Today was a great whistling day...

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Dan A.
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Tell us something.: I can only hope that my proficiency with the whistle is steadily improving. A few of my whistles get a workout on an almost daily basis. And I'm almost certainly afflicted with WhOAD.
Location: Detroit Metro

Today was a great whistling day...

Post by Dan A. »

After figuring it would arrive on Tuesday, I received my new Feadóg whistle this morning. Much to my surprise, it also came with a book. Compared to the book that came with my Walton's Irish Whistle, the book that came with the Feadóg seems to cover technique a little more in-depth, and having lyrics printed underneath some fingering diagrams are helpful. (However, the book that came with the Walton's has diagrams that are easier to read and contains more traditional Irish tunes.)

The two whistles have a quite similar sound, though the Feadóg is a bit more mellow. It's also a lot more pleasant when hitting the second octave (for now, anyway...or maybe my breath control is improving). And, best of all, after studying the Feadóg book, I picked up a tune in one day...even if it is something as simple as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!" And now I'm more motivated to get some extra practice in.

So, all in all, today was quite a successful whistling day for ol' Dan A.
Tyler DelGregg
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Tell us something.: Whistles are fun, whistles are charming, whistles sound nice, whistles are affordable, whistles make us smile, whistles make dogs bark, and whistles upset some neighbors.
Location: Middle of Virginia

Re: Today was a great whistling day...

Post by Tyler DelGregg »

It certainly was a good day! You are aware, that your whistle collection will grow and shrink, grow and shrink, but mostly grow for years, right?
Dan A.
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Tell us something.: I can only hope that my proficiency with the whistle is steadily improving. A few of my whistles get a workout on an almost daily basis. And I'm almost certainly afflicted with WhOAD.
Location: Detroit Metro

Re: Today was a great whistling day...

Post by Dan A. »

Tyler DelGregg wrote:You are aware, that your whistle collection will grow and shrink, grow and shrink, but mostly grow for years, right?
Yes, almost acutely so.
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Chifmunk
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Tell us something.: Hi, I play 5-string banjo, mountain dulcimer, bones, and am now a beginner pennywhistler. I have some Dixon, Freeman, and Susato whistles. This is obviously the most extensive forum for information in whistle learning- thanks!
I also run a banjo/mando/fiddle shirt site at https://harmonias.com/
and a mountain dulcimer social site at: fotmd.com
Location: Germantown, NY

Re: Today was a great whistling day...

Post by Chifmunk »

I love your post- and know the feeling quite well. Thanks for sharing it on this deathly cold winter's day!
Having FUN playin' my whistles!
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...a new social network just for whistlers
westonm
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Tell us something.: Hey! I'm interested in tin whistles and traditional irish and celtic music. It's an exciting opportunity to explore the scotch-irish roots of my family as well as play some old Civil War era tunes.

Re: Today was a great whistling day...

Post by westonm »

Honestly I've been pleasantly surprised how easy this has been for me. I've struggled off and on to learn lines-and-spaces music notation and guitar for years

With the D whistle it just "clicked" in a way it never did before. BAGFED

Now I can look at a sheet of music and play songs without tabs. This is something I have NEVER been able to do before on ANY instrument.

So far it's simple tunes like Twinkle Twinkle, London Bridges, etc. Though I have recently learned Abide With Me. But I should be able to crack open our church hymnals now and try any song - at least where the soprano range is within two octaves.

I hesitate to use the phrase "this has changed my life" because that seems so cliche, but it has definitely opened up the world of music performance to me in a way nothing else ever did
Dan A.
Posts: 453
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2017 8:19 pm
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Tell us something.: I can only hope that my proficiency with the whistle is steadily improving. A few of my whistles get a workout on an almost daily basis. And I'm almost certainly afflicted with WhOAD.
Location: Detroit Metro

Re: Today was a great whistling day...

Post by Dan A. »

Chifmunk wrote:I love your post- and know the feeling quite well. Thanks for sharing it on this deathly cold winter's day!
Glad you liked that post! It's rather cold here, too...17 degrees Fahrenheit as of this post.
westonm wrote:Now I can look at a sheet of music and play songs without tabs. This is something I have NEVER been able to do before on ANY instrument.
I'm not at that point yet, but it is an eventual goal. There is an Irish music organization in my area, and hopefully I'll be able to attend their next session, too.
Polara Pat
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Tell us something.: In an effort to ease from lurker to forum member; I'm hoping that this elite gang of whistlers will help this very green player to advance to the next stage. My current stage is slightly below novice and is only permitted in the garage like the dog I am. Oh yah, not a robot.

Re: Today was a great whistling day...

Post by Polara Pat »

Good on ya Dan. Keep up the good work.
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brewerpaul
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Re: Today was a great whistling day...

Post by brewerpaul »

Great feeling, isn't it? We're really lucky in that the whistle is fairly simple to learn the basics which gives pretty quick gratification, yet they player can never exhaust the instrument's possibilities.
Got wood?
http://www.Busmanwhistles.com
Let me custom make one for you!
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