I love the whistle but recently some friends of mine have been wanting me to play in some jam sessions with them. The problem is they play more contemporary type stuff like movie scores and such. Nothing will ever replace my whistle but I am thinking of picking up a different instrument. I was thinking of maybe the saxophone, which I have always wanted to learn how to play. My question is what instrument do you all suggest for playing contemporary things like music from the star wars trilogy music from lord of the rings and generally modern type scores from different composers like John Williams.
trumpet or french horn is a lot of fun.
I heard the french horn is very hard to play.
Bufo: Sax shoudn’t be too hard to pick up if you already play whistle. The very basic fingerings are the same. Although, the reed will take a bit of getting used to…
-Brett
Spoons. Trust me. 
Spoons are something I was never coordinated enough (or not smart enough 
) to play
I’d say silver (boehm) flute. I’m probably very biased though!!
Sarah
(first message using my real name 
)
To be honest, that never seemed to be a determining factor with the spoon players I’ve met. :roll:
Don’t expect to be able to pick up the Sax and jam.
And frankly, as far as “jamming” goes, the French Horn isn’t really suited for it.
They are both hard to learn (I like to say that the F Horn is harder, but really, they are just hard in their own ways)
I strongly recommend that you do not learn the french horn just as something to do or to jam. One of my pet pieves is people who treat the french horn casually. It is NOT a casual instrument, but rather a very beautiful instrument that requires love and most importantly respect to master.
(Yes I was a horn player → I am now a student and as such cannot afford one.)
If you want a good instrument to jam with, a Sax or Trumpet are probably better. But if I hear you played a french horn part on the sax… 
j/k (Although that is another pet pieve..)
Nico “The Trumpet (aka poor man’s French Horn) Player” Moreno
it can be tricky but I found it pretty easy since I started out on trumpet. basically it’s like playing the trumpet only much more responsive and flexible.
I agree with Brett, the sax was my primary instrument and it helped me pick up the whistle quite easily, the notes are virtually the same (F# is actually F, and C lifts up the index finger going from whistle to sax) although you will have to learn more of the chromatic keys you are not accustomed to.
Does anyone have trouble going directly from saxophone to whistle? I always want to lift up my top index finger on a D instead of pushing the octave key when playing the sax and I let out a nice squeal. My brain takes about a minute to get adjusted and even then once in a while I still do it.
I play the french horn as well, it sounds much better but much of John Williams stuff is very hard to play on the french horn, he likes writing in high parts (b’s and c’s above the staff, yes you need chops for these) and crazy rythms (star wars being one, the imperial march is a killer), but like I said it is absolutely gorgeous. I love hearing a good french horn over any sax any day especially when it comes to classical music. Most contemporary classical music (if it’s true, not adapted for wind ensembles) does not have parts for the saxophone, it is usually written for the french horn. Although, some scores do require a saxophone, but it is usually filled by another instrument, it’s not needed primarily.
Bottom line, you will get faster results with the sax (easier learning curve, not as hard to pick up), you can play a wide variety of music and you can find stuff that is adapted to saxophone that was not originally written for sax. Unless you want to wait for a gorgeous sound with the french horn, but that even takes a while once you learn the partials and the keys.
That’s my final answer.
I used to play sax too (and if I stop spending money on whistles so I can spend money to get a new mouthpiece and reeds for my sax I may play again). It was pretty easy going to whistle, so I would think going the other way would be fairly easy too. But they can be different. It sure is a fun instrument to play, though I was never good enough on it to just “jam”.
Beth
Saxophone is good, however if they are really eclectic in what they play, Guitar might be a better choice. (problem is, it takes for-ev-er to learn! lol)
Going from a hard instrument (sax) to an easy instrument (whistle) is not the same as going the other way.
I don’t care if I step on peoples toes, but whistle is just plain easy compared to most instruments. Not to say that it is “absolutely” easy, just “relatively” easy.
Sorry if that is offensive
Nico
Try learning to jam using pentatonic scales.
http://www.e-saxophone.net/saxophonehtm.htm
Easy peasy. The thing is, virtually any progression through a pent’ scale
sound good. So if yer mates are using D Maj’ use pent D, etc.
My thoughts are along these lines…
Would Brian Finnigan or Kevin Crawford have a problem playing their
whistle (or flute) at yer mates jam session?
I think not.
So why do you seem to?
Learn to play the whistle in a variety of situations.
Get a louder whistle if necessary, but if yer mates have asked you to jam with them, then you must have something they want at that session.
Build on it
Just my not so humble opinion 
HTH
Most of the instruments that have been suggested so far require you to develop and maintain an embouchure. all require you to go from a diatonic instrument to a chromatic instrument. Sax gets my vote as the easiest way to get results given both of these obstacles.
I learnt sax many years ago and was using it on stage with my band at the time within about three or four months. (I practiced very hard.) I can’t imagine getting basic proficiency on french horn, trumpet or flute in that time. Firstly, the required embouchure for those instruments is much more difficult to acquire, and to maintain it takes daily dedicated practice. Second, whistle fingering is similar to sax fingering but not to brass fingering.
If you’re put off sax by the thought that European composers seem strangely reluctant to write for it, my next suggestion would be clarinet.
Clarinet has always, and still is popular for Breton music, too.
Say, what’s a good clarinet you’d advise to a beginner?
I’m not sure what to suggest. I’ve never payed the clarinet myself; my opinion was based on comments my fellow sax players have made.
On a completely different tack, consider the Mandolin. You can get decent used ones for not a huge amount of money. They play tunes in the same written range as the whistle and then some. No embouchure to learn. They fit excelllently into sessions. Lots easier than fiddle to learn, although the fingering is the same in case you ever decide to pursue fiddle too. You can play melody, chords, or a combination of the two. A very fun instrument.
Don’t know about jamming, but the recorder is probably the easiest transition to a fully chromatic instrument from the whistle. YOu can get terrific plastic ones for ridiculously little money too.
May I suggest a harmonica? I prefer Lee Oskars, standard tuning. Once you learn to bend the notes you can jam.
I strongly recommend that you do not learn the french horn just as something to do or to jam. One of my pet pieves is people who treat the french horn casually. It is NOT a casual instrument, but rather a very beautiful instrument that requires love and most importantly respect to master.
What instrument does not require above prerequisites to master?
But I’ll have to agree. You should never try to use an instrument for a type of music it is not intended for. Thus you should never play jazz on any instrument since they were all ‘intended’ for something else. Never try to play bluegrass with a violin or mandolin, never play Irtrad on a Boehm flute (maybe an Emerson but not a Powell). Never play anything else on a whistle BUT Irtrad.
And heaven forbid if you should ever EVER try to play a part on one instrument that was written for another. Why I think I’ll explode if I hear one more person try to Bach on a piano when it was NOT written for one!!! 
Hey I have an idea. If possible this weekend I’ll see if I can find some pieces written for French Horn and play them on a bamboo flute or my wife’s clarinet. If I do I’ll be sure to post them.