The reported overall air required to play specific Whistle brands/makers.
I was initially looking at Burke Whistles for purchasing a high and low whistle in the Key of D as a first instrument. My perspective as a beginner whistler will change as I continue researching. Here is how I made my initial whistle-purchasing decision, which might be valuable for other beginners to hear.
Burke Whistles has less of an iTrad (meaning traditional Irish music) sound. From my American musical experience of primarily classical and contemporary tastes, I enjoyed listening to a Burke Whistle. Burke is an American company, which is a positive for me regarding shipping and service. It is considered a whistle in the top tier, and it is a top-tier whistle that performers use to make records because of its pure sound. Yet two other top-tier brands seem to be used more for professionals on stage.
My perceived negatives of the Burke Whistles were mainly two issues:
First, I had just experienced my comparison problem between the Dusty Strings D670, and Master Works Deliforte hammered dulcimers, which centered on my “new ear” in listening to hammered dulcimers. I could not pick out specific nuances of sound between preferences in a folk setting and a contemporary setting. After listening to more music from folk and contemporary music settings, I began to hear Dusty String’s D670 banjo quality, which was absent in the Master Works Dulciforte. That is a positive in the folk setting. However, I considered it a negative because I know Brenda, and I will probably concentrate on classical and contemporary music more than folk music. I could not “un-hear” that banjo sound when listening to Dusty Strings’ hammered dulcimer.
My comparison of Mike’s Burke Whistles and Colin’s Goldie Whistles initially led me to lean towards Mike’s Burke Whistles for similar reasons. I do not have experience in the folk or iTrad setting; I see it, value it, and want to get to know it. Listening to both brands played in various musical settings, I enjoyed Burke’s contemporary-sounding version even though our lesson books were heavy in iTrad. Plus, we want to delve into Tucson’s folk scene with our new friends and become more involved as we learn to play our instruments. So, I favored Burke Whistles slightly in this matter but saw the value in keeping an open mind because we were about to stretch out our musical experiences toward folk and iTrad.
The one negative, for me, with Burke Whistles, became the issue that ultimately pushed me towards a Goldie Whistle for my INITIAL purchases of the Soprano D and Tenor D for our first year of lessons. It was the breath requirement in playing each brand’s “overall” Whistles.
As my deep dive into the Chiff & Fipple archives continued, I found numerous comments from users whose opinions I respected. The image that began to unfold was confirmed by finding more top-tier forum users who owned both brands and took the time to explain the differences to new people like myself in a manner that did not devolve into a zero-sum game. Their comments about breath requirements made sense and ultimately made a difference because of my situation.
Burke and Goldie are top-tier instruments. My American contemporary and classical ear might even appreciate the Burke Whistle sound because I have no experience with iTrad. However, I genuinely love the low, slow sounds of some modern, meditative low whistle music and the slow airs of iTrad that cry out to me like a mournful singer. If I wanted to play those, I began to see that I would need to pick a whistle model with the correct back pressure that would allow me more extended playtime and give more homage to the traditional sound of an Irish whistle.
Enough Chiff & Fipple users, whom I admire because of their willingness to factually explain the difference between these brands from their collection, have made it clear that there is an “overall” need for less air with a Colin’s Goldie Whistles. Let me explain what I found.
Because I have been playing mournful droning songs in didgeridoo music, I have already experienced the profound need to have an instrument with excellent backpressure and a brand that allows the instrument to be easily changed or modified when playing different styles of music in a range of keys on a didgeridoo slide. Hence, I have a Hard Fiberglass Didgeridoo triple-slide with multiple bells and mouthpieces from Andrea Furlan.
Over time, my whistle collection will hold several of Mike’s Burke whistles. Yet, Colin Goldie uses Bernard Overton’s design to handcraft each whistle to perform according to the player’s needs or desires. What emerged from the Chiff and Fipple archives was a clear image that the history of the Overton design handed down exclusively to Colin Goldie allowed him to bypass mass marketing. Instead, he worked directly with each customer to give them a whistle designed to meet their specifications.
This process separated Goldie from other whistle-makers. The Overton whistle design allowed him to pour his efforts into crafting each model’s variants that meet the customer’s needs and desires. My phone call with Colin Goldie was like I walked into an art gallery. I explained to the artist what my living room looked like and what artwork I hoped for in my living room. Colin showed me how he could meet my needs and desires by creating variants from the original Overton whistle design. He had variants of each model that would allow me to see a piece of his artwork in my living room. This uniqueness has separated him from many other top-tier whistle brands. He showed specific Soprano D and Tenor D variants that would meet my needs. The process of working with Colin Goldie was very fulfilling.
Brenda and I chose Colin’s Goldie Whistles for our initial whistle purchase. We will spend a full year in lessons learning to play the specific variants of two Goldie Whistle models. The initial investment in soft-standard and medium-blower head variants in both the Soprano D and Tenor D models was worthwhile. It allows us the time to find which variants give us the proper backpressure for the different styles of music and the amount of breathing required for those styles.
Brenda also decided to try a “short-reach” variant of the Tenor D (medium blower) model. Here is another benefit of the Overtone design. In the Chiff & Fipple archives, I ran across comments in the threads that explained Colin first made this variant when he was still working with Bernard Overton. We have requested this variant of the Tenor D model.
I would rather struggle with determination to learn proper technique on an excellent instrument and use this year to determine if we find the soft-standard or medium-blower more of a fit for each of us. After that, our rough sketch of a plan to purchase the whistles needed to accompany a piano and hammered dulcimer, with possible singers, will look like this:
HIGH WHISTLES
2025 Soprano D
2026 Soprano C
2026 Mezzo Soprano A
LOW WHISTLES
2026 Alto G (small bore)
2026 Alto F
2025 Tenor D
I want to finish my deep dive into the Chiff and Fipple archives. I am using certain search words and reading those threads.
As I read the forums, another image emerged that other beginner whistlers must be aware of. Suppose you are an American with no experience in traditional Irish music. In that case, you need to spend some time in the Chiff & Fipple archives finding out about some of the valuable differences in how a cosmopolitan American perceives the world of whistle music compared to how someone on the continent or even more specifically in Ireland perceives it. I can’t tell you the value of understanding this.
I hope beginners find this thread helpful. I also hope some forum users I consider wise and kind enough to share their knowledge continue commenting in the forums and on this thread. My ultimate goal is to bypass or avoid controversy in the archives. I want to enjoy learning to play the whistle with my wife and find joy growing further in this community.
In conclusion, Mike’s Burke Whistles will eventually be in our collection. Beginner whistlers, please do not fall into a zero-sum game in your comments on this forum. It is divisive.
Low whistle involves a grip and finger movements that few people find natural, and at some point you’re likely to end up sore and stiff. Especially as nearly all learners tend to grip too hard for the first few months.
