Andes Whistle vs Tin Whistle

[yankees1]

I see/hear people playing Andes music on larger wooden whistles. I like the deeper tone ( not shrill) produced by these larger wooden whistles. Are these considered tin whistles ? Mine is brass and produces more of a shrill sound which my wife hates ! To get a deeper toned whistle do I need to buy this larger wooden one ?

[fatmac]

If you bought a 'regular' tin whistle it will be in the key of 'D', maybe 'C', these are soprano whistles.

The next step is to a lower keyed whistle, but these are more expensive, & usually come from specialist makers.

The best solution would be to listen to the various keys of whistle on Youtube, to get an idea of what would suit you.

Having said that, there are also recorders & Native American Flutes (which are actually like a whistle), too.

My own preferences are for the lower keyed whistles, from 'C' down to low 'D', however, as you go lower, the finger spacing increases, which may be a problem, so think carefully.

[PB+J]

I see/hear people playing Andes music on larger wooden whistles. I like the deeper tone ( not shrill) produced by these larger wooden whistles. Are these considered tin whistles ? Mine is brass and produces more of a shrill sound which my wife hates ! To get a deeper toned whistle do I need to buy this larger wooden one ?

My wife does not like the sound of the soprano D either. But that's less and less true as I get better at it.

"Tin" whistles can be made of wood, or aluminum, or plastic; they are just called tin whistles because mass market whistles were made of metal. Personally, I don't think the material a whistle is made of has much effect on the sound: I think its all about the mouthpiece and the tuning. But lots of people disagree about that.


As mentioned whistles come in a wide variety of sizes and key signatures/ranges. The Low D whistle is a tin whistle, an octave lower. it's close to two feet long. Also as fatmac said the holes get harder to cover as the whistles get bigger

You can find whistles in Bb, or A, or G, or F, and they will have a less shrill sound

[yankees1]

I see/hear people playing Andes music on larger wooden whistles. I like the deeper tone ( not shrill) produced by these larger wooden whistles. Are these considered tin whistles ? Mine is brass and produces more of a shrill sound which my wife hates ! To get a deeper toned whistle do I need to buy this larger wooden one ?

My wife does not like the sound of the soprano D either. But that's less and less true as I get better at it.

"Tin" whistles can be made of wood, or aluminum, or plastic; they are just called tin whistles because mass market whistles were made of metal. Personally, I don't think the material a whistle is made of has much effect on the sound: I think its all about the mouthpiece and the tuning. But lots of people disagree about that.


As mentioned whistles come in a wide variety of sizes and key signatures/ranges. The Low D whistle is a tin whistle, an octave lower. it's close to two feet long. Also as fatmac said the holes get harder to cover as the whistles get bigger

You can find whistles in Bb, or A, or G, or F, and they will have a less shrill sound

Can you play a song in D major using a low D whistle using the same finger positions ?

[Steve Bliven]

Can you play a song in D major using a low D whistle using the same finger positions ?

Yes (although it's generally referred to as a tune if'n there's no singing involved.)

Best wishes.

Steve

[Wanderer]

yes.

You can learn a D tune on a regular D whistle, play the same tune using the same fingerings on a low D whistle, and it will be one octave lower.

You can play the same tune on a C whistle, using the same fingerings, and it will be in the key of C.

Whistles are known as "transposing" instruments. Basically, if you wanna play a tune in a different key, you can play it on a differently keyed whistle rather than learning new fingerings. It's like capo-ing your guitar.

[yankees1]

yes.

You can learn a D tune on a regular D whistle, play the same tune using the same fingerings on a low D whistle, and it will be one octave lower.

You can play the same tune on a C whistle, using the same fingerings, and it will be in the key of C.

Whistles are known as "transposing" instruments. Basically, if you wanna play a tune in a different key, you can play it on a differently keyed whistle rather than learning new fingerings. It's like capo-ing your guitar.

Thank you and as a new player I sure didn't know that !!!

[MichaelRS]

Where they actually whistles or where they QUENA flutes?

[TDKBeloushi]

Dear Yankees1,

As of Andes music thing,
I believe you're talking about a quena (flute) or a quenacho (flute).

And I guess your brass whistle is in the key of D (soprano) !

So there's as a standard let's say:
soprano (the one your wife hate),
Alto (little deeper),
Tenor (the one you like I guess),
Bass.

If that Andes flute (which you called it a whistle) a large deep instrument, then that's a Quenacho (in the key of D---Low/Tenor).

If it's a medium sized instrument, then that's a Quena (in the key of G---Alto).

In the world of whistles,
you are looking at an Alto whistle in the key of G,
Or a Tenor/Low whistle in the key of D.

** if you are a beginner, I guess the Tenor/Low D whistle will be a stretch for you...
** the Alto whistle in the key of G its in the middle of all... So it's the better option for you (just my opinion).

Hope that helps...

Thanks,
Enjoy

[fatmac]

I have whistles in low D, low F, low G, A, Bb & C that I use the most, (plus all the high ones up to high G).

The ones I play the most are the low F, the A, the low D, & the C, in that order of preference - anything including & lower than the 'A' is acceptable in our household.

My suggestion would be the low F, I bought mine from Shearwater Whistles, & it wasn't very expensive, worth taking a look.

[pancelticpiper]

Maybe he means an Andes whistle, like he says?

They have plenty of fipple-flutes there.

There's the Tarka, explained and played here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Icptg5uzYE

Well that was on a stage, here they are being played in the mountains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdes_yDi5rc

and another Andes whistle, the Moseno, here being explained and demonstrated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHl0ezo32fg

and here as used in actual performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGgkMn ... ocoalznpQn

The similarity of this to the Romanian Caval is striking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0jQgTcfpF4

But if the discussion is about Andean flutes like the Kena, yes, it fingers like an Irish whistle but has a thumb-hole.

I suppose you could drill a thumb hole (for D, not C) and then you could use Kena fingering on an Irish whistle.