Im a newbee to all blowing-instruments, and have had a whistle now for a few months, and I was just thinking: Is there any other instruments that you play on the same way as the whistle, but that sounds different?
I’ve been watching a lot of videos from concertes and listening to much celtic folkmusik lately, and noticed that there are a lot of instruments that sounds verry neat. Though I dont know a thing about them, what they are or how to play them.
Just think it would be cool if there was an instrument that sounds in a completely different way, but that a whistler could handle.
If you’re somewhat open minded, an Alto Recorder is a good choice and very similar to the whistle in terms of how to play. It has a completely different tone and feel, and it has a thumb hole which can be used for some interesting embellishments.
Also, the Fife is a very rich instrument with nearly identicle fingering to a penny whistle.
In addition to the fife, there’s the “Irish Flute”, which is six-holed, and fingered just like a whistle. In fact, I’m not sure there’s a clear line between fife and flute. As they get larger, (maybe at G or F), they start getting called “flutes”. Anyway, a whistler can finger any of those. It’s the overblowing that’s a challenge!
The so-called bamboo sax is similar playing to a whistle and has a totally different sound. Maui Xaphoon and Erik the Flutemaker both offer these. I haven’t tried one yet, but I bet that one of Daniel Bingamon’s PVC clarinets would also be a great other instrument for a whistler.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the sweet potato ocarina. These use an in-line fingering system similar to the whistle, and have a fipple mouthpiece like a whistle, but there is a uniqueness of tone… almost an other-worldliness… that distinguished the ocarina from other flutes. http://free.hostdepartment.com/o/ocland/
Ocarinas are great, but make sure you get one in a the key that your favorite songs can be played in! They only have one octave, and can’t be ‘tricked’ into playing (correctly, anyway) into a second one!
If you’re wanting to spend a few dollars (239 to be exact) go for the whistle player’s hornpipe. You can see details about it at www.newcelticinstruments.com. There will be a link for the Whistle Player’s Hornpipe. Listen to the MP3s, esecially “The Rolling Wave.” This is really an amazing instrument. If only money grew on trees…
My own favourite sacrelige is the Bombarde. It fingers the same as a whistle but generally has a key or 2. Having a double reed makes it a little like the pipes but is shunned by sessioneers for its loudness. There is a version of the bombarde called the “piston” that is pitched in D. The classical Oboe, by the way, is also in D - much the same as the common flute with keys configured to “trick” it into other keys to satisfy academia. All wet-double-reed instruments have a stigma attached by their respective cultures - the Turkish Zurna, for instance, is likened to a tortured donkey, while I have heard the Oboe referred to as “the ill wind that no one blows well” etc.
You could have a blast at the quena.
It has the same number of holes on the front as a whistle, with a thumbhole on the back which slightly alters the fingering. If you’re interested, I can elaborate on that.
If you want to see/hear one being played, there is some dodgy old footage on my site http://www.tonyhinnigan.com and I think there is also something on Phil Hardy’s site http://www.kerrywhistles.com
Oh, and the vibrato is different. Traditionally you would use throat vibrato, but, ultimately, it’s up to you. I play with whatever seems appropriate for the music.
I played Oboe in my youth - with the town millitary band - we had a long-note competition one night - after 2 minutes on a high B they stopped me, I thought it was out of hubris, but they assured me that that particular shade of purple was not seemly on the face of a town player! I also used to enjoy doing mosquito impersonations with the instrument.
Why not try the swedish spilapipa? It´s mostly tuned in a minor key (dala-moll). There are a lot of diffrent kind of spilapipa, some have 8 finger holes and there are those with 7 or even six finger holes. I play on an instrument made by Leif Eriksson (he makes swedish bagpipes as well) with 7 finger holes. The tonica note lies on the 4 th finger hole on this instrument.
Maybe I’m just a terminal curmudgeon, but you’d think that the maker would bother to
A: build it in tune or,
B: have someone who can play in tune demonstrate it?!
Makes sense to me.
