I’ve recently started playing the whistle (again) after a hiatus of about a decade. I was never a great player, so I don’t have to regain a lot of skill .
However... I recently replaced a very out-of-tune Generation D with a Clarke D (Original). And now I want to try some new whistles.
So...I'm going to order two new whistles, most likely one Susato D and one Dixon D, just to see the differences.
The question I have is this: is it unwise for a new player to buy tunable whistles? Is it generally a problem for inexperienced whistlers to keep the whistle in tune?
Also, I was going to order the Cotter tutorial book. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd like to hear them (unless the suggestion is "give up now").
i really don’t think it matters if you get a tunable whistle or not. the only reason i have one is for when I’m playing with a large group and tuning is an issue
I have a tunable Susato VSB D. It seems to be acceptably in tune with itself throughout its meager tuning range, so I don’t worry about it. Nice whistle, by the way.
On 2002-06-12 22:48, douga wrote:The question I have is this: is it unwise for a new player to buy tunable whistles? Is it generally a problem for inexperienced whistlers to keep the whistle in tune
Hi Douga! There is no earthly reason for not getting a tunable whistle, if one is available. It’s not like it takes a tremendous amount of skill, practice, ear, to tune a whistle, and if you don’t get it exactly right, its still perfectly playable with itself. Unlike my primary instrument, the hammered dulcimer, that takes a solid hour to tune if I let it go more than a week or two, and sounds awful if the job isn’t done properly.
I have both the Cotter book and Ochs, and between them I picked up the basics of whistling. The Cotter has a more extensive list of tunes, and I have used it since learning those basics.
A dear friend sent me a birthday gift of “110 Ireland’s Best Tinwhistle Tunes” by Waltons, compiled by Claire McKenna. This isn’t a tutor but a very nice selection of tunes, starting off with slow airs with all the whistle hole notation and going on to more advanced stuff. You can also buy it with accompanying CD–a 2 CD set, actually–that has a whistle player playing every tune accompanied by a guitar player in the background. VERY helpful for hearing how the tunes are supposed to sound, for someone like me who hasn’t been raised with it.
Anyway, like I said, it isn’t a tutor, but if you want to learn tunes, I highly recommend it.
MCM Transatlantic Whistle Detective Agency - no case too small.
Branches in London and Salt Lake City
[ This Message was edited by: cees on 2002-06-13 11:52 ]
douga wrote:
The question I have is this: is it unwise for a new player to buy tunable whistles? Is it generally a problem for inexperienced whistlers to keep the whistle in tune?
I doubt a Clarke or other nontunable whistle will give you too much trouble with going out of tune, if it’s in tune to start with. That’s not to say it can’t, but probably won’t unless badly abused.
A good reason for getting a tunable whistle is for situations where you are playing with other instruments that are tunable (such as mandolin, fiddle, bouzouki, guitar, bandurria, or banjo), in which case there is the distinct possibility that they’re tuned to something other than A:440. As a harmonica player, I’ve experienced the consternation of being the only instrument in tune to concert pitch. It only makes you look out of tune. If a piano goes out of tune, the other musicians will tune to it, and leave you up the creek.
Walden
Deus converte nos et ostende faciem tuam et salvi erimus</font color>
[ This Message was edited by: Walden on 2002-06-16 03:07 ]
welcome back to the whistle playing fold! I think that if you have aspirations to play with others at some point,you are ‘into pocket’ in buying tunable whistles.tunables don’t usually cost a great deal more that their non-tunable counterparts,and lets face it,in comparison to most other instruments whistles are(thankfully!)relatively reasonably priced.just wait until ‘WHOA’ really takes a hold- there are a lot of highly desirable whistles out there now compared to a decade ago! on the subject of tutors, i have the bill ochs clarke guide- very good all round book,giving historical notes to the whistle,music reading basics,fingering,ornamentation and a selection of tunes.unfortunatly i,ve never heard the accompanying tape/cd,which would probably give ‘the whole piture’. waltons 110 tunes with the 2 cds is an excellent source of material, as cees has already mentioned. the tunes are graded in difficulty,and are arranged very well,playing ‘problems’ such as cuts,rolls,runs of notes are presented in one tune,then once learned ,are taken one ‘step further’ in the next tune,and so on - top marks to claire mckenna,the compiler.the guitar accompaniment works very well on the companion c.d set.this is currently my main source of material to learn ,and i reccommend it. my only criticism is that the first 28 tunes show a whistle tablature,as well as ‘proper’ musical notation,which is a great idea.unfortunatly,one or two slight errors have crept in this tablature,though these are easily spotted and remedied. geraldine cotter,s guide is more in depth,again running through all the basics, inc ornaments(perhaps the hardest subject to understand from a book,imo)i particularly like the section on the playing of slow airs.the 2 cd set is very good- featuring solo whistle only.a good source of tunes-100 jigs,reels,slow airs etc are presented.
hey douga, after posting the above reply,i checked out your website- you sure have good taste in music(i.e. similar to mine!)- celtic’old time’blues in a dub reggae stylee rules!!. i,ve also noticed that you are yet another software engineer who is posting on the board now.can anyone explain this weird pennywhistle/software interface thing?(crystal people?)lol!
On 2002-06-16 06:08, kevin m. wrote:
hey douga, after posting the above reply,i checked out your website- you sure have good taste in music(i.e. similar to mine!)- celtic’old time’blues in a dub reggae stylee rules!!. i,ve also noticed that you are yet another software engineer who is posting on the board now.can anyone explain this weird pennywhistle/software interface thing?(crystal people?)lol!
I can’t explain the Crystal People thing – the software cult I used to belong to was the Cult of the Silicon Zombie.
Re: reggae, your post got me to wondering how the whistle might fit in on some dub tunes.
And back on topic…I’ve been using “The Irish Fiddle Book” by Matt Cranitch as a sort of whistle tutor; it teaches some ornaments and has a large tune appendix.
In closing…thanks to all the people who replied (or have yet to reply). I ended up buying a Dixon tunable D from The Whistle Shop, but they’re out of stock right now; it should be coming in two or three weeks. Also got the Cotter book. I’m sure this is only the beginning, though – I’m already looking at O’Riordan and Hoover whistles with lust in my heart. ;->
Re: reggae, your post got me to wondering how the whistle might fit in on some dub tunes.
Hey, if Augustus Pablo can work the melodica into it, anything’s possible. Plus the whistle and flageolet have a long presence in some types of Caribbean music.
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