Hello,
I’m sure this has been asked just over one billion times already, but here goes:
I would like to get a super quick and easy recommendation for a decent beginner’s whistle.
(What do the cool people call the whistle, anyway? Tin whistle? Pennywhistle? Irish whistle? Whistle?)
regards,
~m
PS - I get fipple, but what the heck is chiff?
Not sure who qualified as “cool” but folks seem to call them everything you named. Personally, I like “whistle,” blanching just a tidbit at the “tin” part of “tinwhistle” (since many aren’t) and the “penny” part of “pennywhistle” since none are!
For the most bang for your buck (around $30), a good safe bet is the Susato whistles. They are inexpensive, well in tune, have a decent tone, easy to order and very playable. Someone else might be able to suggest which of the $20 metal cheapies is the best. I haven’t had much luck with them. The tone annoys me and they are usually so darned out of tune.
If you want to spend more ($100-120) Gary Humphrey and Mike Burke’s whistles are both terrific (beautiful tone, well in tune, easy to order). There are other more expensive whistles are that are great too (Sindt) but will take almost a year to recieve.
Thanks very much for your reply.
I will check those out.
Just browsing this forum, I’ve noticed that the Burke whistles seem to have a good reputation. Haven’t decided yet how much money I want to spend, but I suspect it will be somewhere between $10 and $150.
I’m cool!! 
Hi!
I’m an extremely new newbie as well, both to chiff and fipple and to whistling in general.
I play on a D Clarke that I bought on Ebay from a nice man in Ireland for eleven dollars American, shipping included. So far it’s been exactly what I need. In tune, pretty sound (i.e. my flatmates have yet to jam it down my throat), and it fits swimmingly in my purse.
Knowing relatively little, I would recommend this whistle!
Happy tweeting,
May Oskan.
I suggest the Clarke Sweetone for about $12. For $15 you can get a Sweetone tweaked by Jerry Freeman (he sells here and on Ebay) to be sure of top quality. Quality often varies on the inexpensive metal whistles.
I say forget the Burke until you are spending serious time on the whistle. The exception is if $100 is lunch money for you, then by all means go for it. I like my Susato at least as much as my Burke and it is a fraction of the price.
If you are new to music, you might consider getting Bill Ochs’ excellent tutorial booklet and CD. You can find places online that offer whistles and more on the Chiff & Fipple home page, retail section.
check out hoover whistles and there is no cool name for a tin whistle,i checked,.
I, too, am a newbie…and must blush to admit that for economic reasons my ‘whistles’ are several cheap ethnic flutes. 
(Ummm, does that automatically get me kicked out? 
gulp…fast footsteps fade as she bolts from the room)
All but one have basically the same fingering as the tinwhistle. One is a Ukrainian chip-carved flute, another a very plain Romanian(?) with a drone pipe and has the square apertures on the underneath. A couple are from Bali, called sulings, and one is a strange looking ceramic ocarina. My last is a 5-hole NA flute (has a roadrunner fietish; y’know, a long-legged bird reminds people of a turkey, can’t sing…just like me!)
Can anyone recommend some nice slow sweet airs to learn the basic fingerings on? And a website that has them (the tunes, that is).
I second the recommendation for a Sweetone for a beginner’s instrument. It’s a really nice whistle, and it’s a bit silly to pop for a high-ender before you know what you LIKE in a whistle. In fact, what I usually recommend is that people start with a couple of different types of whistles…perhaps one conical bore (like the Sweetone) and one cylindrical bore (such as a Generation or Oak) and, if you have enough $$$ left over, perhaps one plastic (such as the Susato). Play those for a good, long while before you start looking for something more expensive. If it’s any help, many excellent players never play anything but the cheapies…they can be really good instruments.
As far as what the “cool” people call them…well, I’ve never been accused of being “cool”! I tend to say “whistle” when talking to people here and “penny whistle” when talking to people who have no clue about Irish traditional music, but prefer the term “feadóg,” since that’s what the instrument is called in Gaeilge (Irish Gaelic).
Redwolf
How quickly we forget the “coolmaphone”
I think both the Sweetone and the Waltons Mello D are very easy to play and are good to learn on. Also if you’ve already played other wind instruments and have a certain degree of breath control, Oak is a wonderful whistle that is a personal favorite.
For a little more, Syn and Hoover whistles are both wonderful whistles that are a lot of “bang for the buck.”
As for what I usually call the things, for me it’s usually just “whistles.”
–James
…and there IS a cool name for them by the way. A fellow on ebay a few months back listed a Low D. Among it’s attributes he mentioned the fact that he had used it ot win a bet…by playing soulful music on it he had drawn a crowd of women in a store to listen–including the female clerks (guys are drawn to more martial sounding tunes). He called it the ‘Chick Magnet’! Cool enough for ya?!
Another vote for the Sweetone, and go for a Freeman tweaked if you can.
I still occasionally noodle around a tune or two on my Sweetone. 
I absolutely do not recommend a Susato, unless you’re looking for something that resembles a cheap plastic recorder with six holes. They are usually perfectly in tune, but the sound, uuuuaaahgh (that probably sums it up).
Have a look at Black Diamond, or even better, Syn (if you can persuade Erle to make you one, he’s mostly into the BD whistles these days).
I wrote a review of the BD here a while ago. http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=32215
My kids started with $4 Clark Sweetones and then graduated to good Burke whistles. They got good on the $4 whistles and can still make those whistles sound good (to a point)
I’ve never met a Sweetone I liked.
My suggestion is an Oak (what I started on) or a Generation. If you want to spend a little more cash, I’d talk to Mack Hoover.
hey kitty did he happen to mention wich songs?
My recommendation is to stop now while you can. Cheap whistles lead to intermediate priced whistles which lead to high end priced whistles. Then you find the need to buy a flute and yet a better flute. Next you will be looking at pipes. It is a slippery slope. Some people even decide to take up the Bodhran.
However, if you must the Sweetone is a good beginners whistle. I prefer a Feadog, Generation or Clare for an inexpensive whistle. For a high intermediate I like the Alba Q1. For a little more the Humphrey narrow bore D. I have never played a Burke but I would consider a Brass standard bore black tip. Remember it will take a while to learn to play so that it doesn’t squeak and squawk. It will also take a while to play in the second octave. Enjoy.
Ron
Clare is an excellent suggestion.
Get ALL the cheapies as you will get them all one day anyway!
In reality many cheapies need tweaking to play nicely. Buy a Mellow Dog from Jerry and you’ll be happy for years.
Good luck