Hello, newbie here.
After falling in love with the low whistle on youtube, I went out to the local
Folk music shop and bought a low whistle. Now in my youth I played
clarinet, however I cannot get more than about 5 notes out of this thing! The
lowest note won’t sound at all, and the upper notes keep wanting to flip to
the upper register. When I blow very hard on it, it seems to do better. Do I not
have enough windpower to play? I have a recorder at home and have started
practicing on that hoping to improve my skills. It would really be a shame to
not ever be able to play the tinwhistle. I have a low Eb Susato, pvc plastic
one piece (no twisting the mouthpiece!). I’d appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!
Cara -crazylady
I might buy a cheap high d whistle to practice on as well, more so than a low one for a bit. A recorder might be similar in terms of air, but the fingering is different, which might be troublesome (I started playing recorder, but if I picked it up now I’d be in trouble, since I’m so ingrained with whistle fingering). Also, look up pipers grip on the C&F website and try it, although with an e flat it might not be necessary? But most importantly just be patient. I’ve played high whistle on and off for ages, but just got a low D for christmas, and it’s definitely a challenge…after a month I’m getting the hang of breathing consistently and am making far fewer swingset noises than I used too…but still have a long way to go! Good luck!
(and hi message board…I guess I’ve officially stopped lurking now)
A low E flat Susato should play very easily.
If you’re new to low whistles, you may be experiencing difficulty sealing the finger holes. Notes will only sound properly if all the finger holes above the hole that the note is issuing from are sealed. If there are leaks the notes will squeak and break the octave. Obviously the lower you go the more fingers there are to potentially leak.
An easy way to test this is to put tape over all six fingerholes. Make sure that the tape makes an airtight seal all around each hole. Then practice blowing rather softly and getting a nice low note- the low E flat- what Irish whistle players, flute players, and uilleann pipers call “bottom D” regardless of the actual pitch.
This should demonstrate that the whistle itself is playing fine.
I’ve owned a large number of Susatos in various pitches and I’ve never encountered a defective one.
After finding the right blowing strength to get the bottom note, you can practice blowing a tad harder to make a note one octave higher, also E flat, what Irish wind players call “middle D” (“back D” on the pipes).
Thank you for your suggestions. I’ve been trying to learn the piper’s grip, but of
course old habits are hard to undo. Thank you for the suggestion about the tape!
I think I’ll try that, and try to slow down on my expectations. The recorder is coming along fine,
the hard part is that I’ve never learned how to finger sharps
and flats on it, but at least I can play something that sounds vaguely like music. Then I’ll need to practice
blowing on the low whistle and not expect it to sound like anything
for awhile. I’ve been sitting at the piano with it, trying to figure out what octave it
's playing in, and if I have any music I can adapt for it. It’s been interesting!
Crazylady
If you need music, try www.thesession.org, and look for some of the tunes you liked from youtube. There’s tons on there.
It shouldn’t be so hard! Alba is a good bet for quality at reasonable price.
Cheers, Cyril.
Where do you live that there is a local folk music shop with low whistles in stock? Please keep us up on how things are going.
Tucson Arizona 
Many Low Whistles have cylindrical bores that require large amounts of wind to sound properly.
I suggest reducing the bore end hole (at the bottom) a little with some wax/putty etc. If you reduce the diameter of the bore end hole a little you will create backpressure, increase voicing/embouchure efficiency and reduce the amount of wind you need to play. Please use something that will not damage your instrument though. Wax and putty are easy to adjust/remove without worries.
Don’t worry, you will learn to master the beast, as did the rest of us 