A while ago, I posted a photo on one of my fediverse accounts which got some attention. The photo showed the jar in which I keep my tin whistles \u2013 currently 12 whistles of various keys and makes. And then I said I would make a video to introduce all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This video<\/a> has now been recorded and since I didn\u2019t want to talk too much but still give some additional information on the instruments, I decided to write a blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first tin whistle (also known as penny whistle or Irish [high] whistle) I ever bought was a brass one by Fead\u00f3g in the mid 1990s at Dublin airport. It came with an instruction booklet and song book and I still have that song book somewhere and I also still have the whistle. It\u2019s in D major, the most common key for this kind of instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you can, in theory (and depending on your skill level), play a chromatic scale on the whistle, it is actually a diatonic instrument which means that you will need more than one whistle if you want to play in other keys than, for example, D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which is a wonderful reason to add more instruments to the jar \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the moment, I have five whistles in D. The already mentioned Fead\u00f3g<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two Clarkes<\/a>: one Clarke Sweetone with plastic head\/mouthpiece and one Clarke \u201eOriginal\u201c with a very warm and rather breathy sound. Both Clarkes have a conical bore which is different to the cylindrical bore of the other whistles in my collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there\u2019s my tunable TWZ<\/a> Folk tin whistle, a very fine instrument. A lot more expensive than the Clarkes or the Fead\u00f3g, but you also get a lot of sound for your money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I have a McNeela<\/a> AerFlo which is rather easy to play and has a nice sound, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have two whistles in C: one by Clarke and the other is an Oak whistle (you can get these at McNeela\u2019s and at other music stores). Both a tad different in sound since the Clarke has the conical bore and the Oak is cylindric, and the Oak is also a bit more pervasive in volume, but not piercing at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I have several Generation<\/a> whistles: one brass in G (my highest whistle), one nickel in F, one nickel in E flat and one in B flat \u2013 and with this one we leave the \u201ehigh whistle\u201c family and go to the altos or mezzos. The B flat has a very pleasant sound but I wouldn\u2019t necessarily recommend it to absolute beginners due to the length of the instrument and the position of the finger holes. If you\u2019re already playing alto recorder, a B flat whistle will be a good start nonetheless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last one in the collection and also the latest addition is my alto in A major, a Mac Nic<\/a> in brass. The sound is warm and it\u2019s quite a versatile instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I said to myself that I wouldn\u2019t get any more whistles for the jar, but I think my low whistle in D might need more friends, and who knows, I might come across other whistles that I find interesting and want to add to the collection, so stay tuned \u2013 it\u2019s not impossible that this blog post gets a sequel \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A while ago, I posted a photo on one of my fediverse accounts which got some attention. The photo showed the jar in which I keep my tin whistles \u2013 currently 12 whistles of various keys and makes. And then … Continue reading