How did you start whistling?

Thomas-Hastay · Post by **Thomas-Hastay** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 2:14 pm

Well it all started with the bullet hole, I took a deep breath and...
er,maybe you mean the tin whistle?

In '85 I was dragged to O'Gara's Pub, in St Paul Minneapolis, By some Scots-Irish buddies. As we hoisted some Irish BAR-bells the amateur session started in the back room. I was intrigued and followed my ears.

After a few sets I overheard a lady complain of squeaks coming from her new Generation Tinwhistle. I was feeling me tae and being a drunken engineer,volunteered to have a look at it.

A few swipes around the toneholes and voicing with a penknife to remove the burrs and VIOLA! No squeaks. In gratitude she handed me her <i>old whistle</i> as payment. I told her I was expecting a kiss, but would settle with the whistle and a wink. Ah, the good old days!

pthouron · Post by **pthouron** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 2:50 pm

Circuitous route at best. Been a guitar player for years. My brother-in-law taught himself fiddle and introduced me to Alisdair Fraser. I bought records, and fell in love with Uillean Pipes (as played by Eric Rigler). Thought I would learn those, got talked out of it and landed on the low whistle instead. And glad I did!... It's been a bear trying to learn, but I am enjoying every minute!...

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 3:32 pm

cskinner wrote:
Tony wrote:Carol, what other instrument?
*whispers: recorder*

HEY!! I heard that!!

I never figured you for such foul language, Cskinner!

notime2work · Post by **notime2work** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 6:27 pm

I started playing the whistle about a month ago when I went to hear a friend's local band. They were doing their annual St. Patrick's Day thing, and this year had a lady playing the whistle. I decided it looked like a lot of fun, so being somewhat impulsive, I went to the music store and bought a Clarke Sweetone. I have read music in the past (way past!!) so was a little rusty at it, but it's starting to come back to me a little at a time.

I was needing some advice, music, and just a better understanding of the whistle when I found this site and forum. Have been reading and enjoying (and learing) a lot in the last couple of weeks here. I also decided I needed a different whistle because I was having some trouble staying in the lower octave on the Sweetone (even though I figured it was ME and not the whistle, I wanted another one anyway), so I bought Dixon D. It is so much easier for me with this one, and I'm really having a lot of fun. Now I think I might have to have a C . . . do I already have it bad, or what??

I'm glad I found this forum, and have already learned an incredible amount of information. Thanks!!

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 6:41 pm

Now I think I might have to have a C . . . do I already have it bad, or what??

I've heard lots of people say they don't like C whistles. I only have one C, a Meg, and I don't much like it.

FJohnSharp · Post by **FJohnSharp** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 6:57 pm

Bought a hand made souvenir whistle at Colonial Williamsburg for my son. He put it down.

jonharl · Post by **jonharl** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 7:03 pm

I've been playing the blues harmonica for about 4 years. I heard Brendan Powers play Irish music on the blues harp. I thought the best way to learn Irish tunes was to play the whistle. 10 whistles later and more on the way I'm still practicing tunes from L.E. McLullough's book "121 Session Tunes" and his video.

spittin_in_the_wind · Post by **spittin_in_the_wind** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 7:10 pm

I was feeling musically deprived and had cabin fever, wanted to get a piano but couldn't afford it, couldn't play my sax anymore because it's too loud and a bear to get back in shape for. I'd heard various bits of Irish music here and there, and had heard the whistle, which caught my ear, sounded fun, and couldn't be TOO hard to learn. So, I searched around on the net after dismissing the possibility of chancing on one in a music store....and here I am 4 months later, completely obsessed. Whaddya know!

notime2work wrote: I'm glad I found this forum, and have already learned an incredible amount of information. Thanks!!

Check out the Oklahoma whistlers group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ok_whistles/

Robin

lilymaid · Post by **lilymaid** » Tue Apr 15, 2003 8:07 pm

I’m starting to think there might be an incredibly large concentration of former r***der players here.

Hiro Ringo · Post by **Hiro Ringo** » Tue Apr 15, 2003 9:12 pm

I once heard that Friedrich Gulda the pianist was also a good recorder player and he played the recorder when he got bored of his piano playing.
And I felt that's also a good idea for me to play recorder in order to beat every frustration I felt when I played the piano.

But somehow I jumped through the recorders' realm and landed in whistles' world.

Anyway this would have never happened without internet because nobody around me here know tin whistles

P.S.another frustratioan here:every time guys/ladies around me recognize my whistles, they say 'this is a recorder,isn't it?' and I answer 'YES,it's called Blues Recorder'

And let the talks slide......

skh · Post by **skh** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 12:51 am

I also started with the 8-hole wooden whistle from baroque times, but later stopped playing "classical" (intellectual, non-folk, academical, call it what you want) music alltogether and switched to the harp.

I always liked the traditional music of the celtic countries, but never really played something of it, because I felt like sneaking into the tradition of another country where I don't belong. Which didn't make me truly happy either, so some months ago I decided to no longer bother, and pretend that it's all part of Greater European Tradition anyway, and just play it. Around that time I also fell in love with the sound of the 19th century wooden flute ("Irish flute") in traditional music. This would also be a much better session instrument than the harp is.

So I'm actually planning to learn to play the flute, but as I don't have the money to buy one right now, I started playing whistle to move from 8-hole to 6-hole fingering, learn the music, and keep myself busy and happy. ;-)

Tantus · Post by **Tantus** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 4:19 am

I was ALSO a recorder player, still am on occasion. Doesnt every elementary school do the recorder thing? Anyhow, my sister had this weird thing that was kind of like a recorder with no low C. Played like it too so I stole it. Yep, I took it and never gave it back. I still have it. An 11 year old Feadog. I only played it to amuse myself on and off for 10 years. Then I discovered there were things called sessions and for about a year I've practiced a lot and am at least 10x better than I ever was. If I had practiced consistently for those 11 years I'd probably be, like, really good.

Nick

Celtoid · Post by **Celtoid** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 6:35 am

I bought a Walton's Mellow D at the Civil War Grey and Blue shop at a mall in Charlestown, South Carolina...because it was...well...cheap. The idea was to buy it for the kids and secretly see if I liked it. Predictably the kids took turns blowing through it and tossed it aside, and then I quietly put it away. Back home in New York, I would take it out and painstakingly work on learning. I was so bad that I had to do this when everyone was out of the house. Three years later, I have made great progress and adore the pennywhistle and from being a closet player, I am slowly emerging into the light. Playing with people around is now something of a challenge for me to overcome.

Blarney Pilgrim · Post by **Blarney Pilgrim** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 7:48 am

Here's another person who bought his first whistle at a museum shop. I was walking down the street at Old Salem (a restored 18th century village) and heard the most beautiful music coming from the shoe shop. There was a guy in there, in 18th century clothes playing a whistle. We talked about it for a little while, and I went to the store and bought one. I had never played an instument, but it came with an instruction book, and I figured, the thing only cost $8, so there wasn't much risk. That whistle was a Cooperman - much maligned on this board. I must have bought the only Cooperman on earth that is perfectly in tune. (I have since checked this on an electronic tuner). I struggled for months with the instruction book and was about to give up when I discovered that a coworker had bought the same set at Williamsburg. Fortunately she had prior music training and we learned together and encouraged each other. We played mostly 18th century American colonial music and hymns. It was only later that I realized that the high pitched flute sound I liked so much in Irish music was a whistle. By that time WhOA was in full bloom. That was 5 years ago. Since then I have branched out into low whistles and most recently flutes.

Steve

Groovehead · Post by **Groovehead** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 8:38 am

My wife asked for one for her birthday in January so I got her a Walton's D and fell in love with the thing. She didn't really get into it, but I was almost instantly obsessed with the thing. After studying it for awhile, I thought that it wouldn't be so difficult to build a better one... man was I in for a surprise

It's been a load of fun so far though and there is no end in sight...