Hi everyone,
I wondered if anyone could tell me what whistle i can play in the key of b? (obviously other than on a b whistle which seem very rare) I have looked at the key chart on the site but b doesn’t seem to figure…i need to play melody of a song that the guitarist i play with plays in b…
Many thanks!
Louise.
Well, an F# whistle would play easily in B, But they are few and far between, at least as off the shelf whistles. Both Burke and Susato make whistles in F#. I am sure others might make one too. Burke makes high and low F#'s. Susato makes a low F# (if I remember correctly).
If you can’t go for one of those, a B whistle might be your best bet since they are made by a number of makers. I carry a Burke brass B natural whistle in my bag that gets a surprising amount of usage. I’ve owned a Susato Kildare in B as well and would recommend that one too. Whistles in B also play in the guitar friendly key of E. Nice to have in the kit.
You could also see if the guitarist would be comfortable playing in Bb which would greatly open your possibilities since both Bb and F whistles are readily available from a wider range of makers.
Hope that helps.
Feadoggie
yes, that does help thanks, i’ll have a look at b’s again, they seemed few and far between. I have Bb so will ask the question and, isuppose may be a good idea to get and f aswell!! Many thanks!
Right. Or an E whistle using A Major fingering.
But, Louise … I’d wager money that your guitarist is not actually fingering BMaj, but GMaj or AMajor and capoing up. In which case, they can just as easily move up one to CMaj, or down one to BbMaj, or even up 3 to DMaj, and put you in a key you don’t need an “exotic” whistle for.
In other words, use the guitar capo, not a whistle capo. Because whistle capos are expensive. 
Hopefully Bb is a possibility then. As long as we are asking the guitarist to transpose (or at least use a capo), perhaps they could play up a half-step to the key of C as well. Then you have the option of using a C whistle or a G whistle which are both among the more common keys and available from most good whistle makers. (Drat, beaten to the submit button! Oh, well. )
Shame the tune isn’t in Bmin. Actually I just assumed it was Bmaj. Let’s cross the fingers then.
If all else fails, and if you are feeling crafty, you could make your own B or F# whistle. Stranger circumstances have brought some of us to making their own whistle. I haven’t tried it but I’d think a Gen F whistle could be modified a bit to play in F# (with ear protection of course).
Feadoggie
The guitarist is playing with the capo on the 4th fret, he reckons that is b (i don’t know!) one up i usually play c whistle, 1 down i play a Bb, that’s usually the way it goes…
Good news then! Since you seem to have both Bb and C whistles and the guitarist has a capo and knows how to use it, pick Bb or C and get on with the music. Is singing involved? That usually settles things in one direction or another. Good luck!
Feadoggie
If you really, really needed a whistle in B, could a Gen Bb be adapted by shortening the tube? It seems to work the other way around - a Gen Bb can be converted into an A whistle with a bit of tweaking, but yes, the guitar capo option is a better choice in this situation.
I own two B whistles, a Burke and a Schultz Water Weasel. Both are great…one of my favorite keys when I’m just playing for my own enjoyment.
Doc
Don’t suppose that B Water Weasel would like to come and live in Australia would it Doc 
? …
Yes, a Gen Bb tone tube can be shortened to make a B whistle. Remove 18mm from the top end of the tube, and remove 5mm from the bottom. This will effectively change the tube to play B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, and with half holing or cross fingering it will play in the key of E.
I regularly play with guitar players and singers (and a keyboard player that transposes and a bass player) I own whistles and flutes/fife in the keys of D and C, and an ocarina in C. We transpose a lot. These have got me through just about everything. If something really doesn’t work with these, than I either play a silver flute or a guitar myself.
In the past, I have played with a bunch of people who refused to transpose. I wouldn’t be playing much on the whistles and flutes or much with them. The music we tend to have prepared for us is usually written in E, Eb, or Bb, or A.
What kind of music are you playing that you have these troubles? I’m not playing ITM.
I did this some time ago, wanting to play along with flat pipes in B - and probably from your directions in fact! and it works really well.