The Clarke Tin Whistle tutorial package now comes with the Bill Ochs book, a Clake whistle in the key of D, and a CD in the key of D.
Not too long ago (at all), I understand that the package came with the Bill Ochs book, a whistle in the key of C, and a tape in the key of C. In fact, that package appears to still be available, as such.
As the earlier package was clearly geared toward the key of C, I presume that the original book was probably revised and transposed to a newer edition to be more suitable for the key of D. If this is in fact the case, would anyone possibly have a copy of the original edition of the book, indended for the C whistle, that might be interested in finding a new home?
I have a copy of the new book, and it really is not completely clear that the book has in fact really been changed (I’m just assuming that it was). Based on some verbage in the book, it is possible that the tunes may have always been written in D, and that the C whistle supplied with it was simply fingered as if it were a D whistle. The book is a bit confusing on this issue.
Clarke didn’t make a whistle in D, though the book itself was written as if in D, to start with. You should have read the Bill Ochs interview at the C&F homepage. Here is part of it:
By this time I had retired from street vending and had devoted thirteen years to teaching tin whistle classes at New York 's Irish Arts Center and St. Philip Neri School in the Bronx . The experience I gained from these classes honed my teaching skills and helped me develop a step-by-step tin whistle instruction method that worked for a broad range of students. I drew on these years of practical teaching experience when I finally sat down to write the Clarke book and record the tape in 1988.
I completed the Clarke project in August 1988, just in time to ship the first batch of whistle/book/tape sets to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for its Christmas catalog. The book has gone through twelve more printings since then. There are now two editions — the original 6 x 9 inch “pocket” edition and a new 9 x 12 inch “deluxe” edition. The instruction tape has been upgraded to a CD. The individual components, as well as the three-piece set, are available from my website (http://www.pennywhistle.com).
Paul: The set was originally packaged with a C whistle and a key of C recording. Now it’s available in D?.
Bill: Right. When I set out to do this project, Clarke hadn’t manufactured a D whistle for over fifty years. Since the C whistle was the only Clarke available at the time, my original recording was in C. (My book was in D from the start. Long story — tin whistles are transposing instruments.)
In late 1989, Clarke produced a new D whistle; I followed with a key of D recording in 1991. Releasing the key of D recording opened up a whole new market for the tutorial. People who don’t play Clarke whistles began to use the package as a general tin whistle instruction method. The book and CD are compatible with any D whistle.