i’m sixteen and have just entered the whistler world. I’m very overwhelmed and would love if someone could tell me what some of the best (and cheapest) whistles are that I could get off the internet. I live in ND so I am quite isolated from any whistlers of any sort. I have ordered a Clark D. Are these any good? Also is there any one who could tell me some good CDs that I could order and play along with? I really need some help! It would also be cool if anyone out there was from North Dakota too but I don’t think that will happen. Thanks!
I think there is someone on the forum from Bismark, whose name is Mary.
I have a very good friend in Grand Forks, also named Mary, who doesn’t play whistle (yet), but she is being bombarded with recordings of my playing.
The Clarke is an excellent whistle with a beautiful tone, but some people think that it takes too much air to play comfortably. My current favorite is the O’Briain Improved D whistle. I think they cost around $35, but they seem to be consistently very good.
Welcome aboard, newbie!
The Clarke Sweetone is a cheaper
and easier to play Clarke,
maybe 6 dollars, and
a good place to start.
The Clarke Meg has just
come out and is still cheaper.
The Classic is fine if you
can find a good one, however
they often take lots of
breath and for that reason
aren’t so easy to play.
Trixie, everyone here will have a different opinion on this, but here’s my two cents. I ended up throwing my Clarke away because it just wouldn’t work. Lots of folks will say get a Generation or Feadog D but the quality control isn’t good and either they frequently won’t play at all, or will screech badly. The best I’ve seen, and I have 4 of them, is the Clark Sweetone, in the key of D. Welcome to whistling!
The email address of the Mary in Bismark is mfetch2@bis.midco.net
I think her nick for this forum is dakotamouse.
On 2002-09-22 23:32, blackhawk wrote:
Trixie, everyone here will have a different opinion on this, but here’s my two cents.
Don’t listen to Blackhawk…he’s crazy.
Go here</a](http://search.stores.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&sid=44506492&store=From+Ireland&colorid=12&fp=0&query=whistle&srchdesc=y">here</a)> and get yourself a nice Feadóg straight from Ireland. That’ll be enough to hook you good.
Oh, and I’m just kidding about Blackhawk, he’s not crazy…as a matter of fact, he’s one of the nicest people on this board.
Welcome!
Kim
On 2002-09-23 00:40, Kim in Tulsa wrote:
On 2002-09-22 23:32, blackhawk wrote:
Trixie, everyone here will have a different opinion on this, but here’s my two cents.Don’t listen to Blackhawk…he’s crazy.
Sure, that’s what they said about Charles Manson and the Son of Sam! 
Hey Trixie,
All these people talking to you have a Clark, Generation, Feadog, and countless others, and so will you, in time. Everyone on this board has over twenty whistles, and so will you, in time. Just be patient, practice often, and you, too, will find yourself ordering many whistles, in time.
Just check this place out, if you already haven’t.
http://www.thewhistleshop.com/
Welcome aboard,
JP
Everyone on this board has over twenty whistles, and so will you, in time.
I got my whistle two/three weeks ago. Same day I found this list. Within a week I had decided what sort of whistle would be my second, when and where I was getting it from, all thanks to the list. It hasnt arrived yet and I am already referring to my first one as … ‘my first one’…
I strongly suspect that it is THE LIST which makes you want to buy more whistles…not your whistle seeking company!
CONSPIRACY!
Dale is trying to get you to buy more whistles by inserting subliminal messages…maybe he has invested in shares of all the major makers?
Stella
On 2002-09-23 01:31, JohnPalmer wrote:
Just check this place out, if you already haven’t.
http://www.thewhistleshop.com/
I mentioned to a person on another message board that I was planning on getting a whistle and she liked the idea so much that she went to The Whistle Shop and bought one of their tweeked Clarkes. She started making some lovely music with it and has since bought a couple of Megs and a case to carry them in from this same site. She posts here now and then.
I also convinced one person to take up the whistle again and three others to buy whistles on that same board! They call me a whistle pusher over there! LOL
Welcome to the board.
First, keep the Clark D that you ordered. It has a beautiful, woody breathy sound that you will love. It’s harder to play because of the amount of air that you have to put into it, but it’s a beautiful instrument, though maybe not the one you should start with.
Everyone else’s suggestions; Sweetone, Meg, Feadog and Generations (though I’ve never met a Generation I kept for long) can all be great whistles and not just “starter” whistles, either. You will find many if not most whistlers in Ireland playing one of those.
Don’t buy a Feadog. I was home in Ireland a month ago and went through a whole new box, picking out a dozen good ones, which I’m now in the process of ‘improving’. If you decide that you want one, let me know in a private email and I’ll happily send you a complimentary new brass Feadog D, straight from the Isle.
As far as learning, I would start with airs (rather than jigs, reels, hornpipes, etc). They are generally slower, easier and are just as beautiful.
Ian
edited to include email link
“Dad, the UPS man is here with another long, skinny box!”
[ This Message was edited by: bassnwhistle on 2002-09-23 10:36 ]
[ This Message was edited by: bassnwhistle on 2002-09-23 12:25 ]
FWIW, the latest Feadog (the MkIII) has the improved finger hole spacing. What that means is it’s musical scale is better in tune than any Generation, Walton, Clarke, Oak, or Acorn whistle. This is important for new or experienced players.
Lastly, a Feadog with a $3 Walton LBW head is the ultimate tweakers whistle. Many people on C&F have done this and love it! (It’s called the Blackdog.)
Gary
PS - Beware of the Crystal people. They will try to divert you from a Feadog.
There’s a guy who posts on this forum called Aaron Malcomb, who says he’s from Minot, ND.
As for CD’s to listen to…well, I haven’t used it or heard it myself, but I keep seeing good things about Bill Och’s whistle tutor. Supposedly a very good beginner’s method. Maybe someone who’s got the tutor would like to chime in?
Thanks for all your help! I’ve been hearing about Generation whistles alot and some others too… you’ve been a great help! Now I’m going to email some peoples! THANKS AGAIN!
On 2002-09-23 00:40, Kim in Tulsa wrote:
On 2002-09-22 23:32, blackhawk wrote:
Trixie, everyone here will have a different opinion on this, but here’s my two cents.Don’t listen to Blackhawk…he’s crazy.
Well, of course that’s true - but in this case his lunacy is well placed. Clarke originals blow hard and I hate that breath hiss around the fipple plug. I can’t believe you’re recommending Feadogs, though. Squeeeaaaakkkkkkk.
There’s a guy who posts on this forum called Aaron Malcomb, who says he’s from Minot, ND.
As for CD’s to listen to…well, I haven’t used it or heard it myself, but I keep seeing good things about Bill Och’s whistle tutor. Supposedly a very good beginner’s method. Maybe someone who’s got the tutor would like to chime in?
True Believer
Nate
Hi everybody, I’m new to whistling and I’m using Bill Och’s tutor. My background includes about 1 1/2 years of playing the alto recorder. I could already read music. That being said, I found the tutor very easy to use. It consists of a bunch of fingering lessons followed by songs to learn which reinforce the lessons. I was playing the most useful parts of the scale within a couple of weeks. I’m working my way through the sample songs now. Get the tape that goes along with this. It will help to burn the music into your synapses and prime you for learning each song quickly. Be warned! The Irish ornamentation that everyone wants to know immediately is not presented until the last 1/3 of the book.
I have to constantly fight the temptation to skip all of the fife music in the first 2/3 and start learning cuts and taps and rolls and all the rest of the ‘good’ stuff. Resisting this temptation is no doubt good for my soul and my finger speed and accuracy.
I’ve been using the original Clarke C whistle. I’ve tried a Waltons and it was awful. Both out of tune and incredibly, piercingly LOUD. I tried to tune it by pulling the head piece out but to no avail. I bought the new MEG and it’s not bad but it just doesn’t hold a candle to my Clark Original. My neighbors live close and I like it’s quiet breathy voice. I’m thinking of buying another to try some surgery on to make the mouth piece nicer (see the Whistle Shop).
Gary,
that Feadog mk3 could be something, I have had several Waltons, Genereations and Clarkes, and I can REALLY NOT UNDERSTAND how such a simple instrument can be made with such “out of this world intonation”. ALL of my cheap whistles have been grossly wrong intonated. The only one still alive is a Clarke D which I retuned and revoiced to something so so at least. All holes except one was enlarged and moved in one direction or another. One hole I had to tape to lower the note.
TomR,
if you think the Walton was loud kep awawy from a Copeland… lol, THAT is loud whistle.
/Peter
Peter,
On your Clarke D, did you need to put the tape over the top hole to get the C# in tune? I had to do that to my Sweetone.
Gary
No, the C# is actually the only not altered.
Tape is on the E hole.
He he.. it sure looks like shit but plays better without question. Since most holes was enlarged the sound became a little more “open” and little louder.
Also sealed the wooden fipple with tape.
/Peter
Hi, Trixie,
I’m here all by myself in Deadwood, South Dakota, but have proof there is another whistler on the other side of the state. Yep, Dakota Mouse is in your neck of the woods!