I wasn’t sure this would be the place to introduce myself, but since I saw more topics like “new whistler from…” I tought I could give it a try!
So I’m portuguese, and I happen to love Celtic music. I play bass guitar (had a band, played a couple of gigs) but I don’t play it for some months now. One beautifull day when I was listening to some Celtic music (it’s one kind of music that spurs my feelings the most, be it happines or longing for something) I decided to do some search about the Irish Flute… I found the Whistle… and here I am!
Besides the love for the tunes and the sound of both the Whistle and the Flute, I wanted a instrument I could carry around, would not make me carry lots of equipment (yup, the bass days!), and most important: that made me want to play it!
Ok, so the post is getting big, and hopefully not against the forum rules (sorry I didn’t read them ) I want to defy you to check my new blog: http://thewhistlerbard.blogspot.com , that is a kind of journal about my new experience of learning how to play these two wonderfull instruments!
Welcome. I took a look at your blog. You seem excited. I first heard the song Suo-Gân in the movie, “Empire of the Sun.” I was so captivated by that song, I watched the credits and had to figure out what song it was. Then I went to our music store to ask for the sheet music. I had thought is was an Asian song.
Keep us up on how your progress goes.
I went to your country when I was a teenager, a very very long time ago to see Fatima and Coimbra. You live in a very nice place.
I see I’m not the only bass player who now learns to play Clarke’s tin whistle.
BTW Suo Gân is really beautiful! I remember it from EotS (and the soundtrack itself is excellent, especially “Cadillac of the Sky”, one of my favorite Williams’ compositions). P.S. This is a nice version (but you cannot play your whistle along it if you don’t happen to have a C whistle): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK2R-596FZE
mutepointe: Thank you for visiting the blog, and thank you for telling me about Suo-Gân, I admit I didn’t knew it, I saw EoTS a looooooooong time ago, and didn’t even recall the music. After checking it, i’ll surely give it a try!
My country is beautiful yes, but it’s getting worse day by day, specially where I live (Lisbon, the capital city). I long for some hills, and calm beah sides…and I not THAT old, case you all think I am
Maitín: Heheheh i’ve checked your intro post and I noticed you were a bass player too But are you a classical bass or a electric bass player? I play electric one, but for now it’s just laying aside with the case full of dust.
BTW, using the post for some more pub The Whistler Bard blog is updated everyday (link in my signature)
Funny, it seems there are a lot of bass players that got tired of carrying all that heavy equipment around and turned to something lighter. -Yep, I belong to the same group of musicians too. My electric bass has been collecting dust for some 10 years now…
ahogrelius: Heheheh really? It’s seems it’s a destiny for bass players Well, the reason was more than the heavyweight, off course. I had a band, quited (it is sometimes harder than having a wife ) and I lost interest in it. Then when I wanted to play alone at home, I had to connect cables, find a place for the amp, turn switches, and so on and so on… so I started playing less and less. Eventually I grew bored and tired of it (and I wasn’t like a great player or anything, just a casual player). It is really awesome that I can just take the whistle from where it rests and it’s ready to play. Not to mention the fact that with the whistle alone you can play a song, make everyone understand it and all…with the bass sometimes it’s not that easy.
And I’m going to sell, not all but most, of my bass equipment, it’s money just there in the corner with a ton of dust
Lol, so there is another one… I play both electric bass and a double-bass. The electric one is Fender Precission from 1978 (heavy like hell), but a good model. The double-bass is Amati which my dad bought when he was a young, and still sounds pretty good. I won’t quit playing the bass, but I’m less interested in it for some two years. I play when I’m asked to. I had a gig this saturday, and now there are two instruments that are fighting for my fingers. The bass wants hard skin, and the whistle soft skin on my fingers. Because of a thick skin layer, I thought I’ll have more problems playing the whistle, but it seems that there aren’t any problems. And it’s getting better every day. I got Bill Ochs’ and L. E. McCullogh’s workbooks, and I’m looking forward to making progress. It seems that the bass has gotten outta spotlight…
Maitín: are those the books you most recomend? I was thinking In buying one at some point. Even if the internet these days is a great teacher if you’re into it!
Yup, I think those two are the best choice, but the more experienced might want to correct me. Besides that, video lessons by Ryan Duns could be useful: http://www.youtube.com/user/RyanDunsSJ if you’ll ignore the repetitive “claim your voice in the Irish tradition” phrases.
Bemvindo e boa sorte com o whistle! A propósito, como vocês traduzem whistle aí em Portugal? A tradução literal para ´apito´ fica estranho… uma vez vi traduzido como ´flautim´ o que não soa muito apropriado também…
Romulo: sinceramente não sei, eu chamo Tin Whistle na mesma, porque a tradução é meio estranha sim. Há quem traduza para “flauta irlandesa” mas isso é um instrumento diferente, por isso não sei mesmo!
In English: Romulo was asking how we translated “Tin Whistle” to portuguese, and I told him that I simply didn’t translate because the translations are really not accurate, and one of them is the same as “Irish flute” which would take people to thing it’s the same thing.
Eu acho que temos o mesmo problema em espanhol. A palavra “pito” quer dizer whistle em geral, mas pra mim isso indica algo não muito sério, como um brinquedo pra bebês. Então, creio que a gente diz “whistle” (a whistle?) quando falamos da flautinha vertical irlandesa.
I think we have the same problem in Spanish. The word “pito” means whistle in general, but to me that indicates something not very serious, like a toy for children. So I think that people say “whistle” (feminine?) when we talk about the irish (vertical) flute.
It’s the same in Croatian. Literal translation of whistle would be “zviždaljka” which means rather a toy or a referee’s whistle, but fortunatelly, we have a word “frulica” which indicates an end blown flute (as opposed to side-blown), so we simply translate it “irska frulica” (“irish end blown flute”) or more often just leave the name “tin whistle” as it is.
MTGuru how many languages do you know?
I had already seen your posts in Spanish and French, but Portuguese too?!!
Here in Japan the literal translation ホイッスル “hoissuru” (which is actually a “japanized” transliteration from the English) has the same connotation as a toy or the sports stuff. Some people simply say 笛 “fue” (flute), or 縦笛 “tatebue” (vertical flute).
Hey, really happy my thread is alive! It’s interesting the ways to translate Tin Whistle, because I guess the problem and the translation mean all the same everywere… And I guess Croatia is the only country who has a “more correct” translation!
john_t : You’re portuguese is really good for someone not native(I guess you guys don’t listen to lots of portuguese around there anyway) Where did you learned it?
Awnsering your questions, I’m from Lisboa yes, or pretty near it, do you know Sintra? And I haven’t been in Wales, but I would really like to visit it someday!
And you like strawberries? Heheheh, I wonder why did you learn that!
Alas, I copied it from a Portugese phrase book (my parents are going there on holiday in a couple of weeks)…
The bit about strawberries was in the book too!
I have been to Sintra a few years ago and enjoyed it lots. A really magical place! There is a particulary large tree there on a hill, near one of the castlely type places which I climbed part of. Which was great.
I was staying at Lisbon baxia I think. Near the big avenue.. My parents are staying in alfama this time..
Lisbon is like a more beautiful version of my hometown Sheffield, because they are both hilly! Sheffield is more industrial and smelly though.
Hey, we have the same problem in English with the word “whistle.” Any person on the street is going to think of a train whistle, a referree whistle, lip-whistling, or any other kind of whislte except an irish penny whistle. And many musicians won’t even know what we’re talking about either. So don’t feel special.
LOL now that you mentioned those other descriptions for whistle it comes to my mind than before knowing the Tin Whistle, I’d probably think about all those things first too.
I think I’m getting addicted to this, cause since 2 weeks ago, for me whistle there’s only one: the almighty Tin Whistle
) I want to defy you to check my new blog: http://thewhistlerbard.blogspot.com , that is a kind of journal about my new experience of learning how to play these two wonderfull instruments!
(link in my signature)
I play both electric bass and a double-bass. The electric one is Fender Precission from 1978 (heavy like hell), but a good model. The double-bass is Amati which my dad bought when he was a young, and still sounds pretty good. I won’t quit playing the bass, but I’m less interested in it for some two years. I play when I’m asked to. I had a gig this saturday, and now there are two instruments that are fighting for my fingers. The bass wants hard skin, and the whistle soft skin on my fingers. 
It seems that the bass has gotten outta spotlight… 
