Hi all, can anyone tell me what key is this fine tune in, and what whistle should I be playing it on?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GlweCUixao
Thanks in advance
Phill
It’s in Bb, Phil. It fits absolutely perfectly on a Bb whistle. 
Thanks Ben, does it require folding? My definition of ‘fits perfectly’ is slightly more restricted than yours due to my reluctance to fold. [I tried what you suggested for ‘Diamonds and Rust’ and could manage to fold an entire phrase but not an individual note.]
I have figured the melody for this tune (I think) starting (D notation) F# G A3 A e3 which requires no folding…
Is Bb a special key? I have whistles in Bb, C, D Eb, A which sounds like the key of Bb major to me.
No it doesn’t require folding at all. Every note fits perfectly on a Bb whistle. The key for this tune is just plain, straightforward, B flat major. And, as I say, it fits, without folding, perfectly on a B flat whistle.
Thanks Ben. I value your help.
I have to ask, what do you guys mean by folding?
Also, did Mr Gumby retract his Eb suggestion?
did Mr Gumby retract his Eb suggestion?
On second thought I decided the OP probably wasn’t looking for an option involving half holing.
When you want to play a note off the bottom of the whistle and have to use the note an octave higher.
So when, for example, playing ‘Diamonds and Rust’ on a Bb whistle, the lowest note of the tune falls below the bell note and has to be folded up an octave. It is a reasonably standard fix, apparently, but one that my mind sometimes refuses to adopt.
You thought right… I can half-hole. Sometimes. But If I can pick a whistle where I do not need to I am happier.
I did not get time to thank you for your suggestion though, so thanks.
That seems a bit confusing but I’ll have to try and figure it out now. Thanks
To be fair, it’s clearly the key of the whistle actually being played on the track.
Probably was an Eb whistle on that track, but I’ve been blessed (cursed?) with a succession of singers requiring accompaniment in different keys. Great excuse for the occasional WHOAD attack, so I’ve just been playing along with that Luke Kelly/Dubliner track. As previous posts have informed, Bb a perfect match (albeit an octave lower, since I can’t get it to behave in the third octave) and Eb with half-holing. That said it was easiest of all on my little F whistle (minor adjustment on that top note only). First time it had seen the light of day in over a year, and first time I’ve felt a whistle smile at the attention!
Though I usually prefer being in the mid-range of a whistle than down on the bottom end, for this tune I’d use the Bb, where it sits so well.
I just wouldn’t feel comfortable screaming out those 3rd octave D’s and all those high C’s.
BTW the fiddle at the beginning sounds like it was recorded at a different base pitch than the guitar.