I was kinda wondering…
Well, if you are just playing for yourself, or particularly like the tone of the F whistle, or want to play something in concert pitch which is written in F major, D minor, or one of the associated modes…
It,s a pity this key is not the session standard.The great thing about a low F whistle is easy playabillity and awesome tonality.Those of us with small hands feel less at a disadvantage and the feel and response is more like a good soprano…need I say more?I own a Kerry Low Pro F and love it:) Mike
F whistle playable keys :
xxx xxx F Major + Mixolydian
xxx xxo G Minor (Eolian) + Doric
xxx ooo Bb Major + Lydian
xxo ooo C Mixolydian + Doric
xoo ooo D Minor (Eolian)
Considering you declare yourself “almost alone” (the lost son of Rambo ?), on sheet music these would all start with one b or two (bb) at the Key signature.
–BbZH
All but about three keys have attractions for whistle players in that they are good for keys favoured by various other instrumentalists and they often give rise to whistles that sound just a bit different from what you are used to. So Bb goes well with tenor sax, trumpet and clarinet and seems to have a lot of the desirable characteristics of low whistles with high whistle ease of playability and it’s own colour. Same with F, more or less.
The other thing is that you never know which keys a singer is going to prefer and, if you find yourself accompanying one, it’s nice to have a suiatable whistle. A lot of women like F. Now, you might be almost lonely now but you won’t be that forever and when you start playing with others it would be nice to have a selection of whistles that you and they feel at home with.
Well let’s see, you could use it to play along with tunes by Lunasa, Old Blind Dogs, Cormac Breatnach, and a number of others that I can’t recall this early in the morning. Isn’t that enough?
Also much easier to tote around in a backpack or book bag, if you that Low Whistle sound.
Loren
Is is that good enough to allow me to withstand 8 months of waiting for a low d?
On 2002-10-26 10:43, Caoimhin wrote:
Is is > that > good enough to allow me to withstand 8 months of waiting for a low d?
I play my F for mellow fun when I want a low sound but near normal fingering ease. I play the low D strictly in session or practice, not for sitting around and twiddling.
My low F sees lots more use than the low D, chiefly when I play by myself. Easier on the hands, and a lovely sound. All that Tyghress said above also applies. If I didn’t play with others and had gotten the F first, the low D might not be here!
My Low F is probably one of my most-used session whistles. Most importantly, it covers a range very commonly used by female vocalists. In addition, it is a very good alternative to the low-D for a number of tunes. F (and Bb) are very mellow keys.
You can play along with Lunasa, McGoldrick and Flook!
You’re all pushing me over the edge!
whoa, whoa, — whoaaaaaaaa (falls off)
I love to play airs and a particular march on Low D.
What march, Phil?
“The Halting March” (aka “The Pikemen”). It is one of my 3 or 4 favorite tunes to play. I play it with my airs because I play it sometimes some times through slowly with a bit of note bending and more emotiveness and then some times through a bit quicker tempo with more of a march beat. I find that this tune lends itself particularly well to both speeds as marches often do.
And there is something uniquely “halting about it.” This is a tune that Bill Ochs turned us onto during his class sessions years ago; I really do cherish the wonderful range and mix of tunes that Bill shared with us, some well-known and others not.
Regards,
Philo
Oh, I know (and like) that one. There is another march called March of the Pikemen that our local fiddler dug up on one of his trips home to Donegal. Its more suited IMHO to a higher sound. I’ll give The Halting March a shot on the. . .oops. My F is rolling its way west even as we speak. I’ll try it on the G instead.
Garsh. There are some wonderful dark G minor tunes that fiddlers love to play that fit nicely on an F whistle. Also there are tons of English Country Dance tunes in G minor - really great ones, too. I play for a local ECD sometimes. That’s mainly what I use my Copeland low F for. That and for backing up singers.
When I entered my first Feis competition I was brand new to the Irish trad scene and didn’t know any better, and I had this great Genny F that I had learned all my tunes on, and that’s what I competed with. One of the adjudicators gently explained to me that I really should have played a D, but they gave me first place anyway. Shocked the bejeezus out of me. 
Wendina
edited b/c I forgot about ECD
[ This Message was edited by: klezmusic on 2002-10-29 21:48 ]