I recently was discussing learning flute (one of the recent batch by Glenn Schultz), and it occurred to me that a lot of the hurdles are the same as learning the low whistle: My hands begin to tighten after awhile, I get a lot of unwanted octave breaks (more and more it’s after I become tired), and I run out of breath a lot.
Anyone have any comments on the relative difficulty? Is having played the low whistle a benefit (not including embouchure development, which is being discussed in a separate thread)?
Hi Charlie.
This may sound strange, but I’ve been playing flute for about 10 years (whistle for longer), and tried low whistle for the first time this year (a friend’s Overton). And I can’t play the thing! My hands cramp up, I can barely reach the D hole with my finger (and I have BIG hands - no problems with Hammy’s flutes here ), and I run out of air really fast ! Which probably won’t help you much… but I find that on flute, it’s a lot easier to control my breath, and to reach the holes. So if you can manage low whistle, in my opinion you’re probably ahead of the posse. Although this may just be me…
Deirdre
Exact opposite for me: I started on the Low Whistle, mostly the Overton Low D. For me the flute is like…oh perhaps 10 times more difficult. Harder to hold, harder to blow, more awkward in terms of fingering, and on and on.
So perhaps it’s what you start on, but I don’t know…the flute is a hard mistress…
I agree with Loren, the flute is a hard mistress. It is only now that I am getting the hang of the flute, whereas whistles are easy, even a low D.
But I find the flute once I get it going to be more versatile than a low whistle. Breathe control etc. seems to me to be more responsive on the flute than a whistle.
I am new to the flute and have been struggling without a teacher, pounding it out on my own. Trial and error, reading, posting questions etc have helped, but you never know if you are on the right track. I guess when it sounds (on the flute) like a well known tune you can play on a whistle, its okay,
I absolutely hated the sound of a flute fifteen years ago and could never see me playing one. Well Bite Me. I coming to like the instrument better each day. In small increments.
According to my experience, if you find it difficult to close holes of your wind instruments (such as low D whistles) , you may use second segment of your fingers to cover holes instead of using the first segment of fingers. You would find it more comfortable. However, getting used to do so needs time.
finger stretching isn’t a problem for me…but i only have a dixon. didn’t i read somewhere that the finger spacing on a low whistle is harder than that on a flute?? if i could only remember where i read it from.
maybe it depends on what instruments we started out with initially because we would have more time to practice on them than the new toy we have just bought.
personally, i prefer to play on the flute because i find i’m able to do more things on it than on the low whistle. it’s hard to explain, but it just sounds different. it feels alive on the flute…
p/s; someone told me that cuban music also uses the same classical flutes used in irish music. cool huh? maybe it’s an island thing?
Chih
“A whistle a day keeps the doctor away”
[ This Message was edited by: psychih on 2002-08-21 06:08 ]
somewhere that the finger spacing on a low whistle is harder than that on a flute??
I suppose (logically thinking) it IS harder as when playing the flute the arms are brought arm and closer to the body (more at rest?), while for low whistles there might be some different angle and considering the length downwards…
From my experience on the dixon low d, since it jumps octaves too easily, would very much help in controlling breath. Huff.
Hey ya’ll
If you havent noticed, I think that everytime I post I give my…“testimony” ( for lack of a better word. This subject brings it back once again and just reinforces what I have learned about it. I started on whistle and now have a flute. Loren, you are soo very correct. It is ten times harder or more. But, I am hanging in there and tryin my darnest to get better at it because I love the sound. Good luck to all to all happy tootin’!
I would say learning the flute is definitely very different from playing low whistle. I find it more challenging to play the flute. Much of this is due to the embouchure development, which the low whistle overides by having a fipple. Its easier to get embouchure fatigue on a flute than on a low whistle, and more noticible too (because your flute sound basically “dies off” when this happens). However it’s this embouchure that gives the flute added flexibility in volume, timbre and tone.
Besides embouchure, breath control is also more emphasized on the flute because you, not the fipple, is managing the efficiency of the air you channel into the instrument. You’ll also have to manage your diaphram to give your playing accents, emphasis and pulsing rhythms if you are playing in that style.
Additionally, the most common kind of grip (Rockstro grip) for flute is slightly different compared to piper fingering you use on the low whistle. Its possible to play the flute with piper fingering though.
While its true that to some extent lung capacity and finger stretch are common requirements for playing both instruments, the advantages of having played low whistle before flute aren’t that apparent to me - because the hand positioning is different in both instruments, and that breath control seems to be more important than lung capacity on the flute.
However I do agree with Mark that playing the flute can help with whistle playing (especially if you were a whistler to begin with). You become more aware of the various musical options availible to you just by altering aspects of your breath through the hightened control gleaned from your flute practice.
), and I run out of air really fast 
! Which probably won’t help you much… but I find that on flute, it’s a lot easier to control my breath, and to reach the holes. So if you can manage low whistle, in my opinion you’re probably ahead of the posse. Although this may just be me…
. Heh. It’s hard … nothing discouraging though. Sticking with whistles for now.