I saw Lunasa in concert last Saturday (brilliant!!), and they played several tunes on low F whistles (up to 3 playing at once!).
Then I set off for a few days walking on the Dorset coast, but was beaten by the torrential rain which is now traditional UK weather for early July, as Nick can vouch.
I then popped into Hobgoblin in London on Tuesday, and came out with a shiny new Overton F, to ease my disappointment over the walking trip.
Well of course it’s gorgeous. I tried 3 other F whistles in the shop, but the Overton came over as the best for me, and I haven’t looked back. Lovely flutey tone, small enough under my hands for faster tunes (at least, as fast as I play them), and a good transition towards the low D stretch.
My previous experience of lows have all been Dixons, so the coolness of the mouthpiece and moisture problems are new to me, but I’m learning again about warming the whistle before playing, and the rich mellowness of the tone is a great reward.
Back in Dorset now, the sun is out on a glorious morning, so I’ll soon be popping out to scare the sheep with a few polkas!
“Popping out to scare the sheep” sounds fun. I’ve got a friend who plays button accordion AND owns sheep. He also has chickens and used to have a rooster, but it dropped dead (heart attack) while I was there playing a few tunes with him. I hope it wasn’t the whistle.
"“That Lunasa threesome must be “The Last Pint” hornpipe (“Feabhra”) - bloody amazing. ”
They (Lunasa) call it a slow reel. Wonderful tune by the way. I’ll have to start looking for an F whistle so I can learn it by ear from their recording.
Are slow reels a “modern” thing, or are there tunes that were/are meant to be played slow traditionaly?
-Brett
[ This Message was edited by: bretton on 2002-07-12 16:17 ]
Hi Martin, just out of interest,could you let me know which where the other low’F’s that you tried,and are you able to compare/contrast their playing characteristics? cheers!
The other low Fs I tried were Chieftain Alloy, Chieftain Brass, and an Kerry Pro F tuneable. These were just the whistles Hobgoblin had in stock, not a particular choice for any other reason. I tried a Howard Low D the previous week, which I liked a lot.
I hesitated to name these, because there’s nothing wrong with them, and they would have been much cheaper if I had liked them, but I found the Overton easiest to play, with a lovely tone which I preferred. The octave flip fitted with what I was used to. The Chieftains were less certain to me, and harder to get the high 2nd octave notes cleanly. The Brass was lovely in tone, but very heavy compared to the others. I considered the tuneable whistle, but didn’t like the ugly tuning slide bulge (to my eye, though I love the bulge on my Dixons).
Given more time to practise, I’m sure I’d have come to terms with any of the choices, and if only one had been in stock I’d probably have got it anyway. The breath requirements of all whistles vary so much, and so it’s really a matter for the individual to make their own choices if you can get your hands on a few to try.
I also tried an Alba Bb, which was lovely, with smaller holes than my Generation Bb, and a Harper Soprano D. The Harper I was disappointed with because the holes were not in line with the mouthpiece, and that would annoy me (well, it does with my unplayed Shaw, anyway).
Eventually I will invest in an Overton or Howard low D for session playing, but the Dixon should be all I need for home practise.
Bretton - you can find the score on ABC Tunefinder under the title “The Last Pint” by Pierre Benbusan. For some reason Lunasa call it Feabhra (but list it as The Last Pint inside the sleeve)
Thanks for the info.Martin,much appreciated! It might interest you to know that i have just confirmed my order for a colin Goldie ‘f’, following a very swift and courteous response to my initial enquiry from Brigitte.Now i just have to wait…!
