new to whistle
Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 3:24 pm
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read this.
I'm a semi professional musician playing mostly jazz, primarily on upright and electric bass and also on guitar. I'm a reasonably proficient jazz guitarist. I've been drawn toward irish music for some time now. I have a legit bodhran, not a tourist bodhran, and practice it sincerely. Lately I've been intrigued with the whistle, and I have a couple vague beginner questions
Like a lot of families we had a Walton tin whistle rattling around. I never liked it: it only ever seemed to make piercing and unpleasant noises. But my daughter (13) is playing alto sax and my wife decided she want to learn flute, Boehm flute. So I decided to give the whistle another look while she tootled away. Now I have the Walton, with lots of little kid tooth marks in the mouthpiece, and a Generation and a Feadog, all in D. It's amazing how there can be differences between such simple instruments. The Feadog is probably the worst: it wants to do some kid of reedy gurgle like there's water in the works. The Generation is the best, although honestly I can barely play any of them "for effect:" I can get through tunes in a square and unornamented way.
But so help me I went out and bought a low whistle, and wow I think that is my ax. Such a beautiful sound. It appeals to the bass player in me. The low vibration feels good. it's never shrill. And it's different from a flute. More whistly. Just loving this thing.
I bought a Dixon Low D, made of plastic--the one that comes with an interchangeable flute head. I like the tone of it, although it's very slow. I'm working on two tunes; "the Minstrel Boy," for my father in law, a retired Marine general who is on his way out of this life and wants the tune played at his funeral (not by me, by the Marine band at Arlington cemetery, but I'm still learning it for him), and "The Rolling Wave," because i've always liked that one.
I'm wondering if a better whistle would make a significant difference. I'm not a snob and don't need anything fancy, and yes practice is more important than the instrument, that is always and everywhere true. I'm impressed with the Dixon, that you can get so much fun out of a piece of plastic tube, but somethings are hard--tonguing in the low register produces squeeks, and half holing on the low register is kind of not happening. Is that just a low whistle thing? Or will a better whistle make a difference? I know a lot of great music has been made on $10 Generations, and it's a little silly to look for a better ax when you can barely play, but I'm old enough to have less time for frustration than I used to.
I'm a semi professional musician playing mostly jazz, primarily on upright and electric bass and also on guitar. I'm a reasonably proficient jazz guitarist. I've been drawn toward irish music for some time now. I have a legit bodhran, not a tourist bodhran, and practice it sincerely. Lately I've been intrigued with the whistle, and I have a couple vague beginner questions
Like a lot of families we had a Walton tin whistle rattling around. I never liked it: it only ever seemed to make piercing and unpleasant noises. But my daughter (13) is playing alto sax and my wife decided she want to learn flute, Boehm flute. So I decided to give the whistle another look while she tootled away. Now I have the Walton, with lots of little kid tooth marks in the mouthpiece, and a Generation and a Feadog, all in D. It's amazing how there can be differences between such simple instruments. The Feadog is probably the worst: it wants to do some kid of reedy gurgle like there's water in the works. The Generation is the best, although honestly I can barely play any of them "for effect:" I can get through tunes in a square and unornamented way.
But so help me I went out and bought a low whistle, and wow I think that is my ax. Such a beautiful sound. It appeals to the bass player in me. The low vibration feels good. it's never shrill. And it's different from a flute. More whistly. Just loving this thing.
I bought a Dixon Low D, made of plastic--the one that comes with an interchangeable flute head. I like the tone of it, although it's very slow. I'm working on two tunes; "the Minstrel Boy," for my father in law, a retired Marine general who is on his way out of this life and wants the tune played at his funeral (not by me, by the Marine band at Arlington cemetery, but I'm still learning it for him), and "The Rolling Wave," because i've always liked that one.
I'm wondering if a better whistle would make a significant difference. I'm not a snob and don't need anything fancy, and yes practice is more important than the instrument, that is always and everywhere true. I'm impressed with the Dixon, that you can get so much fun out of a piece of plastic tube, but somethings are hard--tonguing in the low register produces squeeks, and half holing on the low register is kind of not happening. Is that just a low whistle thing? Or will a better whistle make a difference? I know a lot of great music has been made on $10 Generations, and it's a little silly to look for a better ax when you can barely play, but I'm old enough to have less time for frustration than I used to.