I swear I saw a topic like this before, but I could not find it, so apologize me opening a new one…
Am thinking about buying an Bb or A whistle, likely a Bleazey Blackwood.
I like the sound of Bb whistles, and I have a Bb Uilleann Pipes set on order, so I could play same tunes in same pitches…but why should I? Paying whistle and pipes simultaneously is something for 4-armed aliens, not for me.
So I thought about an A whistle…major scales A and D, so I probably could play nearly any D tune on it, the Bminor tunes even better than on a D whistle and additionally those seldom Amajor ones. But why should I use an A whistle when I can use a D one which I already own?
I can think of a few reasons, depending on the tune or song. A main one for me is choice of octave/pitch. If we’re playing a tune/song in A that starts on an A, B or C# note, I can use the lower octave on an A whistle. If I use a D whistle (soprano), I have to play an octave higher. Depends on the sound you want…
Also, I have certain fingering “sequences” that are easier for me than others. Once again, depending on what note the tune starts on, I might find I prefer the fingering sequence of one keyed whistle to another. This is part of the reason I play many G tunes on a D whistle; I can play the fingering sequences quicker than on a G. Once again, it depends on the particular tune/song.
The best…maybe the only…reason for an A whistle in session in the US is to play Ashokan Farewell.
However, it is a very pleasant whistle in its own right, low and mellow. And I find that after playing for a while on the A whistle I have a LOT more lung power for playing a D.
Maybe in your session, certainly not in ours! I can’t remember the last time I heard someone play Ashokan Farewell. As for other A whistle session tunes, we played “Bea Maye’s” at the session/party today at my house and I learned the common A major session tune “The Dawn” from Brian Conway last week. Both are better on A whistle.
The main use for an A whistle in a session is to play tunes in D that reach below the note D. Some of these would include: Fergal O’Gara, Lady Anne Montgomery, The Silver Spire, The Mountain Road, Bear Island. I’m sure there are a bunch more but these are what come to mind right now.
Though to be honest, I routinely play the middle three on that list on D whistle. You have to push a few notes up an octave, sure, but it’s no big deal. There are a lot of tunes like that, and relatively few where octave switching is a problem.
“Sessions” in my area are really mixed acoustic jams, so a lot of American style fiddle tunes are played. The gang I play with isn’t too picky about instrumentation, so if I know the tune, I will play along on whistles (especially on the tunes they swiped from Ireland like Little Beggerman). Quite a number of tunes like Road to California (NOT Off to California), are a perfect fit on the A whistle, making these particular tunes a bit easier to play.
I play my A whistle all the time in sessions; many tunes just don’t fit on the D whistle (especially A major). In certain settings (not your average pub session, necessarily) it’s a terrific instrument to transpose a tune to from its standard setting to give it a different voicing. On my CD I do “The Musical Priest” in the oh-so-trad key of F sharp minor. Weeeee.
Yep! When the tune came out on the Civil War series, a former band mate went right out and had Pat O’Riordan whip her up an A whistle just so she could play the tune. I just transposed the whole thing a couple of years ago to key of G so it would fit on my pipes.
Love that tune - I did a little homemade recording of Ashokan right after I got my Chieftain A: Ashokan Farewell
We often play it at our sessions down here too, along with the tunes mentioned above. My band also plays a traditional version Radio Sweethearts that works very well on A whistle.
