Newly WhOA, notes & comparisons

Whistle
1

I know this is probably really boring to y’all, but I’m new at this and excited :slight_smile:

Today two new whistles came in the mail, a Gen Bb (nickel) and an Oak C. Up until now, I’ve played only the Acorn, which AFAIK only comes in high D, but eventually I decided that if I wanted to play with anyone else, it’d be nice to have access to other keys. Hence the new acquisitions.

Here are my conclusions regarding the three whistles (I can finally judge the Acorn objectively, now that I have other whistles to compare it to):

The Gen Bb has a sound which kind of reminds me of a recorder. It takes a fair amount of air, maybe two-thirds what my silver sideways whistle does. It’s pretty in tune with itself, except that the high register is a little flat.

The Oak C definitely doesn’t remind me of a recorder. I almost wish they made Oaks in like about a high G, because that would be a strong contender for Most Annoying Thing On The Planet. The sound has a kind of bite to it that’s missing from both the Gen and the Acorn. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and in fact the sound’s growing on me. I don’t like the tuning, though, not only is the high register flat, but the C plays flat in relation to the rest of the notes. I’ll probably take a file to it sometime.

And the Acorn, which is looking surprisingly good in comparison. It has a reputation for being a whistle that needs very little air, and that’s all true. Breath control is the name of the game, definitely. But it has a nice clean tone and it plays in tune, which I took for granted until today :-/

Actually, the Acorn I’m comparing with is my sister’s; I lost my third (!) several months ago, when I took it to an orchestra camp and managed to leave it on the bus or somewhere. (Good thing they’re only about $9!) That particular whistle actually had a cracked fipple edge (is that the right term for the doohickey that cuts the airstream to make it vibrate?), but still played just fine.

Yes, I’m shamelessly plugging the Acorn. But hey, it’s a good whistle, and seems to be pretty overlooked in whistle circles, so why not? :slight_smile:

2

Whistles are exciting. No doubt about it.

Honestly, almost any whistle has unlimited potential. There’s lots of debate here about ‘designer whistles’ versus ‘cheapies’, and you’ll have to form your own opinion.

The most important thing is to be structured in your study, listening and practice. The whistle is deceptively simple in appearance, but very difficult to truly master. Choose any whistle, but then do your homework. Listen to the masters, and try to copy what they do. There’s enough depth in it to carry you through the rest of your life. :party:

3

Honestly, almost any whistle has unlimited potential.

Couldn’t agree more.

Even as a whistle maker who’s very proud of my work, 2 of my favourite whistles are a Generation Bb and a Oak D.
Both of which I’ve had now for over 20 years and they still sound great!

Tommy

4

This is so true. A while back, someone told me the whistle was the gateway to a “real” instrument :open_mouth: I came from clarinet to whistle and I think the whistle is so much more expressive (for me, not for everybody). How could people think it’s just a starter instrument when there is so much to it?

5

Those are just the people who could never get the hang of it.

6

There are also people who started on the whistle with the explicit expectation that they’d graduate to something else. In my case, I took it up with the expectation that I’d eventually take up the uillean pipes. Instead I took up the flute. I still very much enjoy the whistle, and I make them too. (New batch of six available in about a month.) But there’s something about the flute that I find more appealing.

Liam O’Flynn and Paddy Keenan still play the whistle, I suspect they’re both in their 60’s. If anyone needed more proof that it’s a “grownup” instrument, I wouldn’t know what to say.