Hello all.
I just recently bought a tin whistle and a “teach yourself” instruction book.
I found this web site and forum and I must admit, I’m a little surprised at the number of whistlers on the forum. There are more whistlers than I expected, but glad to see it and I really like the “attitude” of the web site.
I got the whistle because about a year ago I was diagnosed with mild COPD and was told that any wind instrument would help my condition. I took piano lessons years ago, so I’m somewhat familiar with notes and staffs, etc.
My problem tho - Not knowing for sure what I was doing, I bought the whistle on the internet. It was very inexpensive and it is one piece, tin, tapers on the end and has a wood something (?) in the mouthpiece. The notes A & G sound exactly alike and it seems with this particular whistle I cannot adjust the sound.
Must I buy another whistle? I don’t have a problem with buying another one, but want to be sure I’m buying the right kind this time.
Welcome, Aldornia. From your description, my guess is that you have a Clarke whistle, which are well-regarded by lots of whistle players. The wood in the mouthpiece is the block, which fills the space in the fipple below the blade, all part of how a whistle produces sound. Most of us will agree that you don’t need to spend alot of money on a whistle–particularly your first one–to enjoy playing this instrument. However, if you happen to have bought a defective whistle, then that can certainly hinder your learning and enjoyment. If there’s a shop nearby that sells whistles, perhaps you could try another one and see how it matches up with the one you have now. Also, there’s alot of good information on the front page of C&F(http://www.chiffandfipple.com/table2.html) – especially “help for beginners” and the info on inexpensive whistles.
If it is a Clarke (which I am certain by your description) then it is a decent whistle. Takes a bit more breath but produces a nice sound. I have 2 and enjoy them both.
If you do end up buying another, try to get a chance to play it.
If not - let me recommend the Clarke Sweetone (plastic head, cylindrical body). Costs about half as much as the Clarke original ($5-6), uses less air, sounds OK. If you want to be really sure, you can get a Jerry Freeman tweaked Sweetone for $15-16 from the Whistle Shop online, but even the untweaked ones are usually pretty good.
Once you get hooked, you can start branching out, but a good low-end whistle is usually a good whistle, period. The extra money for a high end whistle is mostly because someone wants a specific sound, or tunability, or fine craftsmanship. And a more expensive whistle won’t make you a better player - I have hopes, a few years down the line, to sound as good as some of the local players can on an untweaked Generation or Sweetone.
I have found that as much as I like my Clarke it can get tempermental with the weather. Heck maybe its me getting tempermental with the weather, don’t know! I have a Sweetone as well but am not crazy about it. I find the only whistle I can count on to deliver constantly is my Feadog d. Interesting fact for a newbie is that each whistle, even if they are all the same key, can sound different.
Interesting & frustrating fact. Myself, I never found a ‘cheap’ D whistle I was happy with. I bought a couple different kinds & never found one I could get a consistent happy noise out of. Finally I got a Dixon tunable and the clouds parted. I’m sure I justified it by saying it was cheaper to buy one $30 whistle I could be happy with rather than getting three $10 whistles that annoyed me. (WHoA rearing it’s head, plain and simple.)
The moral of the story is that this weekend I went back and tried some of the cheap D’s. I was surprised to discover that one of them (couldn’t tell you which atm) actually sounded OK. Some improvement in the whistler seemed to help in managing the whistle.
This, quite honestly, has led me to question the conventional wisdom of newbie whistle buying. For most instruments, the CW is to buy a decent one as a newbie so you know it’s you and not the instrument when it sounds off. For whistles it’s common to be advised to get a cheapie. Then you deal with the uncertainty of whether it’s you or the instrument. The usual way to ‘deal with it’ is by tweaking the whistle. So in addition to learning to play an instrument, I have to learn how to alter one. As if magically I have the knowledge to know at that point when to correct the instrument and when to correct my playing.
Too much work for me. Buying a mid-range was definitely the way to go.
I don’t have any mid-range whistles but did try an all aluminum hand made creation from a local maker. It was nice but I still preferred my old Feadog. Like many others I sometimes think that a perfect sounding whistle does not go along with folksy music. It has been mentioned before but I’ll bring it up again, about the whistle player in the Andre Rieu Orchestra who can do wonders with what seems to be a Feadog. Don’t know if you have heard him but well worth searching out the tape/DVD just to see what he does.
Yeah! We have all kinds of Presidents up here, then there are those who think they are kings! Best thing is to pack my whistle, jump in me old truck and head for a seaside cliff. I don’t mean a cliff to jump off, but to sit and play for the gulls - as long is it is not too windy. A bit tough to whistle then!
You could always do what I did and buy several cheapies (Generations, Feadogs, Little Black Whistles, etc.). Works out just as cheap as one mid-range, and you get a better idea of what sounds right. Plus most of them will probably be good or at least OK, and you’ll be surprised at how different the ‘good’ ones can sound (sweet, full, mellow, breathy, and so on).
People have let me try out their Copelands, Susatos and the like, but I reckon a good cheapie is as good as any. But that’s another discussion
Freeman sweetone was my first whistle - I’m so happy with it that it’s deterred me from buying mid or high range. Why buy that abell D on ebay when I have my tweaked sweetone? It’s consistant and sounds good in many styles (A la sweetone).
