Easiest playing LowD?

[StarRider]

Hi.
I was wondering what people think the easiest playing Low D is...(short finger-stretch, easy-blowing, etc...)
Thanks,
Shar

[shatfield]

Now you did it Shar.........just kidding.........welcome from another new member and I'm sure the experienced folks will weigh in..

steve

[dean]

Any answer to your question will be subjective. I own, or have owned, low-Ds made by: Copeland, O'Riordan, Burke, and a few who's maker is unknown or questionable. These have included metal and plastic whistles, tunable and non-tunable.

My favorite low-D is a brass Copeland that I bought second-hand.

Two stand out as being the easiest to blow (for me): a non-tunable, aluminum whistle made in the style of an Overton [there are ancient discussions archived here that consider the provenance of this whistle]; and my brass Copeland. The mouth pieces are comfortable and they do not require huge amounts of breath to drive.

My next favorite is an aluminum Burke. This is a great whistle but the mouth piece is rather substantial. I have demo'd a plastic Burke and also think it is very nice, I just like the tone of the aluminum one.

The low-D that I *want* to me my favorite is the O'Riordan. I really, really like the "regular" O'Riordan whistles I have come across. Unfortunately (for me) the mouth piece is rather substantial and it takes a lot of air to drive.

Your mileage will vary

[arnie]

I have a Bernard Overton, not an easy player, but I know that Colin Goldie, maker of Overton whistles (now Goldie whistles) can make easy blowers and can adjust to wishes. I also played an Alba low D once, quite an easy blower. And as for Burke, if the low's are as comfortable as the high's, then you can't go wrong with those.

[ahogrelius]

I bought a Hammy Hamilton low D from Doc Jones a while back and it is definitely a great whistle. It doesn't take much air, is very responsive, has good balance between the octaves and is just great. The original thread in which Doc announced the whistles can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69938

Cheers,
Anders

[Ballyshannon]

Addressing Shar's concern about a short finger reach, I can relate and would recommend considering the Sweetheart Resonance Easy Reach low D. Because of small hands, I've always had a difficult time with the reach on low whistles until I found the Resonance which is easy for me to play without piper's grip. Mine is rosewood and it's a beautiful instrument with a wonderful deep, clear woody flute-like tone and is very easy blowing with good volume. One downside.....it's a bit pricey. But it's sure easy to play, and out of all the whistles I own and play with the band and in session, this one consistently garners the most comments about the wonderful tone.



Mike Burke makes an easy reach low D but I've never played one so can't compare the two in terms of air requirements, tone, playability, and reach comfort. Maybe someone who has a Burke easy reach can add their input.

[Feadoggie]

Mike Burke makes an easy reach low D but I've never played one so can't compare the two in terms of air requirements, tone, playability, and reach comfort. Maybe someone who has a Burke easy reach can add their input.

I have a Burke EZ composite low D. I find it easy to play. It takes some air though. I have smallish hands for a man and also own a standard Burke Viper low D. The bottom hole on that one rotates and it makes it easy to reach as well. I also have a Dixon polymer low D that is easy on the hands and the lungs. The Dixon is what I generally recommend to a beginner low D player. I, in fact, have no trouble playing any low D using the piper's grip.

But I'd offer an observation here. The term "easy" concerning reach and breath are very subjective. No matter what low D you pick up, you will need to take some time to become accustomed to its requirements, especially if you are new to the whistle or woodwinds in general. My advice would be to start with a quality whistle that fits your budget and produces the sound you are looking for and put in the time and effort to become comfortable playing it.

Feadoggie

[tinman]

FWIW I'm a fledgling whistle player and have found my Burke EZ composite low D relatively easy to make "whistle like sounds" with. I also have smallish hands and have found I'm able to reach comfortably using the piper's grip. This is the only low D I've played so there may be something more comfortable out there.

[PhilO]

I'm not a Low D maven, but currently own O'Riordan 3-piece Traveler, Copeland brass, Burke aluminum Pro Viper, and a non-tunable (old) Chieftain. I have owned and played Ralph Cook (long ago stopped making), Howard, Cillian O'Briain, and Ian Lambe low D whistles.

My personal favorites are the Burke and the Copeland.

I did play briefly in a shop in Ireland, an MK, that was truly wonderful, but I've not played one over time.

Colin Goldie makes a Low D that so many people love; I've dealt with him on occasion (for Low F) and it amazes me how accomodating someone can be from across an ocean.

Considering ease of play upon initial attempts (for me), relative cost, tonal qualities and availability, having a go at a Burke seems like a solid bet.

Philo

[walrii]

I have a Tony Dixon low D, only low D I've ever played. I use a piper's grip and can easily cover all the holes with my moderately long fingers. Breath requirements are a bit more than my tenor recorder but not much. I started out on Feadogs and Jerry Freeman tweaked versions and had minimal learning moving to the Dixon.

[pancelticpiper]

As regulars here know, I've been on a big Quest for the best Low D I can find for around three years now.

I sure haven't tried them all. I have owned Low Ds by Copeland, Burke, Overton, MK, Susato, Reviol, Howard, and Kerry (that's all I can think of at the moment) and have tried several other makes (including a Sweetheart Low D/flute combo).

Now you're asking about the "easiest" and mention two specific areas, breath requirement and finger stretch.

The finger stretch issue usually revolves around the placement of the sixth hole from which E emits. Low E is often the Achilles' Heel of Low Ds, the weakest note. Keep in mind that the placement of that hole is a compromise. The acoustically correct thing, which would result in a Low E that's just as strong as Low F# and Bottom D, would be to have a large hole, the same size as the F# hole, down halfway between the F# hole and the open end of the whistle. But almost no one could play a whistle like that.

The most ergonomic placement would be a tiny E hole way up close to the F# hole. But this would result in a feeble Low E, that could only be blown very softly or it would break to the 2nd octave.

So, the size/placement is a compromise, unless you have a key for that note like some Susatos have. I've played a keyed Susato Low D and I didn't like the feel of the keys at all.

Most Low Ds have about the same placment of that sixth hole and reaching it shouldn't be an issue if you use the "piper's grip".

Anyhow, after playing a lot of Low Ds I ended up liking the MK and the Burke the best. For the full review see the post I did a while back called something like "Low D review (road test?) Reviol/Burke/Susato/MK."

I've ended up liking the MK a bit more than the Burke due to several small factors: The air travels through the MK a bit slower so that I can play longer phrases on a breath, the Low E is exceptionally powerful, the narrower tube and smaller holes make it a bit more comfortable in the hands, and ornaments pop out of the MK a bit more clearly. But, the MK lacks the Burke's amazingly powerful Bottom D.

There's a video of my playing those four Low Ds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkL06uOtZQc

Don't overlook the Susato. It has a slim tube and smaller holes like the MK and has easy breath requirements. It has a great Bottom D (just almost as good as the Burke's) and sweet high notes. I just don't like the actual timbre/tone as much as the MK's or the Burke's.

[toasterburn]

As far as finger stretch, Jubilee makes a low-d with the holes so close that you don't have to use piper's grip. Can't say how they compare in sound and playability to other low-d's though, as I only own one of his so far.

[swizzlestick]

The "easiest" question has come up before, of course, and the answers wander all over the place because easy is such a personal definition.

If you learn to use piper's grip -- google for an image if you need to see what I mean -- you should be able to reach the holes on most low whistles unless you have small hands. If you do have small hands, from what I have observed , you may find the width of the holes to be even more limiting. Some larger holes just can't be sealed properly with narrow fingers. Howard whistles are a good example.

Note that the tapered bodies of conical whistles (like the Sweetheart above) tend to have holes that are smaller and closer together. That's not always an advantage since it tends to make slurs and half-holing more difficult.

Now you also asked about breath requirements and I notice that one unique whistle has yet to be mentioned.

The Syn low D needs very little air volume. In fact, it requires less breath than some of the high D whistles I have used. Hole size and placement is nearly identical to a Burke Viper. It's not a very well known whistle, but I was impressed with the sound Mick Woodruff was able to produce with one: http://www.micksvirtualwhistle.net/whistle/index.html But then I am impressed with Mick's playing of any whistles.