Been a lurker for a while, so thought it best to pop my head out and say Hi!!
I am just about to start on the learning curve of whistle playing, and have joined a friendly teaching class at the Sage muic centre in Gateshead - nr Newcastle upon Tyne (1hr per week for 33 weeks of the year).
Have had on and off affairs with whistles since a visit to Lindisfarne when I was younger, but never found time to get some lessons and learn properly.
Popping to see John Bushby at Shearwater whistles tomorrow, hopefully for advice and to get an order for a whistle in!
Welcome to the forum. As a newbie (look over to your left) that’s me, penurious, tone deaf, wannabe pennywhistler. Keep posting or at least, keep lurking (that’s fun too), but, most of all keep practicing. Its fun any way you do it.
How did the John Bushby at Shearwater whistle visit go?
What can I say, my wallet is a little bit scared!!
Now I cant play at all, so I will leave the ins and outs of the whistles to the pro’s.
John himself is a truly nice guy. I am sure I asked some silly newbie questions, which John answered excellently. I was offered advise on the best starter whistle, but more importantly, given advise which would see him out of pocket (Recommending a lower priced whistle as more suitable - not something you see often these days!!)
The whistles themselves looked rather nice from my point of view, he states on his website that there may be evidence of the metal being worked, and that there is, but nothing that detracts from the overall look in any way, its just evident that there hasnt been a CNC mill in sight when they were made.
I cant offer comparison of the sound of these whistles, but from my uninitiated ear, they sounded beautiful!
So… I think an order will be going in for a High D, a Low D and an Alto G in alloy - Not badly priced at £120 for all three, and John reckons he can do me a bit of a discount if I order them at the same Time. (The Alto G is for home practice - I think the Low D will be a goalpost for the future, and the High D is a little too high pitched for home practice as I live in a modern (Read: poorly sound insulated) apartment and don’t want to upset the neighbours!!)
More importantly though…Thanks for the welcome
Ben
Edit:
Here is the only recording of the Shearwater whistles I can find other than on the makers website:
did i get this right?
u have no whistle at all now and cant play
and u are thinking of spending 120 $ for 3 whistles for to start?
if u ask me, get a Clarke MEG for some few “pennys”, its an easy plaing and nice sounding whistle and the ideal beginner whistle
and its not that loud too
My philosophy on life: Work hard and play hard! By the best you can afford, take care of it, and enjoy it!!
Given that my “playtime” or hobby money has been sunk into my motorcycle (spen literally thousands!!) I feel that the money I am willing to spend is reasonable. The fact that the maker lives about 15 minutes from me, and thus is supporting a local business makes me more inclined to but all three.
well i am a beginner too
but i have 6 whistles and the MEG is the easiest to play and i did read this many times so i may not be an expert but i guess its true, its a nice beginners whistle, dont u agree?
anyway i thought to have understand that he has no whistle and cant or dont want to pay so much now and cant whistle cause there is no whistle so i recomended a cheapie
Go for it! My view is burn the candle from both ends, buy high and low, and buy often as its good for the economy. Then get another candle. And with a motorcycle? the whistle(s) are a blessing!
Nothing wrong with the least costliest whistles though.
All things considered, GW’s question and suggestion are reasonable enough, Peter. Of course it’s not in any way the final answer, but that’s why we have discussions.
Cheers Peter! As a more accomplished player, what would your advice be? I dont want to spend a few pounds on a whistle for it to sit in a cupboard and never get played.
I intend to get some burr walnut and make a stand for the trio, and keep them on full display - I know that if they are out of sight, they will end up being out of mind - plus the Shearwaters look so pretty too!!
I will certainly take your point into consideration.
My biggest trouble is we have no music shops in the area that sell whistles, so it is internet purchase only. I like to see/hear/hold things before buying them.
Im not too fussed about spending a bit on something that will last a while - my normal trick is to buy cheaper stuff, then replace again and again, I think I would rather not do this trick with whistles as I will spend more time looking to buy than playing and practicing.
I used to have a Waltons guiness whistle a few years back that I could play - but have recently found that what I thought was playing was really just getting it to make a sound, tunes were not happening back then!
