Hello to all. My name is Bryan and I am a recorder player looking to enter into the world of the Irish Tin Whistle. Because I am very neive to the whistle I look for advice from you fine players.
As you have probably heard many times before, what would be my best choice to begin my studies with? Would it be best to start with a higher quality instrument or grow into a high quality instrument? I ask this because as with recorder playing, a finer instrument is one made with the ability to have different colored voices and a novice player would not be able to produce or perhaps understand the requirements of these voices and have a harder time learning the instrument. It seems to me that the high D whistle is most popular but I have seen sets with as many as 10 whistles in different keys? Would a whistle player eventually need to learn all the different key instruments? Is it most common to begin with the high D?
I have seen different names for these whistles begin, penny whistle, tin whistle, irish whistle, and celtic whistle. Are these all the same instrument or are there slight differences in these?
In regards to price, I am not afraid to spend more for a better whistle if it would help and advance the learning process if need be. Of course, I would be looking for a good beginner method which any recommendations would be very greatful.
All the names you list are the same instrument - just different names. From what I’ve seen in Ireland they seem to mostly go for “tin whistle” there.
D is probably the best key to start with. Not only is it a very comfortable size to play for most sizes of hands, but it’s one of the most common session keys, and the key that most tutorial CDs will use.
For whistles to start on I’d recommend a Feadog D and a Clarke Sweetone D. Personally I wouldn’t recommend speding more than £3 or £4 on an instrument at this stage - there’s really no need.
As for learning materials. There’s http://www.whistletutor.com/ which is good. One of the most widely recommended book/CD packages amongst the whistlers here is The Clarke Tin Whistle Tutor by Bill Ochs. That’s a real good solid starter for anyone.
I’ll do my best to answer your questions. I’m sure others will too!
There’s nothing wrong with starting with a cheap mass-produced instrument. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with staying with one either. They have a sound that many traditional musicians prefer. Some are more in tune than others, so you might want to try a few different brands to find one that suits you. Since most “cheapies” can be had for $10.00 US or less, most folks find it easy to try at least a couple.
After you have gotten your feet wet, you’ll likely start noticing what it is you want out of a whistle’s sound. This would probably be a good time to evaluate the more expensive instruments and see which one (if any) fit your needs. Be aware that tinwhistles are instruments of compromise, and so you’ll be finding the instrument where the compromises made suit you best. Loud? Soft? Plays good outdoors, or fails in the wind? Good second octave, but weak first octave? Strong first octave, but more breath in the second? Those are some of the myriad of choices you’ll face. Some folks end up finding an inexpensive whistle that suits them, and as I mentioned above, that’s just fine.
As for keys, it depends on what you want to play. I play mostly Irish music, and find that a D pennywhistle is what I need 99% of the time. I know a couple of tunes that we play using a C whistle. When I was in a professional band in Houston, and played backup to pub songs, I also had whistles in B-flat and F, because we had singers singing in those keys. The whistle is a “transposing instrument”, so if you learn a tune in D, you can use the same fingerings on a different whistle, and the music will automatically transpose to that key. So, for instance, I learned Foggy Dew on the the D whistle…we had a singer who liked to sing it in B-flat..so I just grabbed a B-flat whistle, used the same fingerings, and we were golden. If you’re not playing Irish music, the keys you need will depend on the kind of music you want to play, and you’ll have to do that evaluation.
Penny whistle, irish whistle, tinwhistle, whistle, fipple flute, etc, are all names for the exact same thing.
Hi bfloyd—We like new people. I am a beginner too so there aren’t very many whistle questions I can answer. I’ll add three more tutorial websites that I think are pretty nice in case you need some more simple tunes.
Whatever whistles you pick to start out with, I would stick with those for awhile just so you can see what you can do with them. Since you’ve been playing the recorder I think that will help you out a lot. I had never played a wind instrument before and it was a very different experience for me. Have a good time!
Thank you to all for the warm welcome and information!! It appears that the high D whistle is the best to begin with. How common is the low D whistle in music? I would think it would be possible to play the high D whistle music using the low D whistle? I have heard sound samples and it sounds very beautiful.
Also, how far back in history does the irish whistle go back to. Does it reach the medieval and renaissance eras? I am a very big fan of this era, hence the recorder. I believe O’Carolan was in the renaissance era???
Did anyone mention listening to recordings? They make a wonderful adjunct to the tutorials, and give you an idea of which direction you may want to go in developing your own style.
I’m a big fan of Seamus Egan, who plays many more instruments than whistle, but it may be a bit like picking up your first recorder and then listening to Michaela Petri–a bit overwhelming to think of reaching that skill level.
I also enjoy listening to Joanie Madden, solo or with Cherish the Ladies.
In fact, you can run into whistle tunes on almost any Celtic music CD. (I mean “Celtic” in the sense of traditional music of Ireland, Scotland, etc., but whistle shows up in other genres, of course.)
It’s a whole lot of fun, for sure, and I hope you enjoy yourself!
Hi Bryan. I’ll rerspond on behalf of all us experienced but not so fine players. I would suggest as have others that you begin with a good book/cd combo like the Ochs set to get the basics; get some really fine whistle cds (there’s a recent thread on people’s favorite whistle cds) as well as some group cds to get the feel of the music; acquire a couple of high D cheap whistles (original Clarke, Faedog, Walton, Generation etc.). Try some Susatos, a Dixon, whatever…It really doesn’t matter, because as you progress and develop a love for this the dreaded WHOA will overcome you at whatever particular pace it chooses…it’s unavoidable…so have fun and welcome.
High D vs. Low D may depend on what you most want to play. I don’t play a low D because my hands are too small. The low whistles play slow airs beautifully, but I don’t hear a lot of reels and jigs on them. (Not that there aren’t any, I just don’t know.)
Yes, you could read the same music, as they’re just an octave apart.
You may or may not already know this, but the D whistles are “concert pitch,” in that the bell note, all fingers down–XXX XXX–is the note “D.” In C whistles, that note would be “C.” I come to whistle from flute, so I think in concert pitch and really struggle if I have to transpose in my head. You may not have that problem if you’re accustomed to moving from soprano to alto recorder, but you haven’t told us yet which recorders you play.
But if you learn every tune as if it were a D tune, you can pick up the G whistle and play it in G just fine.
There are lot of musicians who insist that you’re not really playing the tune until you can play it from memory. I was at a workshop recently given by a fiddler who never uses music. He said that if you play the tune for 20 solid minutes, you’ll have it for life. And the more I learn about muscle memory and neural pathways, I absolutely believe that. So anything anyone’s ever told you about practice it true.
Thanks, M. Yes, I play both C and F recorders in the range from sopranino to bass. Soprano and tenor being my favorite and alto next. I understand the trouble if one was to read the specific key instrument in concert pitch.
I agree with you about learning the piece or song to memory. Playing from memory lets one open up the voices and characteristics of the music and be able to play with more expression. It is difficult to express ourselve’s playing when we are glued to the notation. On the other end of it, sightreading is a gift in itself as well.
Yup, the hi-D and low-d are exactly the same…just an octave lower.
Oh, and a bit more stretch.
You can play the same tunes on any whistle in any key using the same fingerings you use on the D. They will just come out in the key of the whistle. Does that make sense?
Well nobody has compared the two so I will Soprano C Recorder is a D Whistle with a thumb and pinkie hole but Whistle has a different size bore which creates the difference in tone so that means a Tenor C is like a low D whistle. I would suggest getting a few cheapies then moving on my favorite Whistles are Burkes and Bleazeys both are very different I have tried many Whistles and hace quite a collection in fact I have some for sale (you can email or PM me for more details) I have so many.
welcome to our CF family because that’s what we are…and you will learn lots just by reading along here and when you are ready, hop in to the discussions, which is part of the fun, no matter how long you play yet.
for a first whistle, I would suggest, get something cheap just to get your feet wet, and see if you like playing this at all, then start looking around for others and find the ones you like most.
The alternative to a low D whistle is the Irish flute. Exact same key, same fingerings.
The big difference is in how you make a sound - the embouchure on a lfute can be challenging at first, but in the long run it allows a great deal of tonal flexibility.
Flutes also have a shorter finger reach than a low-D whistle. Finally, they are usually louder., which is important if you ever feel like playing sessions.
I enjoy the tone of both instruments - they are distinctly different. Just giving you some more options for the long run!
As many of your other questions have already been answered, may I simply recomend Susato whistles to you. http://www.susato.com/
They are probably the best cheap whistles out there, but they are loud, and sound a little recorderish (but still good to my ears). these qualities can apparently be tweaked out of them, and many tweakers here could give you a lot of good advice about that, but I am quite happy with my low D as it is, and have never felt the need to tweak it in the least (as where all my other inexpensive whistles have gone under the knife).
The reason I think Susatos are good is because they have the best quality control of any of the inexpensive whistles, and they are tunable. You can also get three bodies that go with one head for D, C, and Eb whistles, which are probably the most useful keys to have if you plan on playing with others (though I usually play in non-trad settings, and use Bb more often than Eb). Of course, if you want the real tradtional whistle sound, it might be better to go another route.
Another fairly cheap whistle that I can recomend from experience is the Mellow Dog (a frankenstein whistle created by the great pro-whistle tweaker, Jerry Freeman, a member of this very forum). It’s in the next price bracket up, but it has a more traditional sound, and is generally just plain better than anything out there at the same price or lower. Just type “Mellow Dog” in Ebay, and you’ll find it rather quickly.
Of course, being an expeireinced recorder player, I imagine you have very good breath control already, and may just as well look into getting a very expensive whistle if you so desire. In the world of whistles, the expensive ones are generally worth it, as they are pretty much all hand made.
For comparison of D and Low D, think of a soprano and a tenor recorder. Same relationship. In fact, although the soprano and tenor claim to be in C, they are REALLY D instruments, with the extra C and C# tacked on at the bottom.
If you’re really into playing baroque music, be prepared for some changes especially in the area of ornamentation. The ornaments are sometimes written using the same notation, but they are played ENTIRELY differently. Philo mentioned the Bill Ochs book/CD set, and this is a terrific way to see and hear the difference.
And don’t listen to these people----- you DEFINITELY need a high priced whistle, preferably made of wood!
Let me endorse the particular high-priced wooden whistles that the above writer so cunningly mentions! (That said, I’m also very happy with my thrift-shop vintage Generation.)
I think that will be one of the most important things to understand for most musicians crossing over to ITM music. Sometimes it is harder to forget than learn. It is hard to play something correctly when you have notions of what “correct” should be.
