I’m thinking of getting a whistle in the key of B.
Why? 
I don’t know.
Eb sounds better 
Oops
Eb (low Eb in fact) is probably the next key (to B) I’m getting. I’m not yet too keen on F.
I was still asking myself why and now came up with two possible reasons.
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The key of my bathroom is ‘B’. To be precise, the gas boiler drones B. So, tjat is, I’ve been hearing the “drone” since childhood and now the device implanted by Crystal People finally began to take effec+//transpotision///idgo873?weightofglory=?!///whistle=in=the=key=of=B/////
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Somewhere someplace I heard a nice recording of pipes in B, and it’s been haunting my heart, soul and mind, or something.
Tak, does somebody you know like to sing or like play in B? If so the choice makes perfect sense.
The usual keys are so because of the relative ease of playing this or that instrument in those keys. If whistle players played often with alto or baritone saxophones, Ab would be a common key. They don’t so it isn’t. A whistler who wants a job accompanying singers without prior rehearsal had better be equipped to play in every key.
Hmmm, don’t know Wombat, but the latter (a tune in B) takes the bigger part, I think.
I played a Baritone in a school club for about two and a half years, tenor for about three). Having enjoyed played Baritone, I’m thinking I’ll probably find F to be more comfortable to my fingers than Eb would be…but I do prefer the sound of Eb. I guess I’ll just have to get both keys 
I have a bamboo flute in B but I have not played it too much yet. I haven’t been able to get a decent sound since I’m not a flute player.
I think you should get a whistle in any key you want just because it is like Mount Everest.
My vocal range is suited best to F so I try to use my C whistle for songs I may sing.
I’ve been told that a B whistle is a great choice for playing with people singing in E (major), which is a very coommon key. And I know someone with a lovely set of pipes in B.
That said, I don’t have a B whistle. Though I do have a low Eb, and I love it…
To B or not to B, that is the question…
So, what key is Mount Everest in?
- Stephen
I like odd keys in part because I don’t want anybody telling me what key to play in.
As has been pointed out, E is the second key of a B whistle, and there’s lots of neat stuff in E. You just can’t play along with Joni Mitchell (and lots of blues/rock type music) without playing in E.
As has also been pointed out, there are lots of pipes in B.
I have a B whistle by Mike Burke that’s okay, a low-E also by Mike that’s tremendous, and two E’s by Glenn Schultz, including one in Mopane that’s one of the best whistles I’ve ever played.
Does Mt. Everest drone like Tak’s bathroom?
Or it means ‘because it’s there’?
Who knows the answers to such mysteries? Ask the Grand Poobah.
This will allow you to play easily in the key of E, which is nice if you play with guitars.
g
i originally wanted a B whistle because i play B pipes and it helps working up chunes and instilling that key in yer brain. but now i just like the timbre of it. i play my hover B about half the time, the rest is divided between hi and low D’s.
i think my sailboat is in the key of B
I’ve been wanting a whistle tuned to B minor, just don’t have the $$.
I do have a wide bore E Elfsong, that I just love.
Eb sounds weird to me.
Are you guys talking about an E above soprano D? Doesn’t it get a bit shrill? Just a question. I’m addicted to playing a Bb, which has some qualities of a high whistle and some of a low one. When I pick up a high D after that, it sounds a bit squeaky high.
Tony
There are only three really good reasons for buying a whistle in a weird key:
- to play along with someone who plays in that weird key
- to be sure that when you play what you wish to be a solo almost everyone else gives up and lets you play
- because you want to
I use an E a lot. I would consider getting a B just to not be as shrill but avaiable for E tunes. Sea chanteys like that key as well as guitar-based folks, as mentioned above. It’s not high on my list, but I will get a B someday.
I have an Elfsong E which is nice. Obviously it is getting pretty high but isn’t terribly shrill. But I also have an Abell F and I wouldn’t call that shrill. I’d like to have all keys covered because I play in non-celtic styles a lot. I’d get a low E if I felt the need but high E and B cover E pretty well for the few occasions I need to play in that key.
My Water Weasel high-E had belonged to Loren – he thought it was loud and shrill. I think it’s quite nice, but then I like loud whistles. The Thin Weasel E, OTOH, is a narrow bore and is not at all shrill in the upper register. I think E just speaks to me, though.