Hey there- I am a newbie to all of this, having spent a lifetime playing the boehm flute. So am I better off picking up a low whistle or a flute? Do they sound the same? Is one more versatile than the other? Thanks in advance for any advice you could give me.
Hi and welcome!
If you already play flute, then it should not be too difficult to learn to play an “Irish” style flute. Perhaps the embouchure will be a bit difficult at the start, but you will soon learn it.
Although a six hole D flute is similar to a low D whistle in fingering and range, it is much more versatile in its expression. Of course the tone is not the same as most low D whistles, so it also a question what sort of tone you want. But generally I would recommend to pick up the six hole flute, and if you like what you can do with it, consider later upgrading to a keyed wooden flute.
Cheers,
~Hans
Try a Dixon polymer low whistle with flute head bundle. You’ll get to choose that way and it’s also a cheap way to start.
DX022 - Duo-Head Low Whistle/Flute
http://www.tonydixonmusic.co.uk/catalogue/dixonshop.html
Second Hans.
The Irish flute is an extraordinarily beautiful instrument that’s about
as satisfying to play as an instrument can be. The low D whistle is lovely
too but many people who play both (e.g. me) prefer flute
most of the time. A low whistle has the expressive limitations
of a whistle; a flute has the expressive advantages of
a flute. The Irish flute is a big league 19th century
orchestral instrument with a great sound that’s been
converted to ITM. If you have the chops already,
it would be a pity not to use them.
Concerning Irish flute, it’s a good idea to get the best flute
you can afford. It’s easy to spend lots of money on cheap
things that will never satisfy you. A good flute will last
you forever and, if somehow it isn’t for you,
it’s sellable.
Not that you shouldn’t play low D whistle, but if it were me
it would be in addition to flute. And you may find you
don’t wish to play low D whistle much after you
play an Irish flute.
yes
silly question, innit…flute
don’t listen to hoopy mike
I don’t think too many good flute-players spend a whole lot of time with their low whistles. I, personally, consider the low D more a novelty instrument. (And yes, some will vocally disagree with me).
Simple-system flutes are truly wonderful instruments, though. Get a good one.
I confess I envy people who play Irish flute after a ‘life time of playing Boehm’.
They have to relearn some things but gee they have a terrific head start.
And the instruments are still very different.
no one does 
well I listened to the lovely music you have posted.
aww thanks, Jim
You’re halfway there to Irish flute since you play a Boehm
You didn’t mention if you play ANY whistles at all…if not, by all means get a high D. Lots of fun, and pocket sized. Unless you already have a piccolo 
I’m an older guy, who loves playing Low Whistle .
However, if I were young (and more flexible!) I’d opt for the flute.
Both instruments can bring great joy.
Good luck!
Hey, common, I started flute when I was 60!
It’s easier to control than a low D whistle.
Hmmmm…
Well, I’m 64.
But you’ve got me thinking.
Hatha, here I come?
I’m 66 and Mike Rafferty is freaking 81, I think.
Unless there’s something in particular the matter,
age shouldn’t be an impediment.
I have a lot of trouble controlling low D whistles.
Holding a flute is something of a project, but
ultimately it’s easier for me. Absent some
disability, age is no problem.
The rest is developing embouchure and that’s
another project at ANY age.
Do what makes you happy, of course. But I don’t
see age as an issue. By the way, it’s nice
to have a passion as one grows old. Flute
definitely qualifies.
Would anyone care to elaborate on how the flute is “more expressive” than a low D? Isn’t that the player more than the instrument? I don’t see why there would be a technical difference between the two that would limit the expressive potential of a low D. Assuming non-keyed flute vs 6-hole low D.
Best,
Deisman
The Irish style flute and the low whistle are 2 completely different instruments. You should get both.
If you are used to the boehm style keyed-flute, you would probably appreciate Terry McGee’s embouchure cut - have a look at his website http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/ . However, there are many top-class flute makers to investigate - check out the flute forum here for more on flutes.
Low whistles are a different beastie. They sound different to flutes and the playing characteristics lend them to different expressive styles. The dynamic range on a low whistle is limited by the fixed embachure, it is true, however, you will find yourself reaching for a whistle to get sounds and a playing style that a flute cannot get. Once again, there are many top notch makers to investigate - a low whislte is very much like the higher types, they are inexpensive - even for very good ones - but they are a bit more expensive than the small whistles.
Get both 
I like both, and I would also recommend you to get both, but if I had to choose only one, I’d go with the irish flute, for sure.
Novaman, I’ve spent the last 30+ years playing both Irish flute and low whistle, and the bottom line is pretty much what Mr Stone mentions.
The flute is much more flexible because, as you well know, changes in embouchure can give a wide variety of timbres (tone colours) and volume. So you can make the flute sound hollow and tubby, or nasal and biting, etc. You can play the lowest notes on the instrument very powerfully and play the highest notes feather-soft.
The Low D Whistle has a fixed tone-production mechanism, meaning that it only produces an in-tune note at one blowing pressure. So, if you play in tune, you are limited in what you can do in the way of altering volume for expressive purposes. Also each Low D Whistle represents a design compromise: if a whistle is designed so that the low notes (especially low D, E, and F#) are more powerful, the high notes (especially high A and B, the highest normally found in Irish traditional music) will be too harsh, loud, and squawky. If the whistle is designed so that high A and B are sweet and soft, low E and F# will be wimpy.
A lot has to do with bore size: the bigger the bore the more powerful the low notes and the more harsh the high notes, the smaller the bore the sweeter the high notes and the wimpier the low notes.
Now that’s not to say that there aren’t low D whistles out there that sound and play great. There are. But, NO low D whistle can play low notes as powerfully, and high notes as sweet, as a flute.
Stylistically both instruments (low D whistle and Irish flute) are very similar, the main difference being that traditionally most Irish fluteplayers did little or no tonguing. Traditional high-whistle players did a lot of tonguing. The Low D Irish Whistle, being a recent invention, has had to find its voice, its style, and it seems to have settled in sort of halfway between the Irish flute and the high Irish whistle. Many low D whistle players play in more of a piping style than you often hear either on flute or high whistle. I myself do not tongue at all on the Irish flute, tongue a lot on the high whistle, and tongue a bit on the low D whistle.
I’ve taught a great many Irish flute workshops over the years and it’s often very difficult for people with a Boehm flute background to “get” the Irish approach to phrasing and articulation. They always ALWAYS tongue too much, wanting to create each 8th-note of a rapid reel or jig as a seperate entity, and it’s hard for them to come round to the Irish approach where these 8th-notes are simply part of an overall flow and have little individual value. Irish flute/whistle players do a lot of things with their fingers that you’re used to doing with your breath and tongue: vibrato, notebending, and articulation. Whichever you choose, flute or low whistle, you’ll have to recreate your approach from the ground up, if you’re ever to sound “native”.
By all means get the best Irish flute and low whistle you can. Coming from the Boehm flute you have developed rather high expectations of what an instrument can do, and these will only be met by a top-notch Irish flute and low whistle. You won’t be satisfied, I think, with poor-peforming instruments. You can read on this form endless discussions of what’s the best Low D, what’s the best Irish flute. Read as many discussion as you can, and though the amount of information and the variety of opinion will perhaps be overwhelming, the overall truth does eventually come out.
Hi pancelticpiper
Would the piping style of playing low D whistle not be explained by the fact that the low D first came into use in ITM via the piping fraternity.
David