I’ve never played a mouth-instrument before, until I borrowed a friend’s NA Flute last week. I like the sound and serenity and will probably get one. I’m registered at the NAF Forum.
Anyway, I’ve also been looking around a bit at pennywhistles and tinwhisles (same thing?), and may be interested in one as well.
However, last night I came across the Mountain Ocarinas website. They also seem like a lot of fun.
Now, I have no idea what I’m doing. My experience with this type of instrument is limited to about two hours total on a NA flute. So, I know nothing of fingering, breath control, etc.
So, which would you recommend for a newbie - pennywhisle or ocarina? I like the style of the Irish tunes on the Mountain Ocarina website. I’d like whatever I get to be fairly easy to learn/play.
Also, how different is the fingering between the whistle, ocarina, and NA flute? If I get a whistle or ocarina, will it “clash” with my trying to also learn the NA flute?
I don’t know about NAF, but I do know a little about the other two.
The main difference between ocarina and whistle is that whistle is a two-octave diatonic instrument, and ocarina is a one(ish)-octave chromatic instrument. That means that the whistle can play a limited number of notes (those pertaining to a few scales) over two octaves, whereas ocarina can play all the notes, but only has a range of one octave.
I don’t know which is easier, as I’ve never taken up the ocarina with any ardor, but the whistle fingerings are going to be strikingly simpler. I mean, you put all the fingers down, that’s the lowest note, then you lift each one to go up the scale. Ocarina is a little less intuitive.
I’m sure other people will be able to fill in the holes here.
Penny/Tin/Irish Whistle before Ocarina. You are very limited in range with an Ocarina–very few tunes you can play in comparison. Check out Dale’s guide to inexpensive whistles and it will give you an idea of what’s out there. The whistle is easy and enjoyable to learn and there are plenty of good tutorials around.
Yeah, Congrats has it right. Whistle fingering is easier than a five hole NA flute and roomier than an ocarina. If ocarina offered two octaves it would be more worth it to me to get serious about it.
Jason, I would go for the whistle…not necessarily as a final choice but it is a great starter for ten! It is a simple instrument…not to mean it is easy to play one with any degree of skill…but one can learn so much…I learnt the fundemantals of Irish Trad on a whistle…and still love the things…but it made a superb stepping stone to playing Irish Trad on my new accordion…theres so much going on in the whistle world..so much help and info about…i could play a bit of accordion before but after many years without I simply found the whistles gave me a new starting point to have another go…its not as though you have to really make a choice…why not get a whistle , get going on whatever your choice of music is and then get another instrument in time…its not really an either or…a decent whistle is not over expensive. Just a few thoughts…Les.
Well, so far the whistle is winning for simplicity, it’s a bit cheaper, and I know I can get one locally. So, I may go that route.
I guess I’d just like to hear more clips of whistles. I listened to some in the Clips and Snips forum, but don’t really know what I’m hearing. Where can I hear some clips of the simple $10 pennywhistles? Just so I know what to expect.
One odd problem I’m having with fingering on the NA flute; I play guitar, and when you put a finger down, you move up the scale. With the flute/whistle, putting a finger down moves you down the scale. So, this all seems a bit backward to me at the moment.
Well this might make a bit of sense on Guitar when you put a finger down you are shortening the amount of space which the string has to vibrate making the note higher. On Whistle when you put a finger down you are lengthening the amount of space the air has to vibrate making it lower. I would say just get both niether are very expensive and if you decide you like one more than the other there you have it if you like them both the same well I say the more instruments the more fun.
Muscle memory takes repitition to build. Soon enough it will become natural. I put whistles down for somewhere nearing 5 years. Coming back to them, it’s amazing what your hands remember that you can’t for the life of you remember on an intellectual level.
Start with whistles they are easy to start with and great fun, though they take years to master. I play re****ers as well but i could live a happy life with out them, but not without whistles. Add recorders later if you want to and also flutes.
Be warned, however, i find that it is possible to get by with less than ten recorders and five or six flutes seems to do job, but whistles - yikes! When you buy your first whistle also buy a large bucket for ones that will follow!!
If you want to hear the $10 whistles go to Clips and Snips and look for Generation, Feadog, Clarke, Oak, Waltons or Clare. Note that the Jerry Freeman tweaked Generation is not a $10 whistle it is $36 after Jerry works some magic on it. I prefer the Feadog most days but I may prefer a Gen on another day. In the right hands they all sound good.
Learn whistle well before you think about flute or recorder. They are both very nice instruments but not as easy to learn as the whistle.
I actually went to a couple of local music stores today to get a whistle, but came home empty handed. All I found was a Clarke Orignal for $16.95 and a Feadog with a book and CD for $19.95 - both more than I wanted to spend.
So, I’ll probably buy online. I’m going to post another thread.
In IE if you put your mouse over the picture of the whistle it will tell you what whistle is being played. (Doesn’t seem to do it on Firefox.) The assortment includes a Clarke, some Generations and some Susatos as well as some more expensive whistles.
