Since many people have made the transition from pennywhistle to Irish flute I was wondering if they could tell me what their experience was like. I hope that since much of the fingering is the same that when I decide to tryout the flute I won’t be starting from scratch and playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for hours on end…not that I don’t like the song but I think I played enough of it on the pennywhistle. Does anyone have any hints on making this transition easier. Thanks.
When learning any new instrument, I think it best to start with simple, familiar tunes. Play slowly and accurately.
On flute, I think it also helps to play scales and long tones since you must learn the embouchure and how to produce a solid, steady tone in both registers. Scales and scales in thirds will also help finger dexterity with the flutes larger holes and reach.
Be aware that you will get dizzy at first when playing flute–so practice while seated.
Also holding the flute can be a challenge at first. It is a much larger instrument than a whisltle and must be balanced rather than just held up to the face.
I have a page which may help some on this:
http://www.flutesite.com/flute_position_&_posture.htm
Best wishes and best of luck to you,
–James
First off, I must say I consider Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star a classic. My 4 year old has taught my wife and I to sing it every night as his bedtime song. What singing this song, every night, for a year has taught me is that the books don’t arrange this one very well. You need to add triplets, rolls, cuts and taps to make it truly shine… 
Or, if you don’t, you’ll slowly go insane - 
OK, now on to the serious stuff. The switch will and won’t be as easy as you expect it to be. I think playing horizontally feels different and takes adjustment compared to the vertical whistle. Fingerings are the same with the exception that various makes of flutes either do better with half-holing or cross-fingering. What will be hard, especially if you’ve never played flute and don’t have someone to teach you is the embouchure. The first time I tried to play flute, I spent 15 minutes for 3 nights in a row getting very dizzy while producing minimal sounds. Once you get a good embouchure (which can take ages to truly get a good one), the breath requirements, while still much more than a high whistle, are not that bad. But at first, where you could go through the entire A section of a jig on one breath, now you need 3 or 4! Personally, I think it just takes longer to get good on the flute vs. good on the whistle (notice I’m saying good - not mastering either instrument).
One final tip. I do think you need to start out with a good instrument, because a bad instrument can be really discouraging. I’m not talking a $1,000 flute to start with, Alan Mount or Calmont are reported to make good cylindrical PVC flutes for less than $50. Patrick Olwell, Tallgrass Winds, and Erik the Flutemaker make nice bamboo flutes (really nice) that play Irish well for less than $100. But my personal choice (I’m very biased, I own one), is the Tony Dixon 3 piece polymer for between $189-$250 since it’s a real conical flute like the more expensive blackwood ones (plus it’s indestructible).
I hope that helps!
Eric
EDIT NOTE - I just saw that James responded above. I found his web page to be extremely helpful in my progression on Irish flute. If you’ve ever played Boehm flute in the past like I did, his site can really help you learn how the playing style and technique differ for Boehm vs. Irish flute.
Thanks for the tips!
I’ve never been a regular whistle player. Just futtered about on them when I wasn’t playing GHB. Though I was a long time fan of Matt Molloy, it never really enterd my mind to try flute until I saw the Dixon Low D Duo. Then when I got the 3-piece I was hooked. It also made playing horizontally a lot easier.
The biggest trouble I had was playing horizontal. I played using pipers’ grip at first but my top hand would get sore. Then I tried traditional grip and my left hand would immediately cramp up. I’d look at the pictures in the Timber tutor and no matter where I put my thumb it would still cramp up. Oddly it was a picture in a Waterboys CD booklet that got me playing traditional grip with out pain. There was a drawing of a flute player who had kind of exaggerated posture on his left hand but it was proper posture. I tried that and before long I was playing traditional grip quite comfortably. My C finger is still not as quick as I’d like since that finger on GHB is the primary gracing finger. I’m sure it will improve with practice.
Cheers,
Aaron
Welcome to the group! Lots of good recommendations on flutes to buy! Here’s my experience, which may or may not be of some benefit.
When I began on flute, (Boehm), I learned that you take the headjoint off and holding the open end closed with the palm of your right hand, simply practice making a sound. (Because it’s early at my house right now, I’m not going to try this on my keyless flute to see if it works, but I’ll bet it does). You can sit in the living room watching t.v. and practice this during commercials, like I did, or even at stop lights while driving. 
Then, when you have that down, assemble the flute and start practicing some of the easier notes (usually first octave G on down)
I didn’t find it more difficult to transfer from Boehm flute to wooden except there is a mighty difference in the sound quality you are trying to achieve, and that requires some dilligent effort. My blackwood flute is very forgiving, so I could make it sing right away, but it sounds much more “Irish” now that I have practiced a lot on it, and listened to many many CD’s of Irish trad music… It’s all in the emboucher.
Holding the flute can be tricky and painful, and it is easy to hurt yourself, so look at the examples carefully to make sure you do this properly. Pay attention to your wrists especially. The whistle is a totally different character than the flute, and as somebody mentioned already, your flute will be heavier.
As for the music, I find that practicing my whistle on days when I’m too tired to pick up the flute help keep my fingers agile, and it feels like they actually “memorize” the tunes. This is a huge advantage for me, because then when I take out my flute, I usually have the fingering down, and find I can devote time to other matters, like emboucher, breathing, phrasing, ornamentation, etc etc etc
No doubt flute can keep you busy and happy for a long time, whichever brand you choose!
M
edit: Twinkle Twinkle was composed by Mozart, and I have heard some GORGEOUS variations on it 
I found transition easier when I bought a Yamaha plastic fife. The finger seperation was similar, although it was a “c” German Recorder scale and I got used to that " f " crossfingering needed in a Boehm keywork. This fife was very forgiving in the embouchure transition as well. TTFA