Hi all,
I already have a couple of whistles I play extremely badly, and I’m about to inherit a few more, plus at least one tabor pipe and at least one soprano recorder (my father moved out last month and decided he didn’t want this stuff after 30+ years and writing a pipe and tabor “how-to” manual, and I hate to see homeless instruments so here I am).
Serious question for those on the list that play both whistle and recorder: which is easier, if you play neither, and why?
Thanks!
It’s really hard playing both of them at the same time. The breathing is ok, but I just don’t have enough fingers.
Stay hoopy,
Mike
says you!
Alright - serious question, and two serious answers right out of the gate! 
I don’t play the recorder, but have messed around with a cheap one.
I think it’s safe to say that overall the whistle is easier to play, or at least easier to finger. It’s basically just straight up and down the whistle with really just one note that is cross-fingered or half-holed.
The whistle is very simple.
Of course, it can take years to master - like many things.
Jason
Whistle is easier, but has limitations (note-wise).
Recorder has fewer limitations, but has more complex fingering.
That’s as simple as it can be put.
For classical, baroque, etc…, go recorder. For folk, particularly Irish, go whistle.
I agree with “crooked”, The recorder is more accurate, has more cross-fingered notes and is limited to 2 1/2 octaves. The Whistle needs embouchure correction, has easier fingering but a possible 4 registers (the third register is often overlooked because it uses the imperfect 12th)
My worthless opinion is that the Whistle is easier for the beginner, especially if He/She doesn’t read music and plays" by ear".
didn’t someone post a comparison on that website - what’s it called - chip and fiffle?
stay hoopy,
Mike
Recorder fingering is less straightforward because of the many forked fingerings and alternate fingerings. But recorder is generally played with a lot of tongue articulation, which goes a long way toward masking awkward note transitions.
Whistle is more or less the opposite. Simple fingering, but the less articulated (Irish) style means that note transitions need to be very accurate and perfectly timed in order to sound right.
Two different instruments, different fingerings, different styles … thus different technical requirements. Easier doesn’t really come into it.
P.S. I met Roland Kirk back around 1969. Wonderful musician … and a bit nuts.
As nuts as this?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_GabHGlGm14
Stay hoopy,
(and Melly Clistmas!)
Mike
Not even close. Check out any of these: http://uk.youtube.com/results?search_query=Roland+Kirk
I play both. I’ve played recorder for about 40 years, whistle for a little over a month. As crooked already pointed out, if your goal is to play Irish traditional music, then the whistle is the one to go with. The whistle is suited to that kind of music because, in a sense, the music has evolved with the whistle in its midst. The recorder is a product of the medieval period, reached a peak of popularity in the Renaissance, then the Baroque period, so it’s at its best with those genres of music.
But that’s really just the routine stuff.
Yes, the fingering of the whistle is more linear, hence easier. Control of the whistle’s intonation isn’t so easy, however. Although breath control is needed for both instruments, in my opinion you need a higher level of breath control for the whistle–I’m nowhere near having attained it yet.
The recorder is fully chromatic; the whistle is diatonic, although you can use half-holing to get certain accidentals. On modern recorders, where half-holing is needed, double holes are there. If you want to get away from Irish traditional music, you may find that you can do more with the recorder. But as you stray from Renaissance/Baroque music, you’ll find you have to work hard to make the instrument follow you. It can be done. This guy manages: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgHpMaaehRU
As for playing ITM on a recorder…I know a lot of people here think it’s a bad idea. Yes, the recorder fingering is a bit more complicated, but if you’re going to play ITM, a lot of the fingering is just about the same. You simply won’t use the recorder’s F-natural, etc. The notes above 2nd octave A are certainly more complicated on the recorder, but it’s possible to become fluent with them. A bigger problem, in my opinion, is that most people, when they learn to play the recorder, are taught to tongue almost all notes. Once learned, this is a hard habit to unlearn. It’s something I struggle with on the whistle, and will probably struggle for a long time. But that’s not a limitation of the recorder; it’s just a limitation of many recorder players, myself included. Now that I’ve been playing whistle a little while, I sometimes try playing the tunes on the recorder, using whistle phrasing, and whistle ornamentation. The result is pretty different from my usual recorder playing. Whether it’s decent ITM is another question, but since my whistle playing is still in its infancy, I’m not in a position to answer it.
This German girl, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQCo2e4Uvaw plays a passable jig on recorder. Judging by her youtube channel, her main musical interest is harmonica, but she seems very talented in any case. This fellow from Mexico, http://www.youtube.com/user/agsalcedo001 is quite devoted to playing ITM on recorder, and he seems to be getting better and better at it.
Personally, I like the simplicity of the whistle, but I still like to play the recorder, and I’ve been having a little fun with the ocarina too. It’s all good.
Thanks hoopy Mike for your link. …Now I have seen it all. Why didn’t I save myself tons of money and go buy a bunch of broccoli to play instead of worrying about which whistle is better to buy 
I actually bought a cheap recorder a while back, just out of curiosity. It doesn’t make much sense to me in terms of fingering (though I suppose actually trying to learn it would help) nor does it sound very good. If I want to play square waves, I’ll use an analog synth 
Seriously though, I have nothing against recorders. I just prefer whistles. But the whistle does strike me as a lot easier to get proficient at.
Very true.
I started out on a recorder a great many years ago in kindergarten. My tin whistle is a recent acquisition. In the mean time I “tooted away” on a clarinet. After this experience any wind instrument without that many key mechanisms seems easy.
In my experience, the recorder has fewer limitations come to notes and tunes. Half notes (b and #) can be easily played; however some cross-fingering is required. Just like low and high whistles, there are alto and soprano recorders. - Same difference: The low ones are bigger/longer and have a lower sound.
I realized that most tin whistle books come with three different notations: notes, numbers and diagramms. This means that you needn’t know how to read notes. The (admittedly outdated) recorder books I own feature notes only. The first chapters however, contain an introduction to the notes and their respective fingering.
Maybe a comparison of fingerings might help you decide.
The following page shows different fingerings for a great number of recorders. You can chose from a variety of languages.
The most common fingering chart for the recorder is shown here:
General fingerings → German fingering → Soprano → Scale in C major
http://www.blockfloetengriffe.de/
Charts for tin whistles can be found on almost every maker’s homepage.
Both types of instruments are fun to play and have a typical sound. In the end you might end up just like me and find that you want to play them both.
Well, these are just different instruments, with different sound and suited for different music. I’d choose music, not instrument.
ITM and folk? Pennywhistle.
Medieval, renaissance, baroque? Recorder.