which whistle should I keep?

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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.

which whistle should I keep?

Post by westonm »

So my story of how I got here is a little odd. I was looking for a gift for each of 2 white-elephant exchanges we're having in staff christmas parties over the next couple weeks.

I just happened to be watching an orchestral performance of Concerning Hobbits, and I saw this dude playing an instrument I didn't recognize, but looked like some kind of traditional irish flute. I knew nothing about anything.

Someone in the youtube comments mentioned it was a tin whistle. So down the google rabbit hole I went. This was monday.

I now have 3 tin whistles. A Clarke original, a Clarke sweetone, and an Oak.

I only need 2 for the gift exchanges, and I want to keep one for myself. There's a local traditional irish music school that will start classes after the first of the year, and they do have tin whistle classes.

Which one should I keep? Your thoughts?
Tunborough
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by Tunborough »

That's easy: all of 'em.

Play what ever notes you can on each of them until you decide which two sound best to you, go back where you got those two, and get two more for the gift exchanges. Then sign up for that class.
Tyler DelGregg
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by Tyler DelGregg »

The Clarke Sweetone is an excellent start, but a year from now, you will, should you get bitten, have a score of whistles anyway, after which you will whittle it down the only the essentials
Dan A.
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by Dan A. »

Tunborough wrote:That's easy: all of 'em.
My sentiments exactly. Besides, if you're going to gift them, they're cheap enough that I'd think most folks wouldn't want a used one as a gift, unless it's a discontinued instrument.
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Steve Bliven
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by Steve Bliven »

However, if someone would like to gift me one of them used Pat O'Riordan whistles, I wouldn't complain....(since they're discontinued) :D

Best wishes.

Steve
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Chifmunk
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by Chifmunk »

Yeah, if i were a non-whistle player, I'd be especially grossed out by someone giving me their used whistle as a gift. Ick! :really: Buy two new ones for the Christmas gift exchange.
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chas
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by chas »

Chifmunk wrote:Yeah, if i were a non-whistle player, I'd be especially grossed out by someone giving me their used whistle as a gift. Ick! :really: Buy two new ones for the Christmas gift exchange.
I didn't see the poster saying s/he was playing them.

That said, the answer to the original post depends on the motivation. If you want to keep the easiest whistle to learn on, I'd suggest the Sweetone. If you want to give away the easiest to learn on, I'd suggest giving away the Sweetone and the Clark.

The Oak is a little touchy for a learner, but it's a really wonderful whistle once you learn breath control. The Clarke Original is pretty much the opposite -- very forgiving, but takes a lot of breath, so can be tough for a beginner who doesn't have (ahem) a lot of hot air.
Charlie
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by mickey66 »

I would keep the Oak whistle.
westonm
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by westonm »

update: i gifted the Clarke, which ended up getting picked by someone who was somewhat of a musician, so hopefully he'll enjoy it

I'll be keeping both the sweetone and oak, and regifting what I got from the gift exchange for the next one I'm doing later this week :)

I'll probably get another clarke to replace the one I gifted. eventually
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Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by AngelicBeaver »

westonm wrote:update: i gifted the Clarke, which ended up getting picked by someone who was somewhat of a musician, so hopefully he'll enjoy it

I'll be keeping both the sweetone and oak, and regifting what I got from the gift exchange for the next one I'm doing later this week :)

I'll probably get another clarke to replace the one I gifted. eventually
The Sweetone is my favorite of the cheap pennywhistles, or really of any of the Soprano D whistles I've tried. The first octave (lowest notes) aren't as strong as some, like the Oak, Feadog, or Generation, but the second octave is beautiful and chirpy, rather than harsh and piercing as with most of the other pennywhistles I've tried. Whistles are always a compromise between the two octaves, with some whistles cheating one way or the other, and others more evenly balanced. Most of the cheap whistles cheat heavily toward the first octave, and have a harsh upper octave as a result. For me, I'd take a weak first octave in exchange for a beautiful upper octave, as that is the one that can hurt your ears, or drive your neighbors or family to kill you.

Here's a video of a Clarke Woodstock (identical to the Sweetone) where you can hear the upper octave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PQfml-lUxQ
Here's a Freeman Tweaked Blackbird, same tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErWDGpyBl7A

The Freeman is a very nice whistle, but it's a cylindrical bore, rather than the conical bore of the Sweetone or Clarke Original, so it gives a different sound and feel.
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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: which whistle should I keep?

Post by Chifmunk »

It's almost meaningless to compare the two videos for whistle tone because of the huge acoustical difference of the two settings.
Nice playing btw!
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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

Re: which whistle should I keep?

Post by Dan A. »

Chifmunk wrote:It's almost meaningless to compare the two videos for whistle tone because of the huge acoustical difference of the two settings.
I've also noticed that in YouTube videos, but attributed it to camera setup. If I made a video of me playing my whistle in my house, it would probably sound horrible!
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Chifmunk
Posts: 172
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:40 am
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Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
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: which whistle should I keep?

Post by Chifmunk »

We should all just play our whistles in cathedrals, when no one's looking. ;-D
Having FUN playin' my whistles!
http://pennywhistleclub.com/
...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: which whistle should I keep?

Post by westonm »

because I couldn't resist I further added a Dixon Trad D
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