What inspired you to play the whistle?

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 8:39 am

Cyfiawnder wrote:The need to learn a Celtic instrument because of my choice in Spiritual Path. I'm stuying to be a Druid so I needed to learn a Celtic instrument See how that works??

I see how embarking on the spiritual path would require you to learn to play Pol Ha'Penny, the Star Above the Garter, and An Phis Fluich. Right on!

Roger O'Keeffe · Post by **Roger O'Keeffe** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 8:49 am

Laziness.

Under the influence of the Clancy brothers, everyone was singing ballads in the late 60s, but playing the whistle meant that you only had to learn the tune and not bother to memorise all those verses.

Then I went to an early Chieftains concert, and hearing Seán Potts (senior) playing a slow air - either Fáth mo Bhuartha or Casadh an tSúgáin, I'm not too sure which - blew me away. It was only after venturing in to O'Donohoe's and realising that you couldn't really hold your own in a session with a repertoire of two airs that I began to learn dance tunes. Then came the pipes, and the laziness was raised to a whole new plane.

Sara · Post by **Sara** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:07 am

Mark from the group BBMak.

I bought their home video and Mark, during a performance, played this beautiful little instrument and I immediately knew I wanted to learn it. I found out it was a pennywhistle and a week or so later, I was at the music store looking for a piano instructional tape - - - and there it was: a pennywhistle and book set and then the rest is history.

I just remembered that as of yesterday, I have been playing the whistle two years. I can't believe it's been two years.

I distinctly remember when I first started learning it!

Cheerio!

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:34 am

I have an addiction to musical instrument stores....on at least three different occasions I picked up an inexpensive whistle, including a Gen and a Clarke...even went through the Ochs tutorial... always went back to playing the recorder because I was so much more familiar with it.

Went to Ireland....heard my first session there....came back and chanced onto a session here in CT and the friendly folk there encouraged me to play with them. They even tolerated the recorder for a few weeks/months before chiding me about the instrument. So I dug up the old Gen and started bringing, learning, and playing that. Hated it. Didn't like the sound, didn't like the upper register, didn't like anything about it except that the other people at session preferred me playing a whistle badly to a recorder halfway decently.

Came upon a Burke at Song of the Sea and fell in love. All of a sudden playing was a pleasure, practicing was a preferred pasttime, and WhOA became a fact of life. Found C&F shortly thereafter and have a quiver of high and low end whistles of nearly every key.

meir · Post by **meir** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:45 am

wanted to learn pipes, and of course whistle is always recommended first.

i have in fact started to learn pipes, but it will clearly be a LONG time before anything musical comes out of any pipes in my hands. on the other hand, i sound pretty good on my copeland low D (its hard not to with that instrument) . so now i pursue both.

after a year on the whistle, i am able to play about 22 traditional tunes from memory. my goal is to never have to look at notation when i am actually playing pipes, so i can concetrate on the feel of the instrument.

meir

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 10:50 am

I played flute, harmonica and r***der. A fiddle playing friend suggested I try whistle. So I did.

antstastegood · Post by **antstastegood** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 11:22 am

I really love the sound of CELTIC music. (sorry, I am scottish 25% and I am not even slightly irish).

The C and F website made it look possible, and the music from the movie "The Englishman who went up a hill..." pushed me over the edge.

Dewhistle · Post by **Dewhistle** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 8:40 pm

I bought a fife while shopping for toys on-line and got nowhere with that, so I went back for the easier looking instrument next to it, a Sweetone whistle. I thought it sounded awful and let my toddler play with it and bang it on thing for a year or so. I began to notice the whistle somewhere in my listening to Enya, Van Morrison, Chieftains and James Galway... yes, rather light fare but good introductory stuff. It was all over the movies, too. I don't remember exactly where I finally figured out what I had, but when I took the dented whistle and gave it another chace, I found it sounded nice... maybe it got a sort of accidental tweaking... anyway, that did it. The first tune I worked out, though, oddly enough, was by Chopin... his first concerto.

jmiller · Post by **jmiller** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:13 pm

Star Trek

alex · Post by **alex** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:47 pm

<A HREF="http://otisread.com/cds/rigging.html">The Wind in the Rigging</A> which is a collection of sea shanties and other nautical music, instrumental only. I fell in love with this tape that my dad bought when I must have been six or seven, up in Maine. The whistle features on it. I picked up flute in middle school b/c it sounded sort of like the wind instrument on WITR. Then I picked up a tin whistle here, one there. My mom working at a <A HREF="http://www.osv.org">19th century living history museum</A> helps... It's much easier to pick up an instrument like the whistle when your mom's friends have heard of it, and actually think it's cool, or play themselves. And when her work's giftshop sells music for it.

Of course, I now have "The Wind In The Rigging" on CD, and still love it today. And can even play some of the tunes.

Edited to add: it's supposedly only a 10 year old cd... so I must have been 11... LOL

LeeMarsh · Post by **LeeMarsh** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 10:50 pm

For me, its about music.

Music is a way to transcend: transcend the burden of now, transcend life's chains of experience that convince us that we are alone, to spread a hope that the now will give way to what we aspire to.

Music is a connection. We connect to each other across generations, continents, histories, beliefs, economies, values. It connects us first to the family of Man. It connects to that which is more than words can express. If music which is more than words can express, it is a connection to that which is beyond our ability to absorb in words.

Music is a necessary dimension to my life and has been since childhood. Not as performer nor spectator, but rather it's the thirst to participate. Not a gift I get from others, not a gift I give to others, but something we share in doing. This doing together is the heart of my passion for music.

Whistle appeals to me for its simplicity, its economy, the ease at which you can play it by ear, or by score. It's a doorway that is easy to lead others through; to help them discover how to enjoy their music.

Down a little tube with 6 wholes the simple vibration of breath speaks about life. IRTrad finds life for whistle in its dances jig, reels, hornpipes, polkas, waltzes. It finds a life in airs that leave songs simplified by abandoning the word and expressing just the melody which is that part of the song that is more than just poetry.

I continued to be inspired by the whistle ability to let you ...

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 12:33 am

I was driving a lot, and wanting to learn more tunes, and was getting tired of playing backup guitar with a fine fine whistler, and the guitar was too big to play while driving, so I went and bought three whistles and learned a hundred tunes.

I know I've driven more road miles with my knee than without. Even on snow and ice...and once a State Patrolman passed me, but never noticed the whistle suddenly drop---I was good at that.

clarinetnut · Post by **clarinetnut** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 1:17 am

My boyfriend got me into Irish music. I had heard it before and liked it, but never knew enough about the performers and styles to feel comfortable buying any music (I had no idea where to start). He really likes all types of music, and knows a lot about it, so he gave me a proper introduction to Irish music, and I've been hooked ever since. The next logical step after listening was playing, so I got a whistle and have fallen in love with it. I don't practice as much as I ought to; I get in trouble if I spend more time practicing my whistle than I do practicing my clarinet. But, I still enjoy it and am working on making myself presentable (acceptable?) for playing in public.

pthouron · Post by **pthouron** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 9:41 am

Alisdair Fraser. Yep, the Scottish fiddler. Started listening to him, fell head over heels for the sound of the Uilleann pipes on a few of his records, deluded myself for awhile that I would learn them. I couldn't make the time or money investment, but a piper friend of mine suggested that a lot of pipers also play the low whistle. I started listening more to those and that was it!...

Hils · Post by **Hils** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 10:03 am

Hoosier Taylor wrote:I've spent years playing stringed instruments, mainly banjo. I was playing a small gig recently -- the fiddler had worked up a medley in which she had to switch from the fiddle to the whistle. It was superb! I loved the sound! Went out and bought a D and a C. I've been enjoying the new learning experience!

Darryl

Another Banjo player, great! I get ribbed by my daughter a lot for playing the banjo. In fact she tried to auction me off on this board once, even got a few bids till she mentioned I played the banjo.

See Sandy et al, I'n not the only banjo player who also plays a whistle

Chiff and Fipple Forums

What inspired you to play the whistle?

Sandy! Look another Banjo player!!!!!!