Irish Music for Flute

Bo · Post by Bo » Sat Jul 31, 2010 2:01 am

Back to the tin whistles... I finally got the one in C today...

It is a Clarke tin whistle. I noticed it has a small ridge at the back. Is this normal or should I take it back?? What's the ridge for? Is it supposed to stop fingers from slipping?

The other tin whistle I have (Waltons) doesn't have the ridge.

pied_piper · Post by **pied_piper** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 8:05 pm

There are two basic designs for tin whistles: cylindrical or conical (tapered). Usually the cylindrical ones do not have a ridge in back because they are made from tubing. The conical whistles are often made from sheet metal which means the sheet is rolled into a conical shape and there is usually a resulting seam running the full length of the metal body. If that's what you are describing, then it's normal.

I have a Clarke Meg and a Shaw that are both conical with the seam in back. They are the black one and silver one (7th and 8th from the left) in this photo. You can see that they are conical (tapered) when compared to the others.

Bo · Post by Bo » Sun Aug 01, 2010 12:58 am

Thanks, yes, that's what I meant. I am getting used to it, it just felt strange the first time...

Bo

numptie · Post by **numptie** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 6:30 pm

Pied_piper -

what is that huge silvery one on the far right - the Shaw?

What sort of pitch/octave range does it play? I haven't played a penny whistle in years but this looks great in your collection.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Aug 27, 2010 9:38 pm

I'm guessing it's a low D whistle (one octave below the traditional irish whistle in d). I have one as well, although mine is a Susato whistle (made from a black composite plastic).

I ultimately chose the susato because it was tuneable, and I liked the sound better. It had more core to the sound and less chiff. It's good for studio work (which is what I intend it for).

Bo · Post by Bo » Sat Aug 28, 2010 12:28 am

It's a Chieftain Low D Whistle. He had mentioned it previously in this thread (on the first page).

numptie · Post by **numptie** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 5:10 pm

Thanks for the info.

Is the Chieftain low whistle just a one octave instrument?

Is there a hole in the back of the whistle, like a recorder?

pied_piper · Post by **pied_piper** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 7:28 pm

The Low D whistle plays and fingers just like the other tin whistles except the finger stretch is pretty wide. The Low D and many of the large whistles must be played using bagpipe style fingering. This means that you don't cover the holes with your finger tips. Instead, the holes are covered by the second joint of each finger. Six holes on the front only - no hole on the back. In the hands of an advanced player, it has a range of nearly three octaves, but the third octave is more difficult to play. I'm a decent whistle player and proficient for a about 2 1/2 octaves. (from D below the staff up to about the G, & A above the staff) There's not many parts written higher than that. Those last few notes of the third octave are difficult to hit and badly out of tune.

Fingerings and range:
http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/tinwhistle/

I love the sound of all the whistles. Yesterday, I played for a wedding and the bride wanted all Irish music because her father is from Ireland. I played several traditional Irish pieces plus a few selections from Galway's Legends book on flute and standard tin whistle ("Danny Boy" and "Lannigan's Ball/The Kerry Dances" were well received.)

numptie · Post by **numptie** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 5:15 pm

Do you have any Mp3 clips of the low D whistle in action?

I've never seen the Low D being played in action - must be weird covering the holes with the middle finger joint instead of the finger tips.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:53 pm

Here are some video clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGdz-dBa ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkL06uOtZQc

The first guy isn't the most accomplished player yet, and the audio is editted (reverb), but I really like his videos. Mostly the sound of his whistle... which is why I bought the same model. And ironically, the tone is the same. I would have thought otherwise. I guess having a fipple makes a huge difference.

The second video is a comparison video. That way you can hear different makes and models.

pied_piper · Post by **pied_piper** » Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:18 pm

fluteguy18 wrote:... ironically, the tone is the same. I would have thought otherwise. I guess having a fipple makes a huge difference...

Just as the headjoint/embouchure/lips control the timbre of the flute, the fipple controls the timbre of the whistle. Expression during playing can be applied via vibrato, pitch bends, and other ornamentation.

If you want to experiment with changing the timbre, you can apply small bits of Blue-Tac poster adhesive to different places on the fipple to see how it affects the timbre. If you Google "tin whistle fipple design" you can find some design considerations. Some players like to "tweak" the fipples on mass produced whistles to improve the timbre and response.

There's lot's of good whistle information at: http://www.chiffandfipple.com/

BTW, this is a bit off topic but they have a great sense of humor there with lots of humorous articles. I read their article about "WhOA" (Whistle Obsessive Acquisition disorder) and think I suffer from it. Also, I love this picture that's on their main page:

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:41 pm

Yeah, I'm aware of fipple/lips/headjoint thing. I just would have thought that the size and shape of my oral cavity would have had more of an impact on the sound than it did. Not that I'm displeased however. I love the sound of my Low D. I am experimenting with mouth alignment/shape things to change the sound along with lips on the fipple (how much, teeth on/off, bottom lip between teeth and mouthpiece, double lipped embouchure, etc.)

It's interesting to hear the differences.

Edit:

chiff and fipple is excellent! I visited that website quite a lot when debating what kind of whistle I wanted. I only have a high and low d right now, but the message board there was a great source. They had a lot of thoughts on the sounds of the various makers. Ultimately Susato was the best choice for me. Not too much chiff, mellow sound with a solid core, a well defined sound without being bright/tinny, tuneable, and would blend well in studio work.

I am a big fan of the Abell whistles too. I tried a few at the NFA convention (he was there and had a booth). They are awesome! But oh so expensive... I think I will probably get a Susato Kildare set (the tuneable ones) and start to acquire the abell ones as I have more financial room to expand.

numptie · Post by **numptie** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 4:25 am

fluteguy18 wrote:Here are some video clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGdz-dBa ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkL06uOtZQc

The first guy isn't the most accomplished player yet, and the audio is editted (reverb), but I really like his videos. Mostly the sound of his whistle... which is why I bought the same model. And ironically, the tone is the same. I would have thought otherwise. I guess having a fipple makes a huge difference.

The second video is a comparison video. That way you can hear different makes and models.

Thanks!

I think you've just encouraged me to learn a new instrument lol.

The fingerings don't look different. The penny D whistle player in your link is cool. Is he playing by ear? Or are there penny whistle books to learn from?

How much would you say a decent D whistle costs and which brands should I look for?

I like the sound of it - it sounds uncannily close to the alto flute to my noob ears.

pied_piper · Post by **pied_piper** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 11:06 am

Here's video of Sir James Galway playing flute and whistle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZIDzoTAh8I

He plays an Abell Whistle which is probably the Rolls Royce of whistles made from blackwood and sterling silver. The D whistle is $450.

http://www.abellflute.com/whistle.html

Generation and Clarke are two well respected traditional whistle makers and they are very reasonably priced ($10-25). For an entry-level whistle, I recommend the Clarke Meg. It sells for under $10 and is a sweet player.
http://www.clarketinwhistle.com/products/Default.aspx

In the middle range, Shaw makes very nice whistles that are not too expensive. $30-40
http://www.daveshaw.co.uk/SHAW_Whistles ... stles.html

Susato (as mentioned by fulteguy18) is also well respected. ($40-100)
http://www.sweetheartflute.com/genwhistle.html

It's hard to go wrong with any of them. Let your budget be your guide.

numptie · Post by **numptie** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:18 pm

Too late!

I've already bought a Howard Low D whistle

Was looking for a Copeland, and then realised that they are discontinued. I miss not playing the tenor recorder but I can't say I'm a huge fan of diatonic instruments. Maybe the Howard will just be for Irish playing

I would've bought a MK low D whistle, but it was 3x the price of the Howard! I'm not sure it's a good idea to get side-tracked into playing another instrument when I'll trying hard to save up for an alto flute. Maybe the Low D whistle is for bad flute embouchure days lol