I’m quite new to the whistle, and I am becomimg frustrated at the lay out of the whistle. I know this is probably an old moan but seems to me that, for so many folk tunes, not having a note one tone lower that the lowest “doh” or tonic note is a real pain. Recorders do, of course - sort of. Now, I know somebody will suggest that I simply transpose the particular melody up a bit, BUT I don’t want to do that as I then lose some of the lower sounding notes, which I like.
Frank
Ai. Get a low whistle if you like lower notes and then put it up a bit. How hard can it be?
hi frank,
i think when you buy a low whistle, your problem is solved. if you play a low D in the second octave, the notes will be as high as a high D in the first. if you play the same tune on a low F, you don’t need to transpose, you just play in F.
if you have some experience on a high whistle, and your hands are about medium size, you’d be able to play a low D. have a listen in the link below to find out what whistle sounds best.
don’t hesitate to ask anything frank, the people here realy like to help you out 
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Whistles with a full tone below their nominal key do exist; for isntance, there’s Silkstone in UK. Check out this page : http://www.silkstone-whistles.com/
There, search for “D-Plus” whistles. They’re in D, but with a seventh hole giving the C below. -
Don’t quite get you about the recorders. A standard recorder doesn’t go below its low “Do”, no more than a whistle in C… Now, if you meant you can play a tune in D major with a standard C recorder, that’s another thing.
I love the Silkstone D+. At this point, I really only play two tunes that use the pinky hole, but it’s a damn fine D whistle too. Took a little while to figure out that I need to use the piper’s grip to close the pinky hole, thanks to another board member.
Hi,
if you still want to play in the key of D (as in a standard D whistle) but need to get lower than bottom D, use a whistle keyed in A. The 3 finger note (bottom 3 holes open) will be D, you then have the next 3 notes down the scale left to use.
Cheers, Mac
The first D+ Paul made me was the first ever narrowbore D+. It is a little weak at the bottom end and can clog completely without warning..but that’s probably me rather than the whistle. Anyway point being the low C hole was spot on for me.
When D+ ordinary arrived, the low C hole was quite a bit further down the side, and only playable by using the second half of the first joint, or by canting all the other RH fingers sideways to use the “usual bit” of finger.
It’s currently being remade with the same spacing as my narrowbore practice whistle.
FYI, Paul will happily make the low C hole into a separate rotatable section so that it can be moved to suit…I think at no extra charge on the whistle price.
Great whistles, great chap.
Trisha
I agree with many comments… I of course started out with just a D whistle, and was obviously frustrated when it came to songs that were in the key of C that had a lot of F naturals in them and things of that nature and also needing that “extra note” below the bell note, etc…
BUT, I learned and started playing different keys, and I find that I am most often using D, C, A, and G whistles more than anything.. F not so often, but I do use it on occasion when it makes it easier. I’ve found the A whistle to be a lot more versatile then I ever thought it would be! Sounds really good too! 
With a selection of whistles, I’ve yet to find myself searching for that bell note anymore.
(And my selection isn’t that big.. all I own are D, C, F, G, A)
Take care,
John
I think that those who have responded by saying ‘get a low whistle’ are missing the point of this question since the very same issue arises for low whistles. Now if you are playing on a low D in the bottom octave you still might want to go down to a lower C#. Only by adding extra holes can this be done, possibly employing sidekeys for the lower whistles.
One question is how far down should one go if trying to implement this idea to the full? The ‘get a lower whistle’ is obviously right for those tunes that go down to the fifth below the lowest tonic note. But are there many tunes in D that go down to C natural rather than C sharp? I ask because (transposing aside) a C saxophone goes down to the Bb below the lowest C and, in my experience, that Bb is very useful. Presumably some Irish tunes in the mixolydian mode would also benefit from this option.
Considering what the auction got for just a Bb fife with an Ab foot
see http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=12931
and considering it’s a whistlesmith who won the bid…
There seems to be a real interest in D whistles with a C (or C#) extension. Feel free to transpose ad lib.
After all, the modern flute evolved from simple-system D with a C foot…
If you play sitting down, you can often get that lower C# by fingering the low D, then leaning the end of the whistle into your leg.
Oh right. I’ve heard of but had forgotten about that trick. I must try it out some time. Thanks for the reminder.