Hello folks, Azalin and I continue to have a great time in Ireland. I’m in galway now after Willy Week and then the South Sligo Summer School. Being here has really made me think about our (collective)whistle obsession. People here DO NOT play fancy whistles. In three weeks I’ve been here I’ve seen only 2 Sindts and a Chieftain, but beside that it has been only Generations, Susatos and Feadogs. The people playing these whistles are absolutely incredible (Sean Potts, Christy Barry, Geraldine Cotter, Gavin Whelan… the list goes on and on). They literally laugh at the idea of a whistle costing more than ten dollars, let alone the $300 dollars many of us are spending on high end whistles (myself included). The idea that we would spend so much on a whistle is a total joke to them. Their advice is to just “learn to play the darn things”. I think this is something we need to think about… seriously. Low whistles - people here don’t play them. Not only do they not play them, they generally hate them, saying that they’re not traditional instruments and that they sound out of place in Irish music. To the Irish musicians I’ve met, you either play whistle or flute (or both), but low whistle has no place in Irish music. These are the sentiments of the extremely talented and well known musicians I have met while here, not my own sentiments. Please understand that clearly. Well, I hope this inspires some thought. I’m off to the session.
All the best,
Chris
Wow, that is really interesting. Thanks for the warning. Regardless, I’ll be bringing my Abell d, because it deserves to go.
Jessie
Chris-
If you happen to find your self at Gogarty’s
Pub in Dublin you may encounter a regular
there who owns a whole set of low whistles
which I beleive to be Cheiftains.
He played an incredible tune called “The
Lone Boatman” (I think) which is a Finbar
Furey tune. Trust me, no one laughed at him!
Btw, he kept his whistles on a wooden stand with pegs. Pretty cool!
Alberto
There is a lot of wisdom in keeping a simple instrument as simple and unasumming as possible.
I don’t want to take away from that, however, I find it ironic that the standard of ‘traditional’ whistling would be a high heat injection molded plastic head with an equally technologically intense extruded and machined copper or nickel body.
I can imagine someone saying, “If you really want to play traditional music you need to study from a master and create your own instrument based upon centuries of inherited knowledge.” That makes sense to me, but “Go buy your mass produced whistle at the store” just doesn’t sound that traditional.
Do you have to buy an expensive whistle to sound good? No. The truth is that in the hands of a master, even a towel rod can sound great. And I don’t think that anyone should laugh at someone’s choice to play a Generation all their lives. But to laugh at someone’s hard work in creating an instrument of superior sound and quality construction… well, that just doesn’t seem nice.
Peace,
Erik
Hi Erik!
here is your quote (sorry I don’t know how to use the quote thingy):
“I can imagine someone saying, “If you really want to play traditional music you need to study from a master and create your own instrument based upon centuries of inherited knowledge.” That makes sense to me, but “Go buy your mass produced whistle at the store” just doesn’t sound that traditional.”
I really wanted to learn traditional music (and did) and did NONE of the above! I’m glad that I didn’t have some dang know-it-all “master” to mess it up for me! 
So I guess what I’m saying is that times
change, instruments change (or evolve if you
prefer) and so do people and perceptions.
So I say go with it and don’t be so all
consumed with these rigid ideas of what is
traditional or who is more trad. than thou!
Too complicated. Just find a whistle you like and have fun!
Alberto
No one plays the Low Whistle?
Not even Joe McKenna and Finbar Furey anymore, I take it. I think they may not be as widespread as the high D, but they are definitely played. I’ve even heard them!!
I think that the point about learning to play the whistle is well made. But what I took from that is ‘you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear’ (a widely used phrase over here). The more skilled players that I have met are just as fussy about the quality of their whistles as anyone. Read the sleeve notes of some of the more contemporary Irish band’s CD’s for proof of this!
Take care
Steve
Give it time and the low whistle will stand or fall on its own merits (or a talented advocate’s) and become “traditional” eventually. Were the guitar, bouzouki, or banjo “traditional” when the first appeared on the scene. How about the fiddle or wood flute? I imagine they were embraced quickly, but some probably thought they were atrocities. Wait another 20yrs and see what else crops up and becomes traditional. The guys who scoffed at expensive whistles probably never listened closely to a good one played well. You’ll have to show them.
Tony
They shouldn’t be so fanatic. After all, it’s folk music, not the Holy Grail! It should just be joy and fun. And how can a plastic fipple be a symbol of tradition?
Having just received a new Copeland and a simply wonderful new guitar from Dan Dubowski (www.dandubowksi.com), and having progressed through a number of steadily ‘better’ and ‘more expensive’ instruments, I’ve reached the following conclusion …
In general, a better instrument WILL make you play better. This is, to a small degree because it’s a more capable instrument, but to a much larger degree because a beautiful instrument is inspiring and motivational in it’s own right. Each time I get a better instrument I find it very hard to drag myself away from it - and my playing noticeably improves quite quickly from (a) the extra time I’m putting in and (b) the extra confidence it gives me.
If you can afford it, do it - spoil yourself. A great instrument will command you to pay it the respect it deserves by jolly well learning to play it!
It would seem that whistle choice can be strongly effected by regional tendencies, as I think applies even here the U.S. I just returned from Irish Arts Week, and was quite surprised to notice that the majority of whistle players were using Sindts. This could have been due to the fact that John Sindt lives in that region, however, there were people there from other areas as well. Mary was using a Sindt and a Generation, but her low whistles were Copelands (I think)
In my area, people tend to use Susatos and Clarkes, and do make a fuss over the extravagancy of buying an expensive whistle. I normally use a Silkstone Alloy D, but put it away for Arts Week, in favour of my Sindt, just to fit in better. Plus, Mary did not particularly like my Silkstone either, and I feel rather dispondent about that. My own opinion is that each of us will find his ideal whistle, one that responds to our breath in a way we feel confident, and hopefully, stick with it.
I had a Dollar General kid’s Plastic and gave it away to a beginner!
I will buy another when the humor takes me!
When I do play - rarely these days …ould age I guess … I have a Sodlums given me by a fine player from Arkansas years ago.
I bought a Generation to see if it would go here in the humind high plains… it does sometimes. I used have a bag of Clare whistles, gave them all away years ago all along the West Coast … lol. At the time nobody knew what they were, one guy - a student even asked me ‘who is Clare’? I think I paid USD equivalent of 5 Bucks ea for these.
Seriously - you do NOT need a 300 dollar whistle to learn upon, but later when expert at it I bet it would make one sound better.
Hi Tephillah,
My feeling is that many people like the Sindt whistle because it plays both octaves with the ease of a Generation whistle but without those disturbing squeaks and squawks that sometimes occur with one unless you are lucky enough to have a very good one. With most of my expensive whistles I also have to remember to give that extra blast of air so that the upper notes in the second octave don’t break up. This is not true with my D Sindt. I can just relax and play music and not have to worry about the idiosyncrasies of the whistle. I agree with you that we each need to find our own ideal whistle. It’s like buying a good pair of shoes! The best brand is the one that fits! If you like your Silkstone even better than your Sindt maybe I should try one!
Best wishes, Tom
Here’s another thought: Isn’t it funny that if one of us were to find a first rate set of pipes, or a great fiddle, flute, or concertina for 300 bucks, we’d think we’d made the find of the century?
It seem that that the majority of low whistles are the piper in Ireland,open any piper case and there’ll be at least one Low D Overton,Chieftain or Kerry Pro.These whistles always seem to go hand in hand with piping.
The new folk that seem to be developing in Ireland has low whistle firmly embeded in the culture thanks to the like of M.McGoldrick,J.McSherry and D.Spillane.
Its these ambassadors of the culture that we have to thank for evolving the music and also preserving the tradition.
Everything in life moves on ,so this stick in the mud attitude of the few is thankfully being superceded by the many.
Long live the low whistle.
Phil.
The first CD I sold in my new shop (last Saturday) was 'Low Whistle - by Phil Hardy. Say no more!!
(oh, Phil - you promised me a poster
Steve Power
I knew this would be a controversial issue First off, I didn’t mean to offend anyone, especially not any of the wonderful whistle craftsmen, Mr. hardy included. I myself love the low whistle and have quite a collection of them. Indeed, low whistles do appear on many CDs these days and are often part of the major bands. I think they sound great. I also think that the reason low whistle shave become such a big part of the CD and gigue scene is that it is next to impossible to have flutes and pipes in all the various keys that the likes of McGoldrick, Lunasa, and McSherry use on their albums, while it is relatively inexpensive to buy whistles in all those keys. I love low whistles, but that doesn’t mean they have been completely accepted into the Irish tradition over in Ireland, at least not in the west… maybe in Dublin. I’ve seen a LOT of pipers over here, and not one of the m pulled out a low D, though many had high D whistles that they broke out from time to time. Anyways, the point of my post was not to put down low whistles, nor fancy whistles, but to just let people know that for the most part, people over here just spend 5 punt for a Generation and practice until they’ve mastered it. I HAVE heard numerous Irish musicians, notably flute and pipes players say they detest the low whistle. I would welcome one to a session, but they wouldn’t. On another note, Davy Spillane plays, except for his newest Cd, new age Celtic music, definately not straight traditional. McGoldrick, one of my favorites, was recently described in my flute class with a very, very prominent Sligo flute legend, as “Celtic elevator music”. This is the view from Sligo and Clare. I can’t speak for Dublin but that’s the way it is here. Also, I think people would talk right over you around here if you tried to play “The Lonesome Boatman” in a session. That’s just the way it is. So… let the debate continue.
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisLaughlin on 2001-07-26 12:16 ]
I suspect that whistle playing in
America is likely to go it’s own way,
at least somewhat, and become less
traditional–partly because of
expensive whistles. They sound great
with American folk music, klezmer, blues,
country, middle eastern music, Bach, and
on and on. Lots of ‘non-traditional’
music sounds better on Copelands
and Abells than it does on Feadogs.
Celtic music may always be the core
repertoire, but hey, it’s the new world,
after all.
Interesting stuff. I guess the only thing I’d contribute is that, in my opinion, there is the world of whistle-in-Irish-traditional-music and then there is the shadowy world of whistle-in-other-music. For whatever reason, and I think some of it is of the “IT’S JUST THE WAY IT IS DONE” kind of reason, the trad favors inexpensive whistles. I don’t find this particularly RATIONAL, but personal preferences never really are. And, there is something cool about an under-$10 instrument holding up against $2500+ concertinas and expensive flutes, etc. So, I can only identify three reasons for the trad bias against more expensive instruments:
-
If a cheap instrument is good and serviceable, why spend more?
-
There’s a roughness to the sound of cheap instruments that is compatible with the style of music. Variation on that theme: The expensive whistles sound “too good.” “Too sweet” “too pure.” That kinda thing. This reason, I think, DOES have some real merit.
-
The inexpensive instruments were all that were available for a long time, and decades worth of familiarity and loyalty were established.
Dale
[ This Message was edited by: DaleWisely on 2001-07-26 22:30 ]
Dale,
You make some excellent points, and I think you hit the nail on the head! Thanks.
Sue
Here here!
I was in Cork for over a year, and I must agree that expensive whistles are rather looked at funny, if not down upon (probably because many of them couldn’t afford such a thing, yet its not unheard of to spend several hundred if not grand on a good fiddle bow). But yes, it does seem that pipers are almost exclusively the ones who play the low whistle. The flute was a much more popular instrument, and all decent players who I met could pick my Overton Low D and crank out quite a lovely tune or two.