Which whistle is more likely to be used in a session? The low A, or G?
The G is a lovely cross cousin for all the stuff you would do on a D whistle that doesn’t involve C#.
The A is a pretty kin cousin for all the stuff you would do on a D whisttle which does not involve a C.
Get them both I say. Having a trinity of whistles could hardly be unIrish.
Get them both is good advice. If you can only get one the A would probably be more useful.
In theory, they should both be about equally useful. In practice, I use my A a lot more in sessions.
Come to think of it, this may be simply because I’ve got a nice A whistle I don’t mind leaving put together in my backpack, but all my Gs are long enough / delicate enough that I take them apart and put them away when they are done.
Though really, I don’t know what tunes I’d use a G for, other than “Michael Reilly’s” (aka “Twilight in Portroe” in G), and I’ve taught myself to play that with octave compression on the D.
Are we talking about a low G VS a soprano A or a low G Vs. a Low A?
Well, from what I’ve gathered, there is no “soprano” A. Or, “high” A I guess. A “high” A, would be smaller and more shrill than the Generation G… And I’m thinking probably impossible to play, let alone pointless to play other than calling in your dogs…
I’m talking about the A that would be right below say, a Generation Bb. Then the “low” A, would be called a low low A, or I guess a Bass A. What a behemoth…
That’s what I meant, soprano would’ve been the wrong word to use, my mistake. I was wondering if you were aking about the A just below a Bb whistle versus a Low G, or if you were talking about a Low G versus a Low A. Sorry for the confusion.
If I’m understanding you correctly now, you’re asking about an A whistle versus a Low G? If that is the case then I think Talasiga had the best answer.
You might notice that the A just below the Bb happens to be just one size up from the Low G anyway.
I think most people use Low A and A to mean the same thing. If talking about an even lower A, most would use BASS A.
Yes this is true but it would be better to say 
alto A and G
As we all say low D But Bass A and G would be correct 
Bass A is doable but bass G is a monster and you have to have very long arms and fingers 
I use the A more, but couldn’t get by without the G as well.
This doesn’t help much, I’m sure.
Mike
The unfortunate thing about an A whistle is that you don;t get the bottom G. (I know that sounds moronic but allow me to explain!)
90%+ of all A tunes are Mixolydian or Dorian, and a great deal of those rely on the flattened 7th below the tonic (ie G).
I’ve enquired with Colin Goldie about getting an A whistle with a 7th hole for the G and a back thumbhole for C-natural. That would be an awesome session whistle.
I’d think a bass A whistle would be insanely difficult to play, but flutes in that key are workable.
Don’t have a Low A, but I’ve found the Low G (Dixon) useful in session for key-of-G songs or when the C/G concertina comes out to play.
Every so often, our sesh rolls out Scotland the Brave, starting in D, 2nd time thru in G, 3rd time thru in A. I’ll give it a shot with the Low G next time and see what happens.