Low Whistle Keys (question)

[Cayden]

I have a newly aquired MK Pro in Low D and I am really starting to love the whistle. I have played high whistle for some time now and have the common issues for someone transitioning to a low whistle (mainly need lots of time spent developing natural muscle memory with the pipers grip) along with the nuances specific to low whistles.

My question is, in addition to a low D, what do members find to be the next most useful key of low whistle? Keep in mind that my interest lies primarily in The Irish trad style and I play primarily aires at this time both because I like them and because I cannot keep up with the speed of light tempo of jigs and reels. I would like to start challenging myself to learn to play both reels and jigs as I love them both.

In addition to the functionality of other low keys, are there differences with relation to ease of play (fingering relative to reach, hole coverage, and ability to play at quicker tempo), air requirements, and ease of access between both octaves with clean breaks and ease of reaching full rangenof notes cleanly?

Also, does anyone have an MK Pro in low D and if so, how do you like it?


Thanks for any help with these questions.

Cayden

[Lars_Larry_Mor_Mott]

I have a F and A, i use both pretty frequently. The A because of the ease of playing in D + the odd tune in A and the F to accompany songs in F and Bb.
I don’t own a low D anymore since i got my flute.

[Feadoggie]

@Cayden

My question is, in addition to a low D, what do members find to be the next most useful key of low whistle?

This is a frequent question. Cayden, there is an excellent search facility on this site. It can be used to answer a lot of questions like this. But I do not mean to stiffle discussion here by suggesting that.

The bottom line answer is this: the most useful keys will and should vary from player to player. It’s really about what you yourself need? As another poster here once put it “you need only what you need”. Here’s how I think about it.

@Feadoggie on October 15

I have, of course, the obligatory D, but I was wondering what else would be useful.

I think the answer to this question is a simple one. You only need a whistle that plays in the keys you encounter in your playing. It’s all driven by what and where you play. There are three reasons to get additional keys that make sense to me.

If you play sessions where tunes are regularly set in keys other than D and G and you want play along, buy the keys that you encounter the most or for the tunes you like the most. As others have said D, C, A and G whistles will get you very far. Or you could just sit out those tunes and wet your whistle, so to speak.

There are many reordings that you may want to play along with in the key presented in that recording. Once again buy what you encounter most frequently or the keys for the tunes you like the most. Lunasa like to play those low F whistles, don’t you know. Now, if learning the tune played in Eb on a recording is really what you want to do, you have two options besides buying another whistle. You can use software to shift the pitch of the recording down to D. There are many products that do this. Or you can search for the ABCs/dots which will likely be in D/G but if they are in another key just transpose to the key of D. Again, software can help with transposing if it hurts your head to do this the old fasioned way.

If you accompany singers or play regularly in a group you will need whistles in various keys. Again, buy the key you encounter most frequently first.

I only take a high D whistle to sessions or workshops - along with a D flute, usually keyless. You can travel far and not need another whistle beyond a high D. YMMV.

That said I have whistles in every key except C#, F# and Ab; I’ll make those keys myself if I ever need them.

Feadoggie

Since I posted that in 2007, I have made both low C# and F# whistles for particular projects (and I may never have a use for them ever again). So if you play in a lot of places you may want a whistle in every key eventually. If you don’t get around much, you can get a way with fewer whistles just fine. Buy what you need when you realize you need it. What keys do you need?

Different voices can be fun but learning to play the tunes should be the priority. The key of the whistle you play the tune on doesn’t matter too much. (Ok, some of those brooding tunes just call out for low er keys, don;t they?)

Feadoggie

[Cayden]

Mr. Blackwood thanks for your comments. Feadoggie, I very much appreciate the time and care you have taken in educating me on various aspects of whistles and related technique. I agree with you that time spent on the instrument should be priority one in the goal of improvement. Thanks again for all of your help.

Cayden

[MTGuru]

In order: D, F, A, G, E.

That’s assuming one already has a complement of high whistles down to Bb.

@Cayden

I play primarily aires at this time

Actually, there’s no such word as “aire”. A vocal melody played as an instrumental piece, or a tune in that style, is an air.

[Cayden]

MTGURU,
Thanks for your post. I stand corrected though I most often scribe it as “air”.

Cayden