgBwVZc9LLhqFmkRuJ1lg25oi%2FdwOK%2BtmG7i3mZkJsyNpx0ugcDYCe03%2F0JE3fXMFowyHW0Yqu5vDEORZcgrNwvm0YJAjZOBSE3Oxxj%2B1b0gWLQcja0Ic327rzltJNiep4dA22%2Fo31xBbSi3kVQ7W26glA3cH3JVA7JRGujI%2FBQJvFsbl504e8tnJ1kmOKc5iQ0ZvaalGZqxbdjRQ3fl7RGNFSFL3xTRMC9dIHJem%2BZKLGDOvxr1y1&checksum=28148194733611b36ece9d094387b8d00385414095d2 (I don’t know why links are so long, sorry) actually be low whistles or just modified high whistles?
They are modified high whistles.
The Freeman tweaked whistle is around the size of the whistle in the middle. In the photo are three octaves of G. The top whistle is a high G, which is smaller than the high D. The middle whistle is the tenor or low G, and is just slightly larger than an A whistle (which is just bigger than a Bb). The bottom whistle is the bass G (also sometimes called low when the middle is considered tenor), which is even larger than a low D. The G whistle on the bottom isn’t as common, so the one in the middle tends to be the lowest G you’ll come across. The naming of tenor and low whistles can seem confusing on first introduction, but it does get easier.
shrug
Instrument nomenclature has never been anything like consistent. Alto sax and soprano clarinet play in about the same range. Bass clarinet and baritone horn play in about the same range. The tenor horn and alto horn are the same thing. Recorders are all over the place.
I see no good reason why whistles should buck the trend by being needlessly logical.
Personally, I prefer four ranges: bass G, low g, high g and wee g to describe the basic octaves available.
I really like all of my Freeman whistles–D, C, Bb, and G. But I will caution you that I can’t comfortably play the G given the hole spacing–for me it require’s a piper’s grip, and I haven’t developed mine yet. I don’t own the Freeman A, but based on the Bb, and other makiers’ A whistles, I think I’d be ok with it. It’s about the limit of the stretch I can get to cover the holes with my finger tip pads, and still do cuts and rolls with close the same ease as on smaller instruments.
I’m male, about 5’ 9", with typical hands, I think.
I’m not recommending against the G (or lower). But for me it introduces additional challenges that I’m not yet ready to work on.
Good advice above. I don’t think you can go wrong with a Bb; it was important to me on the way to low D, and it is a beautiful whistle on it’s own. We have several Generation Bb’s here in nickel and brass, and they are all nice. At one point, for me it was very challenging, and I didn’t think I would ever get on to it. There is a learning curve to it. Same with low D. It seemed impossible at first; now it’s easy and familiar, but it took time.
You asked about A whistles, and they are one of my favourite whistles. I have Sindts in Bb and A. I think they play in a very nice range, and are not too hard too handle once you get used to them. Playing by yourself, not much to chose between the two. If you are playing along to records, I don’t know… with A you can play along to D tunes, I don’t find many recordings in Bb. If playing trad music with other people, you will find yourself pushed back to D, either high or low, I think.
Eventually, you might want them all: top of my list are low Eb, E, F and G.
I think the Jerry Freeman A and G whistles are based on the Generation Bb head and tubing.
Essentially they’re just stretched Generation Bb’s.
I posted a photo above of my Generations (all labelled for clarity) going down to an A.
Freeman’s G is just one note lower than the A I show.
Since the A and G are midway between a High D and a Low D, I think the term “mezzo” is hard to beat for clarity.
I was looking at the Alba site and she uses the various terms in a way that seems a bit confusing to me. I’d bet that if you made a chart of the whistle terminology used by 10 different makers you might find 10 different naming approaches.
Bb is an absolutely delightful pitch. It limits your ability to play with others. The finger stretch is not bad but for the smallest hands. I play a Sindt, but the Generation whistles are fine for a low price.
Thanks everyone. Last night I spent time reading old posts with tweaked Freeman’s in the title. I think I am going with an A whistle (I scraped up another $20). Some more experienced players found that the G was more difficult for them, at least for a while.
I have a $15 gift card from Amazon and I’m going to grab a Generation Bb (untweaked) from them. If I am lucky it will be a decent one.
That will leave me with 2 D’s, a Bb and an A. I hope these will be enough to help train me for a low D.
I think I’ll do a little more research into who sells A’s and how much they are. I bet Jerry’s will be the cheapest; and probably be the best by the sound of the reviews. Around $50 is my limit.
Once I get good at those will they be enough whistles to train me for a low D? I know I’ll have to save up for them and then it will probably be a cheap plastic one. Any recommendations on those especially the ones that require the least air and don’t sound too bad?
Tony Dixon - I have the Trad ‘A’ (costs about £40), & they have a one piece ABS low ‘D’ that sounds pretty good to me, I have one, (as well as a couple of more expensive ones).
The Jerry Freeman A is a very good whistle and affordable. It’s the A I play the most. He modifies a Generation Bb head and attaches it to a his own tone body. His G is also wonderful; it is similar in design to the A but has a breathier voice. I am unable to play the low D because of an old thumb injury so the mezzo A and G are the lowest I can go. In this regard, the Generation-based head and the thin walled brass tone body Jerry Freeman uses make it comfortable for me to play. But most of all, I really like how it sounds.
I should definintely get those two keys. They are the ones by Jerry that I’d be most interested in because of the whistle body he makes himself.
Does anyone know about the Tony Dixon ALTO TRADITIONAL WHISTLE in key of A?
I found Tony Dixon’s Alto Trad. whistle in A (brass) in my price range. He even offers free shipping to the states. Jerry Freeman’s A whistle (with his own body and a tweaked Generation head) is more than the Dixon. Does anyone have either one or both of these? What do you think of them? Thanks.
Since this has veered off the B’s should I start a new post to ask about the Dixon’s? I did a search and couldn’t really find anything on Dixon Trad. A brass.
I just posted a thread where I take a look at the various naming systems used by different makers, where they agree, where they are totally inconsistent
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/whistle-naming-practices/101336/1
I don’t know if it will help, or help confuse.
The Dixon Trad ‘A’ is a good whistle. 
I have both the Freeman A and the Dixon A. I prefer the Freeman. They are both good, but to me, the Dixon requires more careful breath control. The Freeman is beautifully voiced and very forgiving.
I ended up ordering The Dixon Trad. brass A as I could get it on Amazon and had a gift card. With the gift card I only paid $11. It does take a little more breath control but it’s not that bad to adjust to it. I can easily go back and forth between D Killarney and the Dixon A. The finger spacing is obviously farther on the Dixon, but the only real stretch is on the last hole and it is doable. There was a little strain on that finger at first but now it doesn’t bother me very much. I tried to experiment with the pipers grip but the holes seemed to close together for it to work right.