I had a completely free house tonight so instead of having a party (not that I would) I got me whistles
put the kettle on for a hot cupan tae and practiced. Then as it was still a free noiseless home
I made this recording using my Clarke Sweetone D whistle which will be a year old soon.
Bill must be playing the original Clarke, as my Sweetone is not near as pure sounding.
Recording details
Bill Ochs & myself play the “Eagles Whistle” and old Irish pipe tune going by Bills information it’s over 300 years old
Bill does the first bar on the Left Channel (speaker) and I join in on the Right Channel (speaker).
I didn’t mimic him playing so you will hear me interact with the melody.
Thanks for posting that! I’ve been trying to slow that one down and play it pretty like the Seamus Ennis recording of it I have. Talk about setting the bar a bit high! The march version of Bill Ochs’ is nice too. Nothin’ like a good march.
How are ya liking the Sweetone? My Shaw hasn’t been getting much use lately. The conical tube doesn’t seem as comfortable as my old Waltons D.
Anyway, I really should update my recording(s) of The Eagle’s Whistle one of these days. Right now it’s hard to with 2-5 fans going all the time.
Thanks for the thanks and thanks for commenting I gave this wee tune a fair bit of practice to get the point where I was able to experiment a little with my phrasing. That said I didn’t play-along with Bill much and when I decided to make the recording I tried all my whistles and kept getting put of track but as soon as I lifted my Sweetone I got the recording in one take.
Even though I play the Dixon Trad every bit as much as the Sweetone when it comes to strings of sixteenth notes like in the tune Tralee Gaol tune on page 55 of Clarke’s Tutorial the conical bore on the Sweetone allows me to pop those notes out consistently with ease compared to the Dixon Trad. I don’t know whether it’s a physical advantage/ease because of the bore or just time spent on the whistle. Whatever the reason I like playing the Sweetone for it breathy non pure tone and really like how it sounded compared to Bill whistle on The Eagles Whistle.
2-5 fans you say, I take it your getting a good spell of high pressure too we’re getting 25°C at the moment which has been unheard of in my hometown in Ireland for a number of years so I’ll not complain to much and I spend a lot of my spare time in the back of the house which is shaded from the sun to late evening. I’ll have to check out Seamus Ennis too for now good luck and keep whistling
You’re welcome, you’re welcome, and if you ever make a trip across the pond to NY…you’re welcome!
I’m gonna have to play around with this tune at a little faster tempo. That Allan Henderson clip is a good one. It’s somewhere among many on one of my YouTube playlists. He’s doing some interesting stuff on the fiddle I’d like to try and steal…uh…emulate, if possible.
Interesting how different folks have different preferences. I end up going back to the cylindrical bore because to my crooked fingers and tendinitis wrists their more comfortable.
2-5 fans you say, I take it your getting a good spell of high pressure too…
High temps and oppressive dew points for the past few weeks. And a lot of rain. With so much heat and moisture the Shaw doesn’t get used much.
I’ll have to check out Seamus Ennis too for now good luck and keep whistling
Definitely!
Yup, I think it’s time to put the silencer on the Waltons and have a little fun with The Eagle’s Whistle.
I gave this wee tune a fair bit of practice to get the point where I was able to experiment a little with my phrasing. That said I didn’t play-along with Bill much and when I decided to make the recording I tried all my whistles and kept getting put of track but as soon as I lifted my Sweetone I got the recording in one take.