Can recorder music be played on a whistle without too much difficulty? I’ve a fondness for classical and early music in addition to Irish traditional, but I’m not especially fond of recorders. Not to mention the extra time and money I’ll have to spend to learn recorder. So I’m really hoping I could just skip the recorder all together and play the same music on a whistle. Do-able or not?
Thanks much,
Raindrop
There is little to offer in the way of a clear and simple “yes or no”.
Some recorder music can be played on whistle, particularly early wind music, and many types of folk music that has been transcribed for classical music, such as early song cycles. The difficulty is that recorders are a chromatic instrument, and although whisltes can play chromatic music, it’s not as easy as it is on recorder.
One suggestion is to look at beginning flute books. Many pieces in D, or G, Am, and Bm, can be played on the whistle. There will likely be enough music to keep you busy for awhile.
Best of luck,
Mark Sackett
I don’t see why you couldn’t play recorder music on a whistle…of course there will be more sharps and flats than in whistle music, since recorders can do sharps and flats more easily, but if you’re okay with half-holing and other methods to get those sharps and flats, you should be fine. Plus, of course, having whistles in other keys than just D.
I don’t play recorder, but I have a beginning recorder book my husband and I got for our daughter and it actually really helped me get started on the whistle with the little easy songs and exercises back when I began to play a few months ago.
Good luck,
Kiirsi
Not much money to be spent on a decent recorder. You can get a nifty translucent Yamaha one at the whistle shop for about $9, I think.
By the way, on my experience, only go for yamaha recorders if you are doing los cheapos.
Yes, many early music pieces usually played on recorder can be played on whistle.
Most Renaissance and Medieval dance music is simple enough to play on a whistle, using a limited range and very few chromatics (extra flats or sharps). In fact much of it is modal like “Celtic” music. So, if you can learn by ear, buy a recording of early music and try to play it on whistle by ear. You may have to try a couple of whistles to find one in the right key - often a C whistle works. Alternately, check out recorder books and read/play anything with one or two sharps. Gerald Burakoff’s “Method for the Adult Beginner” has lots of simple early music tunes (but I can’t guarantee how many are in one or two sharps!)