Hello and a whistle question

[ron-man-pan]

Hello I just joined here and have a question,why is there so much price difference between a D or E whistle and a lower whistle
such as a B or a A whistle ?
it seems that there should not be that much cost difference in making them.
I can find D whistles for about $6-$15 but as soon as you look at an A or an B
the price goes up to over a $100+

[ScottMaurer]

a lot of it comes down to demand. High D and Somewhat High C are super popular and get played a ton. Other keys have less utility for your average player and so get less use and so get bought less.

[ron-man-pan]

a lot of it comes down to demand. High D and Somewhat High C are super popular and get played a ton. Other keys have less utility for your average player and so get less use and so get bought less.

I guess that makes sense,also witch would be lower a D whistle or a C whistle ?
I'm new to them so have much to learn

[ron-man-pan]

a lot of it comes down to demand. High D and Somewhat High C are super popular and get played a ton. Other keys have less utility for your average player and so get less use and so get bought less.

I guess that makes sense,also witch would be lower a D whistle or a C whistle ?
I'm new to them so have much to learn

also I am looking on E-Bay at these whistles,

Waltons Irish Brass Whistle in D Mellow

Waltons WM1523 Waltons Whistle Brass C

Clarke Original Tinwhistle Penny Whistle Key of C

Clarke Celtic D Tin Whistle

Clarke CWD Celtic Tin Whistle, Key of D

Waltons Brass Whistle Key Of C

is any one better than the other? or is it a just a matter of preference?

[jbowen507]

Welcome to the party. Many including myself will recommend a Jerry Freeman tweaked whistle, specifically his Mellow Dog in D, for beginners. It's a great instrument for the price. If you're looking at eBay, he sells them on there. The D whistle is the most common for Irish music, but you can add a C body for only a few bucks more.

[ron-man-pan]

Welcome to the party. Many including myself will recommend a Jerry Freeman tweaked whistle, specifically his Mellow Dog in D, for beginners. It's a great instrument for the price. If you're looking at eBay, he sells them on there. The D whistle is the most common for Irish music, but you can add a C body for only a few bucks more.

yes the Jerry Freeman mellow dog does look like a nice whistle but for the time being seeing I do not have much $$
I am looking at inexpensive whistles like in the $20 or less price range.
also looking at this one on Amazon it is a
Generation Boho Model Paisley Green Designer English Tin Penny Whistle in D for $10.
I will keep the Jerry Freeman tweaked whistle mellow dog in mind though as I will probably
eventually get more whistles when I can afford to

[ScottMaurer]

you could play a high D whistle your whole life and never run out of tunes to learn and play at a session. I like having a C and a low D as well. A C is a whole step lower than a D whistle and is handy for playing in A minor, C and F. It seems that I mostly use it to play in A minor as my session group likes a number of A minor reels.

I would second the recommendation of a Freeman Tweaked whistle. In the same price range is a TJ Potter which I like quite a bit for playing on my own or with one other person, it has the bonus of being fully tunable sharp or flat.

ETA: Just saw your post about price range. I think you should consider a Feadog in D in that case. I find the quality more consistent than on a generation and they are a nice playing whistle.

[ron-man-pan]

you could play a high D whistle your whole life and never run out of tunes to learn and play at a session. I like having a C and a low D as well. A C is a whole step lower than a D whistle and is handy for playing in A minor, C and F. It seems that I mostly use it to play in A minor as my session group likes a number of A minor reels.

I would second the recommendation of a Freeman Tweaked whistle. In the same price range is a TJ Potter which I like quite a bit for playing on my own or with one other person, it has the bonus of being fully tunable sharp or flat.

ETA: Just saw your post about price range. I think you should consider a Feadog in D in that case. I find the quality more consistent than on a generation and they are a nice playing whistle.

well I made the buy on e-bay for a Feadog Irish Tin Whistle Penny Whistle Irish Products Green Key "D" 8073GR
I got it for $12.99 with free shipping.
now it is just waiting for the snail mail to bring it to me.
also I want to learn to play this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J56VVtlZCGE

[Katharine]

I guess that makes sense,also witch would be lower a D whistle or a C whistle ?
I'm new to them so have much to learn

The C whistle would be lower. The "key" of a whistle refers to the lowest note when all fingers are down.

[ron-man-pan]

I guess that makes sense,also witch would be lower a D whistle or a C whistle ?
I'm new to them so have much to learn

The C whistle would be lower. The "key" of a whistle refers to the lowest note when all fingers are down.

Ok,so would a B be lower than a C ? and a A lower than a B ?

[Sirchronique]

I guess that makes sense,also witch would be lower a D whistle or a C whistle ?
I'm new to them so have much to learn

The C whistle would be lower. The "key" of a whistle refers to the lowest note when all fingers are down.

Ok,so would a B be lower than a C ? and a A lower than a B ?

Yes, usually.

It is important to keep in mind that there are also keys one octave lower than those. A soprano C is lower than a regular D whistle, but higher than a low D. A low C is lower than a low D. A bass A is lower than all of the ones mentioned, but an alto A is lower than a regular B or Bb whistle, but higher than an alto G.

Confused yet?


Oh, and G whistles are available in three different octaves- Sopranino G, Alto G, and Bass G. All other readily available keys of whistles are lower than a sopranino G, but higher than a bass G.

It might be worth looking up a photo with a piano keyboard that has the notes written on it, so you can get a basic overview of how notes work from low to high. Remember, once you get to a certain point the notes repeat in a different octave, so in a sequence (from high to low) the keys of whistle would be as follows- G, F#,F,E,Eb,D (your standard key for Irish music),C#, C, B, Bb,alto A,alto G#,alto G, low F#, low F, low E, low Eb, low D, low C#, low C, Bass B, Bass Bb, Bass A, Bass G#, Bass G.

Sometimes people will say what I have labeled as "alto A" and "Alto G" are actually "low A" or "low G", while others will use the "low" terms for what I have listed as "Bass A" or "Bass G". I wrote the keys exactly as I would personally call them, but some might disagree with the labeling. In any case, if you use the terms I've listed anyone should know exactly what you are talking about in 99.9% of situations. I do tend to say "Sopranino" or "high" for the very highest key listed, as it avoids confusion, since there are three different G's. The terms "Soprano" and "high" are often used synonymously by most people for regular D, C, etc. whistles.

Also, some keys of whistle will go by two different names (to simplify). In these cases:

F#=Gb
D#=Eb
C#=Db
G#=Ab
F#=Gb

Just remember that if you see a "#" symbol, that the note is a semitone higher pitched than the letter before the symbol, and if you see a "b" symbol, that the note is a semitone flatter than the letter before the symbol.

And Germans will call a Bb whistle a "B whistle", and they signify the note "B" with the letter "H", which gave me plenty of confusion when I learned recorder as child.

Hope this response didn't create more confusion!

[Mr.Gumby]

Hope this response didn't create more confusion!

Well....

And Germans will call a Bb whistle a "B whistle", and they signify the note "B" with the letter "H",

I'd suggest Germans are likely to call a B whistle a B whistle and a Bb one a Bmoll.

[Sirchronique]

Hope this response didn't create more confusion!

Well....

And Germans will call a Bb whistle a "B whistle", and they signify the note "B" with the letter "H",

I'd suggest Germans are likely to call a B whistle a B whistle and a Bb one a Bmoll.

I've always seen Bb written as "B" in recorder literature.

There is also a video on YouTube of the German shop "FolkFriends", and the individual in the video refers to a Bb whistle as "the B" (translated) . It might not be universal to do this, but it does happen often enough. I study German, so I'd be embarrassed to be wrong about this one . Maybe a German member of the forum will chime in..

[Mr.Gumby]

Confusing stuff always, thinking about it Bmoll icould actually actually Bflat minor but I still don't think Germans would speak of B when B flat is meant, Bes is probably the right one. But I may be conflating French, German and Dutch practices.

[Peter Duggan]

thinking about it Bmoll icould actually actually Bflat minor

It is.

I still don't think Germans would speak of B when B flat is meant

They do. Hence long-established motto themes such as the BACH (Bb A C B) used by many composers including Liszt and ABEGG (A Bb E G G) by Schumann. Whereas the Eb equivalent is Es, as used (with substituted 'S') by Schumann's ASCH (A Eb C B).