Which whistle do you......

michael_coleman · Post by **michael_coleman** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 1:43 pm

I guess it would be my nickel generation (either D or Eb), or my Burke D.

Actually, I have been playing new tunes on my Bb generation. Its nice because I feel like I could transition easily to either the D whistle or a D flute as it kind of splits both.

SirNick · Post by **SirNick** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:31 pm

I don't start a tune on any one whistle, but it will have been played on all by the time I finish learning it!

Whistling Willie · Post by **Whistling Willie** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 3:11 pm

Some interesting replies...I only have three whistles,a Meg,Susato and an Overton,all high d's.
I've found that it's easier to learn on the Susato or Meg and then move on to the Overton once I have it sussed.I think that this is partly due to the pain of warming up the Overton and the clogging issues that I have with it.

Also,do you find it difficult to learn a tune on one whistle and then move onto another whistle,due to the differnce in hole spaces,breathing requirements,and general differences in various whistles.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 3:34 pm

Whistling Willie wrote:Some interesting replies...I only have three whistles,a Meg,Susato and an Overton,all high d's.
I've found that it's easier to learn on the Susato or Meg and then move on to the Overton once I have it sussed.I think that this is partly due to the pain of warming up the Overton and the clogging issues that I have with it.

That's why I have a few favorites for learning on - all easy players. Some of my overall favorites require more careful breath control, more attention to finger placement, or are just louder, so that any mistakes are heard by the whole house. So I wait until I know the tune well before switching over.

Whistling Willie wrote: Also,do you find it difficult to learn a tune on one whistle and then move onto another whistle,due to the differnce in hole spaces,breathing requirements,and general differences in various whistles.

Once I really know a tune, I can play it on any of my whistles without too much trouble - the attention I was using for "what was that next note again?" can be devoted to the different whistles' quirks. Though for some whistles I may want to take a little extra time to work out alternative ornamentation, practice bending notes, etc.

Easily_Deluded_Fool · Post by **Easily_Deluded_Fool** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 4:10 pm

If its in D, I usually learn a tune on a Dixon tunable,
adjusted to the sound file.

Then I play it on tunable low D, and listen to the sound file
while playing the lower key.

If I get the sheet music,
I learn it in whatever key whistle
the music is in.

Once the tune is 'in me fingers'
any whistle will do.

HTH

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 5:02 pm

I usually learn on my Waltons mellow D, the good one, or my Alba Q1. I also will pick my tweaked Feadog if it is close by. Then when I have it down pretty well I will play it on my Hoover/Oak for a different sound. Then I try other keys and brands.

Ron

Jennie · Post by **Jennie** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 5:36 pm

I choose a different instrument altogether. I learn a new tune on my hammered dulcimer, because I'm not as good on dulcimer as on whistle. That way I really have to live with the new tune long enough to learn it, as opposed to playing it easily (correctly, anyhow, if not beautifully) on whistle and then forgetting how the melody went within a week.

Learning a tune on the harder instrument first is helping somewhat with that terrible WHAT syndrome

(What the Heck Am I Tooting) which plagues me so often when I'm casting about for the name of a tune which my fingers know but has no connection to a title in my brain. In fact, I'm going back and learning a lot of my older tunes on hammered dulcimer, too, just to combat this.

After it's in my head, then I pick up any old whistle (the only kind I have anyway).
Jennie

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 6:10 pm

Previously, it was always the Burke aluminum narrow-bore, but now I also use the Whitecap-Oak when I'm upstairs. These two require the least attention to how I'm playing, so that I can concentrate on what I'm playing.

Once I'm pretty comfortable with a tune, I start branching out to the slightly more difficult whistles. Most are only marginally more difficult, but several can require a little extra push going directly from a low note to a high D or E, or have other little foibles, and I'd just as soon not have to worry about all that when I'm just trying to get the melody down.

Of course, I'm still a rank beginner, so it's all pretty much of a challenge.

greenspiderweb · Post by **greenspiderweb** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 7:11 am

Most of the tunes I listen to are for low whistle, so I grab my Susato low D. It's in tune, mellow, and I can access the both octaves very easily. It also doesn't take much time to warm up, and clogging isn't a problem. Good whistle!
Changing to another whistle later isn't a big problem, there's just a short period of getting used to the new whistle, then it's fine.

chattiekathy · Post by **chattiekathy** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 9:56 am

I always use my Alba Q1 to learn tunes on. It makes it so easy because I don't have to worry about breath control with that whistle. It's the best. Once in a while I also use my hammered dulcimer to learn a tune. It just depends where I am at the time I find a new tune and what kind of tune it is.

Cheers,
Kathy