Whistling noob looking for the right whistle

Whistle
1

So I just took up the tin whistle about 3 weeks ago, never having played a wind instrument before (unless you count singing). I was inspired to try it after a trip to the Renaissance Festival where there was a flute stand; I couldn’t produce a note on a traditional flute, but I had fun playing on an ocarina and thought I should find an instrument about as easy to play as the ocarina but that you could actually produce music on (attempting Greensleeves on a 4-hole ocarina was a bit absurd).

So a bit of research eventually brought me to the tin whistle. I found a 5 dollar Mel Bay whistle (which I believe is a re-branded Meg), played with it for a while and took to it rather quickly, so I went ahead and ordered a Clarke original, and an Oak D and C. After a few weeks of nearly obsessive playing, I’ve found that I mostly like to play on the Oak D.

The Clarke Original is the easiest for me to play, and while it has a more consistent sound across 2 octaves than the others, the sound isn’t really the bright and chiffy sound that I like from the Oak, and in comparison it feels like it’s sucking half my breath into a silent vortex.

The Mel Bay is a brighter sound, uses up less air than the Original and is about as easy to play, but there’s a quality to the incidental noises (those trademark squeaks and squawks of a tin whistle) that reminds me of a kazoo. Worse, when playing in the second octave there’s an accompanying sound of escaping air that reminds of when the dentist would use that suction device on you.

So that means I’m mostly playing on the Oak D, but it is the hardest for me to play, mostly because of the low E and especially D. That low D requires such a mild breath that I can barely tell I’m actually breathing. And while I’ve adapted somewhat and can move up and down the scales well enough, I find it nearly impossible to cleanly step down to D from anything higher than G. And while I think the sound of the Oak D is just about right, I wish that the lower notes weren’t so much quieter than the high ones, and the second octave also has a sound of escaping air like the Mel Bay. It’s about half as noticeable, but an even cleaner sound would be nice.

Oh, and I can’t say much about the Oak C as I’ve hardly even tried to play it, but I find it doesn’t really have the problems on the low notes the D does, but I think the second octave sounds much dirtier (which I’m not a fan of).

So I’m hoping that based on all this, someone could give me an educated recommendation of a whistle I’d likely be happy with. Basically, I guess I’m kinda looking for an Oak D that takes more air on the first octave (particularly those bottom 2 notes), maybe the same or a bit less in the second, and hopefully sounds a bit cleaner in the second.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

2

First, welcome to whistling!

Your descriptions all make sense. But there’s likely nothing wrong with your Oak D. The light breath on the bell note D is a characteristic of most whistles. My guess is that you’re probably blowing too hard on the other notes of the 1st octave. This is a typical beginner’s mistake. So when you play the D, it seems like you really have to hold back. Try easing up on the other notes, and the D will seem more normal. It’s a feature, not a bug. :slight_smile:

The reason the Oak C seems better is that it takes more air anyway, so you’re not blowing it as hard, relatively speaking.

You also need to adjust your embouchure slightly for the best-sounding bell D. Try opening your mouth cavity: Think “aaah” instead of “eeee” when you play the note. The rounding will give a fuller soundind D without a sense of overblowing.

The upper octave “hiss” is also normal. Again, ease up on your breath a bit to reduce any harshness. And keep in mind that what you hear when playing is not what a listener hears a few feet away. To the listener, the upper octave probably sounds perfectly OK. You can also try the classic putty tweak (search the Chiffboard) to smooth the high notes a bit.

The Oak D is a nice whistle. By all means, explore others. But be aware that your breath control is not ideal after only 3 weeks, and the source of most problems and misperceptions at this stage is probably you, not the whistle.

Good luck!

3

Thanks for the reply Guru!

I didn’t mean to suggest that there’s something wrong with the whistle, because if it’s good enough for Captain Picard I’m not gonna knock it. The fact that it takes so little breath to power this thing is actually rather impressive. I like that I can play Amazing Grace at a moderate pace, ending at about 30 seconds, and do it all on a single breath. And I agree with everything you said, any problems are likely coming from me and I will most certainly improve with practice.

It just seems like while I’m trying to learn to play faster, the things I keep stumbling over are those bottom notes, especially D. Years of singing have given me a decent level of breath control and lung capacity, but the quietest note I’d ever sing takes 10x more air than that bell note. It’s going to take a while to develop the precision and subtlety required to consistently hit those notes dead-on without a hesitation.

In the meantime, I was just hoping there was a similar whistle that just required a bit more force that would be easier for me to control, but isn’t an automatic lung deflator like the Clarke Original.

4

Oh sure, understood! It’s one of the reasons that many people (including me) like Michael Burke’s whistles, among others. They can handle a hefty blow for a solid bottom D note and still give good volume and balance throughout the range. The trade-off is a bit less of the valued “traditional” sound that you get from a Generation-style tube-and-mouthpiece whistle with a smaller windway. In my collection, the Goldie/Overton D also comes to mind. Another nice choice is Jerry Freeman’s tweaked Generation or Mellow Dog, which are more stable on the D and less skittish overall for players who still want the classic Generation type sound.

The Clark Original is a breath sucking beast with its own charms. :slight_smile: Most people end up squashing the windway a bit flatter to reduce the air requirement a bit.

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I noticed the Burke whistles before, but I really can’t see spending so much at this point. But it looks like for what I want, the Mellow Dog might fit the bill nicely, especially that C/D set which is so nicely affordable. It might not have quite the same sound as the Oak, but if I get good enough to play both I’ll likely appreciate the variety (which is why I have no intention of letting go of any of these whistles).

Thanks for the help!

6

Wow - See how perceptions can vary; I’ve never found the Clarke original high on breath requirements, but always found the Shaw to fit the “automatic lung deflator” description.

Philo

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I didn’t really think the Original was that bad either, until I (mostly) got used to the Oak. I’d been practicing on the Original for about a week before the Oaks arrived, and when I blew into the Oak D the way I would into the Clarke it went straight into the second octave. It actually seems pretty consistent that way. The effort it takes to put the Clarke into the second octave will put the Oak D into the third, so it’s actually much easier to play in that area. But when it comes to playing that low note… you know how when you think someone’s dead you’re supposed to put a mirror under their nose and see if it steams up? I think putting an Oak D with the holes plugged up in their mouth would be a more definitive test.

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Buy a Kerry Songbird high D from Phil Hardy at Kerry Whistles. Tunable, spot on tuning, nice tone, not too expensive. You won’t regret it.

www.kerrywhistles.com