Key of E anyone?

Whistle
1

I’m new to these forums, so let me first introduce myself. My name is Katie and I have been playing the whistle for about 6 years now. My question is this…

I recently came into contact with someone who would like me to play in his band. I’ve never played in a band, or in front of people at all for that matter. I went to practice with them with my Sweet Heart professional D whistle. As it turns out, most of the songs they play are in E so now I am on the hunt for a nice sounding E whistle.

Does anyone have any suggestions for something that is affordable and pleasant sounding? I looked at Elfsongwhistles.com and they have affordable E whistles. I found a Cheiftain Low E on Ebay, but I have a Kerry Low D and a Cheiftain C and am not very fond of either.

I’m also wondering if maybe I should be setting my sites on an A whistle instead.

Any input would be appreciated!

2

One of the whistlers in our session, Jen Felio, has an Elfsong E that is just wonderful.

–James

3

Is that a High E or a low E?

4

Those are pretty whistles. I can feel an attack of WhOA coming on for a rainbow cotton candy in sassy brass. I just need to decide what key.

Thanks for mentioning Elf Song. And welcome to the forum. :smiley:

5

I like my A whistle for playing in E and occasionally my high E at the moment. However, when you find your perfect E whistle please post what it is as i’m also interested in buying a low E.

6

Jen’s is a high E.

–James

7

I have a very beloved high e whistle.

It was made by Mack Hoover and donated to a raffle we had on here years ago. I won it.

It is the sweetest more exquisit sound I have for solo stuff and then its also useful for playing rock and roll in E and A, lol.

Nancy

8

Hoover, O’Brien, Bingamon, and Burke are some that I know who make whistles in high E. Oh, and Susato, of course. I think all of the above (Except O’Brien) could make a Low E also.

9

I have a Burke low-E composite that’s wonderful. I don’t play whistle anymore, so I’d part with it for 75% of the current list. PM or email me if interested.

10

Are we talking about Eb…because if not I didn’t even know they made an E…I’ve decided to buy C and Eb (the only reason is because Flogging Molly uses a Eb and I could play along with the CDs)

*edit…I looked it up and found some Es (sorry for my ignorance), which is more practical the E or Eb for sessions?

11

Nope, I’m talking about an E natural. I have an E flat which isn’t really helping me at the moment lol Who’d have thought and E whistle would be so hard to come by. I’m starting to think I should get an A too…And of course those aren’t as easy to come by and I’d hoped either lol

I’ll have to check my collection. I could have sworn I had a cheap one by Generation. But now that I’ve looked, I don’t see that Generation even makes one.

12

Well, unless you’re planning on playing in (as far as I can tell mythical) Eb sessions, the Eb is pretty darn useless for sessions. I don’t think I’ve ever used one of mine at a session. (If I have, it was probably in duet with a Bb whistle when all the non-whistle players had gone home for the evening.)

E, on the other hand, is moderately handy for playing tunes in A or E in sessions. Not the commonest of things, but it does happen every now and then. More often if you’re hanging out with Canadian or Scottish fiddlers. (I picked up a lovely A major crooked reel from Quebec’s Pascal Gemme over the summer – sounds grand when played in a low E whistle / fiddle combo. Doubly so if the fiddle is tuned AEAE.)

13

I was told an E whistle is good for following the fiddles when they go up to A. So far I have never played with fiddles who do that. It would be fun though.

14

The Mason’s Apron is a tune which fits very well on the E whistle, although it’s certainly playable on the D as well.

–James

15

Well, let me be the first to mention Overton as another maker of high and low E whistles. ( and every other key of whistle you could think of!) I don’t play mine much, but it has a very wonderful sound.

16

I have an O´Brien E wich I find very good. And the A is the best of my Water Weaselsl. But it might be hard to find one now…

17

Hi Katie, welcome to the C&F whistle forum. Is that Chieftain C a high C or low C? There is someone else that is looking for a low C, and you can post it here if you would like to sell it.

18

And then there is always the Alba Low E/D combo I`m selling down the list a ways :slight_smile:

Take care

Tom

19

Can’t you do everything on a D is you don’t mind messed up fingering…I guess i’m scared to get into new keys because I don’t want to relearn anything…right now i have two Ds and a completely useless generation G what are some common session keys?

20

Well, have no fear of relearning anything when switching keys. Everything is the same no matter what key of whistle you have. It’s actually much easier to find a whistle in the propor key than to half-hole a D to make it fit (in my opinion). Of course, a good ole D is the way to go if you only own one whistle.

My Cheifton is a High C. It’s really a lovely whistle, I just don’t care for the thicker metal that it’s made of. Of course…of all my C’s, it is my favorite. I bought this goofy whistle at a gypsy shop for $5 a couple months ago that has been giving it some stiff competition though. I should take a picture of it actually. I’d be interested to know if anyone here would be able to identify it.