Should I buy a low whistle or flute?

Irish Flute
1

Hi!

I’m thinking about buying a new flute, because I want to have an instrument similar to my tinwhistles but also I want to play in the lower octaves. I think, I could buy a low whistle or an irish flute to get what I want. But hey, that’s where my problems start: At first, I was just thinking about the low whistles - looks like a big tin whistle, same fingering except piper’s grip, great! But then I listened more and more to flutes and the sound is beautiful! I’m not sure, which one would fit better. As far as I know, there are no flutists available in this area. I would have to learn it mostly by myself or perhaps could get some lessons at a classic traverse flute teacher. Even if I would do this, most things like fingering, ornamentation and so on would be left for me to learn without a teacher - except books and videos and so on.
The Low D would sure be easier to learn alone, but it would not be cool if I buy a Low D and could have learned to play the flute.
I thougt about the Dixon Duo Head, but the flute head doesn’t seem to be of very high quality, according to some reviews.
What do you say to that problem? :slight_smile:

Greetings
Tarin

P.S. Sorry for my english, didn’t write or speak it for a quite long time. I try to make at least only a few mistakes :wink:

2

if you ask for the same question in the whistle forum you’ll get opposite answers…
and of course there is Nothing comparable with a Flute!
btw you can buy a Forbes flute for quite few money and sell it back if you really don’t like it.
if (iff) I had to buy a Low w. I’ll go for a starter susato or for a solid Hamilton…

IMHO, in general, starting with a good instrument is FAR better than lerning on a bad one.

3

yes, hard enough without learning on something that doesn’t work well…

I’d say get a Tipple to see if you are willing to learn (spend an inordinate amount of time) how to hold, blow, play a flute

you should still be able to afford a low D whistle

4

I was in the same spot you are a couple of years ago and went with the whistle… Then I tried one of Doug’s flutes and was hooked. Since then, MANY (embarrassingly, actually) high-quality flutes have come and gone. I THINK I have found my soul-mate in an antique Wm Hall and don’t seem to want to move on (yet). I complement this with a Copley delrin for “abusive” gigs (like the one I’ll be doing tomorrow!).

My advice is similar to the above post. Get the Tipple, see if you like it (you will) and then move to something higher end (I highly recommend Dave Copley and Terry McGee, btw). In the meantime, there is nothing wrong with getting a low-D whistle as well. The Susatos play well and are cheap here on the board. I currently play a Kerry Pro and like it more than any others I have had (Howard, Susato, Burke Viper, and probably more).

Another option is to get one of the cheapo Nach Meyer flutes that seem to be all over the place. Since you’re in Germany, I suspect there is quite a selection. Some of those are great players (yes, I’ve had a couple of those as well!).

Best of luck and keep us posted!

Pat

5

Tarin,

First, welcome to the Flute board. You will find that there is lots of helpful information here, and that your question has been asked quite a few times before. You might want to take a stab at looking thru the archives using the search function.

There are a couple of related side issues that should contribute to your decision. When I was in your shoes, they primarily resolved into intent, proficiency and economics. In other words, what are you trying to accomplish with switching to the “tenor” octave (playing in sessions, church, for yourself…)? This will help you decide whether you need a Low D instrument that is in A440 with a tuning slide, or can get by with a, typically less expensive and often easier to play Eb or F flute, one in a non-standard tuning, or low G whistle. For proficiency, where are you now with the whistle, and how far back are you willing to go to work out a flute embochure? If you have progressed past the beginner stage on the whistle, you will most likely find the Low D whistle easier to pick up and play. Of course the economics is obvious. With unlimited funds I would advise getting the best quality instrument of each type you could afford, and trying them out to see which you prefer. As you are probably aware, there is an active market, here and elsewhere, for good quality instruments, so whichever you decide you don’t want, you will be able to resell.

However, the likelyhood is that you are asking the question because you are not in the position to buy whatever suits your fancy. Flute and low whistle have similar, but significantly different sounds. You can check on YouTube, or on many of our member’s posts for good examples. If you have a strong preference there, your decision is easier.

My personal recommendation would be to get your hands on a decent relatively inexpensive, simple system flute (Tipple, Murphy, Hamilton student, Burns Folk) and practice with it for a while to see if you can work out the embochure issue. For some it is easy, and others a struggle they are not willing to take on. Personally I have had a hard time developing my embochure, but now at almost two years into playing I much prefer the flute and chose it preferentially over my low whistle. I find that the transverse fingering of a conical simple system flute (particularly a smaller hole Rudall style) a lot less stressful than a cylindrical low whistle, and I have rather large hands, but each to his own.

Best of luck with your decision in any case, and nice work with the english in your post.

6

All good advice here. I’ll add that most find the low whistle to be less challenging to get started on than the flute, while the flute offers a broader expressive range. Similar but different instruments, really, and you might want to pursue both.

Flute-wise, I started with a Tipple, tried a few more, and settled on a blackwood Copley. No regrets with any of it.

7

Definitely a flute :smiley: I really wish I would have started on the flute first. If you can play a flute well, then whistle and low whistle will become a breeze.

8

I tried a low whistle a couple of times, an awful experience.

most things like fingering, ornamentation and so on would be left for me to learn without a teacher - except books and videos and so on.

Most ornamentations are the same on flute and whistle.
I say you should at least try to start learning the flute…

9

First, welcome to the Flute board. You will find that there is lots of helpful information here, and that your question has been asked quite a few times before. You might want to take a stab at looking thru the archives using the search function.

Thank you :slight_smile: I tried to use the search function, but it doesn’t like my keywords like flute, whistle, lowhistle and so on - not special enough :smiley:
Wonder why all Users of the flute board say I should take the flute…

Ok, some more things about my situation. I play the whistle since last year’s fall or so. That means, I know theoretically what I am doing, but my fingers think otherwise. Slow Tunes work quite nice with practice and I’m beginning to practice some jigs and reels (sloooow). I have fun with it, that’s the most important thing.
About my motivation to buy a tenor instrument: First, it’s just the new octave. I’d like to be able to play some tunes lower and think they will sound quite nice down there :slight_smile: Second, I want to play with some friends or in sessions when I think my skills have approached enough (that’s not a reason for a tenor instrument, but for a loud instrument). I just like the tenor octave.
That tipple flutes look interesting. I will search for the brandnames you wrote and look what I can find there. Thanks for the answers so far, feel free to answer more :smiley:

Greetings
Tarin

10

Flute - no contest.

11

Both… :smiling_imp:

12

Both, great idea, I had them too. But the money… :frowning:

13

Both would be my suggestion. Yet, I much prefer the flute, mostly because of the challange, sound and besides it’s just plain cool. :smiley: I was in your position not very long ago, I have a large number of Burke whistles, as well as a few other makes that I’ve been fortunate to acquire, and I can assure you that you get what it is that you pay for with both whistles and flutes. I have a couple of flutes, key of “D” and I really don’t do much with the whistle. I also play the Boehm Flute and have a teacher; however, IMHO, it helps to a degree with the Irish Flute, but it isn’t the same in many respects. I don’t have a Irish Flute Teacher, I want one, but haven’t found one in the area of my home. I do on-line lessons with a man by the name of Blayne Chastain and have been very satisfied; he teaches both whistle and Irish Flute. Is it the same as having a teacher sitting right with you? Well, no, but it is about as close as you can get. Besides, I think that his lessons are very reasonable in price and are very helpful! Here is Blayne Chastain’s web address: http://blaynechastain.com/i-teach.

As far as flutes and makers, there are many very wonderful possibilities. In my limited experience, I would suggest four, Burns, Copley, Tipple and Forbes. The reason that I suggest these four Master Flute Makers is because I have had experience with their product and you can’t go wrong with any of them. Just depends upon your individual interests and preference, which in my opinion, change over time. BTW, welcome to the Flute Forum, I’m certain that you will find many, many helpful persons on this forum, I know that I have and they are all friendly and patient even with some of my dumb questions. Good Luck and enjoy the ride. Don.

14

but psy… a Tipple is about 1/4 of the price of any of the other three!

15

No contest. Flute is infinitely more versatile in tone and volume.

16

For all the other instruments that I have learned how to play, when I play the flute, I am a musician.

17

hi, i’m in the same boat… i’ve been playing the whistle for about 6 months or so and i’m starting to branch out…

i have a low whistle, a susato; you can read my post about playing it over on the whistle board:

https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/small-hands-thin-fingers/69721/1

i love low whistles; i think they have a totally unique sound, but there are caveats to learning to play them (see the link above :slight_smile:

as far as trying the flute… i got a tipple off of another c&f member; i’m trying to learn the embouchure now. not easy! :slight_smile: i think it’s going fairly well, i can almost get up and down a d scale now. but after about 10 minutes of trying i start making this weird barking noise (does anyone have any idea what that is?), i guess because the back of my throat isn’t open enough (that’s what it feels like).

but i’ll keep at it… anytime i get discouraged i just listen to my favorite kevin crawford song… :slight_smile:

cheers,
eric

18

As someone who lived in Arizona (mostly Tucson) for thirty years, I think I recognize that weird barking noise that you are referring to. I used to get that way due to my allergies from all of the blooming desert plants. It could be, though, that what you are experiencing is really not a bark but a honk. Many people try for years to get a honking sound, and you’ve gotten it in the first few months. I realize that Bowie is out in the middle of nowhere, but maybe you could find a flute player for a few lessons to help you over the hump with your embouchure. Enjoy your learning experiences with the flute. Best wishes, Doug

19

I am not sure how far Pheonix is from Tuscon, but there are some good players from there if you ever get a chance to visit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vcxqFXPwG8&feature=related

20

couple o’ hours if it goes well