It’s interesting that we have
had such different experiences. I’ve
played many Sweetones and never experienced
intonation problems–I’ve always found them
remarkably consistent. However I appreciate
that your bad experiences count more for you
than my report of good ones. I
guess I’m soft on Sweetones.
To answer some other questions,
the conical bore of Clarke whistles gives
them a flutey (sp?) sound, which many
like–Copeland whistles have the same
conical shape. (Forgive me–I’m probably
telling you what you already know.)
The Clarke classic whistles are an old design, basically tin rolled in a conical shape around a wooden block. So Clarke kept
the rolled tin and conical design and
put on the Copeland mouthpiece. This
gets us the ridge on the back, a low
price, a flutey tone–the Copeland
mouthpiece makes for consistency (or
is supposed to) as well as a less
breathy sound and lower air requirements.
The old Clarke classic is a breathy,
less consistent, whistle–though if
you get a good one they can be
amazingly beautiful.
Well, setting aside the Sweetone
I’ve had very good experiences with the
Clare, but I don’t know much about
consistency having only one. If I were
interested in finding a whistle for kids,
I would investigate the Clare further.
I also mentioned above the Oak D. My sense
of these whistles is that the plastic
head is better quality and less finicky
than Generations. In effect, here you
have variants of the metal tube, plastic
head, cylindrical whistle that are
executed with more concern for quality
than is the Generation. (Personally
I’ve found the tone of Feadogs a bit
rough and raspy for my taste.)
A last thought: my understanding
is that whistle is widely taught in
grade school in Ireland. Perhaps our
Irish friends can tell us something about
which whistles and instructional materials
are used, and how it all works out.
[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2001-10-15 11:52 ]
[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2001-10-15 11:54 ]
Hi Eric,
How does the Adler Heinrich compare to Susato?Would you mind giving us a mini-review of this wonderful looking whistle? Thanks in advance,Mike
I, too, would be very interested in using the whistle intstead of the recorder in my music classes. Unfortunately, I too use the recorder as a tool to learn music reading rather than as a beautiful instrument in itself. There just isn’t time to teach it properly. Since the whistle is a much simpler instrument, it would make more sense.
Two problems here, though: Everything’s “standards based” now, which means that we aren’t free to go off on tangents, and I work in a district with two very tradition-minded collegues who would never go for bagging the recorders and getting the kids onto whistles…I’m known as a whistle enthusiast, and they’d never believe that I didn’t want to teach whistle just because I like the whistle…and I don’t know that they’d be entirely wrong.
I think the great advantage of using the whistle is its ease in changing octaves. Since I sing bass and the kids have to learn to sing an octave above me, this would be a double help.
Regarding materials…could you not (at least at the beginning level) use C whistles and just read the recorder music?
I went to the Willie Clancy week in Co Clare last year, and most of the students in my class were kids (summed up my level), and ALL of them played Generation or Walton, though they all took huge interest in my Rose blackwood D.
What I learnt from it is that next time round I want to reincarnate in Ireland, because it appears to be the only country in the world where you get whistle rather than recorder lessons, and all good tunes too, not crummy “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and such like!
I hate to be a stick-in-the mud, but don’t we have enough plastic and wooden whistles in this world? Plastic is too shrill, and wood sounds too recorder-like. JP
We bought 2 of the clear recorders, and switched the heads, for a multi color look-- Cool!
Only trouble is, after you play for a while, you get to look at saliva, breath condensation, etc dribbling out of the instrument…
Nice idea Joe,I wonder if the recorder community also have their tweaked hybrid monsters.A Moeck or Yamaha recorder head with interchangable recorder/whistle bodys would certainly help to bridge the gap between these two rivals. Mike
Great idea, one fipple with two bodies, a recorder and whistle. It could be the begining of peace between the two communities (of course I wonder if the recorder community even knows there is a whistle community, even know there is such a thing as whistle).
I have been told by several of my “classical” friends that the Recorder has the same type of cross fingering that is used in proffesional flutes/piccolos and several other woodwinds. The idea is to prepare the child for the more complicated cross-fingering of the lucrative “band instrument” market and sellers of classical sheet music for the Recorder,flute and Tonette.
This snobbery is upheld by the classical elite in the same way that the fretted viol was poo-pooed by the violin and cello instructors.The(fretted)Viol was predominant from the middle 1500’s to the 1700’s for its delicate tone and ease of mastery. Something else to consider, a teacher makes more money,in the long run, instructing a student on a complicated fretless violin than an easy to play fretted viol or viol de gamba.The same is true of the Recorder vs Tin Whistle
Although the linear,and easy to finger whistle is picked up quickly by young players,it is not supported by the musical community and(wrongly)accused of being an “inferior” instrument. I certainly don’t agree with this, and the popularity of this website bears this opinion out.
Whistlers Unite!!! Let us change our world! Demand our place among the elite!
Being a fan of both the whistle and the recorder, I too support the fipple for both a recorder and whistle idea. Yamaha, how 'bout it? In the same cool pink and green colors as your neat-looking recorders?
I don’t know if anyone else has done this, but I just contacted Yamaha, and directed them to this discussion on the board. Hey, maybe we’ll get some interest from them!
