Whistles in Glasgow—beginner's question

[Bdove]

Hello all,
I'm currently living in Glasgow and wanted to start learning the whistle. Does anyone know if there is a music shop where an appropriate model could be purchased, or should I resort to ordering one online? If the latter, does anyone have a suggestion of a trustworthy web dealer?

[weedie]

There's lots and lots of possibilities for you...Entry level whistles are quite cheap...4 or 5 pounds in your neck of the woods..Brands are... Generation,Feodog,Waltons etc.etc. The problem though, with mass produced instruments like these is 'quality Control'...you might try 10 and get one good one...
My suggestion would be to get a 'tweaked' whistle..that is....a whistle that has been 'modified/worked on' by someone who knows about these things.
There's a bloke on this site by the name of Jerry Freeman (do a site search for him) and although I've not played one of his whistles,I've heard nothing but good things about the man....I think they sell for about $30/$40 US money...Beginners can be put off by a faulty instrument so I reckon a tweaked whistle would be a good thing for you....
After you get the hang of it,then you may want to venture into the realm of High End whistles.....this goes by the name of WHOA factor....or....collectoritis....or...what can I spend my money on now !!!
Good luck starting out on your new journey....its a great one...
P.S. Get one in the key of D...its the best for playing this music..

[Bothrops]

.....this goes by the name of WHOA factor....or....collectoritis....or...what can I spend my money on now !!!

"collectoritis", LOL!!!!!!

[taity]

try round about the barras
also along the road is http://www.folkrevolution.co.uk/

also some nice ones made in scotland @ http://www.albawhistles.com/

[pancelticpiper]

Yes I second Folk Revolution at St George's Cross, as I recall. The fellow is wonderful and he lets you toot on all the whistles.
I live in Los Angeles and here, with around 15 million people in the area, we have no shop like that at all.
You can go to thesession.org to check out the Glasgow sessions. I went to the one at Waxy O Connor's near George Square. I played in a Friday night session there, though Friday wasn't listed as one of the session days. It was a great session with fiddles and a guy who played Lowland pipes and low whistle.
I spent two weeks in Maryhill last August (fine enough if you watch out for the Neds) and spent hours each day walking around Glasgow. I just love Glasgow! I'm jealous that you're actually living there.
(The Glaswegians had the opposite impression- every time they asked my where I was from and I said Los Angeles they said "Why do you want to be HERE?!" I was there with 65 pipers and drummers competiting at various competitions and performing at George Square.)

[Bdove]

Thanks for the advice!

[Gostrangely]

In addition Glasgow Fiddle Workshop run courses for whistle at Stow College, during term time:http://www.glasgowfiddle.org.uk/main.html

[MagicSailor]

try round about the barras
also along the road is http://www.folkrevolution.co.uk/

also some nice ones made in scotland @ http://www.albawhistles.com/

I would respectfully suggest that an Alba is not the right whistle for a beginner. I have had a brief relationship with an Alba A and found the thing confoundingly difficult to control, particularly at the top end of the second octave. It also takes a lot of breath which would be a struggle for a beginner.

To get a whistle that will play OK without tweaking, I'd start off with something simple and easy to play like a Walton's Little Black Whistle, Walton's Mellow D or a Sweetone/Meg (feel free to add to this list). These seem to be fairly consistent players even before Jerry Freeman gets to perform his magic on them. (J.F. Can of course turn them into million dollar whistles...)

If you're willing to put in a bit more effort and wait a few days for delivery, I'd add a Generation or just about anything tweaked by Jerry Freeman. Another option is a Dixon Trad which I find is a lot of whistle for the money. I would not buy an untweaked Generation off the shelf unless you have a good whistle player with you to help you select a good one.

A bad cheap whistle can put you off forever and so can a high end whistle that is too difficult to control for a beginner.

Welcome to the madness!

Regards,

Owen Morgan

Yacht Magic
Anchored in the lagoon, St Maarten

My new blog.
Click here for my latest reported position. (Use the satellite view.)

[Mr.Nate]

Someone in your part of the world who tweeks whistles. (Well, he's in Norway... )

I have tried a few of his and they are very nice and resonable in cost.

http://vargaswhistles.com/

I think a trustworthy dealer in Europe would be Bigwhistles.com

Hope this helps!

Nate

[BigDavy]

Hi Bdove

As previously suggested Folk Revolution is a good place to get whistles.

If you want to check out Alba whistles, then check with Glasgow Concert Hall to see if Alba Aerophonics has a stall booked at Celtic Connections, Stacey has been there the last 3 years to my knowledge.

If you are looking for instruction in playing the whistle, then in addition to the Fiddle Workshop there is the local CCE branches.

Irish Minstrels
http://www.glasgowirishminstrels.co.uk/

They are in the city centre area.

or

St James the Great
http://www.stjamesthegreat-cce.org.uk/

They are based in the South Side of Glasgow.

BTW you will trip over members of all these organisations if you haunt the festival club at Celtic Connections in January

If you see a beached whale with a red bodhran come and say hello

David

[fancypiper]

I thought that Craig and Naomi had visited Hobgoblin while visiting Glasco, but I couldn't find the store. You can order by web, though.

Don't overlook the Clarke Original design in D, my favorite, but the Every whistle (Christmas gift) is getting a good playing/testing just now.

[pancelticpiper]

My advice would be to listen to all the advice here, but still go to Folk Revolution and toot away on everything you can. You'll learn a lot.
The fellow there had not seen a Burke, so I brought in my Burke low D and let him try it.
He really does have an impressive variety considering how small that shop is.

[CranberryDog]

Regarding Albas; Stacey makes great whistles! I have played several and own a low D and Low G. They are first rate in materials and fit and finish and are easy players.

A previous poster said he had issues with an Alba A. I am guessing an alto A. Anyway, Stacey doesn't let a whistle out of her shop that does not meet her high standards. Also, had the previous poster purchased the whistle from Stacey (Alba) and there was a problem, she would have made it right.

Good luck on your quest! There's plenty of good whistles out there. A Jerry Freeman tweaked would be an economical choice and they sound good to boot. Jerry sells them on eBay so you might check that out. Cheers, Cyril

[Bdove]

Thanks for all of the advice. I'd fancy an Alba but it's just out of ye olde price range.

I went to Folk Revolutions day after Boxing Day but they weren't open. Luckily, I found another music shop where I picked up a Generation D. I think the only time I've stopped playing is to come read this forum! It's so much fun and very satisfying to feel yourself progressing!

Anyway, now I'd like to know what you all think would be a a good second whistle. You see, I have a little bit of money left from Christmas and if I don't spend it my wife is going to requisition it to buy shoes. I think I'd fancy a low whistle but should I get another D?

All suggestions welcome![/i]

[Mr.Nate]

You can never have enough D's