a tendency?

[jiminos]

on another forum i read a post which claimed that there is a tendency among tin whistle players to want to graduate from the "standard" tin whistle to whistles in lower keys.... i admit i know very little about very little, so i thought to ask this forum... is this something that anybody here has noticed? is this claim true? not true? or is it a case of a good many whistle players tend to stick with the hi d, but do add other whistles as their level of competence increases? i really don't know, but from what i've seen here, very few people actually "give up" the high D to take up whistles of a lower key. can you folks shed a little light on this question?

how long have you been playing the high D? do you, or did you, "graduate" to whistles of a lower key (leaving the high D behind?) did you add other whistle keys to your playing? stuff like that.....

thanks,

be well,

jim

[Dale]

I'm not sure moving from a high D to a low whistle is a graduation, so much as a, uh, demotion.

Ok, maybe a lateral move.

I don't know how to answer that, really. I don't know of too many who have taken up lower-pitched whistles and abandoned the high D.

[Tia]

I do believe that people then move to a lower one, because as it is a wee bit more expensive, they want to be sure that the whistle is the way to go, adn to already have an idea of how to play it

[jiminos]

thank you for the quick response, Dale and Tia. i appreciate it.

like you, i have a hard time conceiving a move to a lower whistle as a graduation. perhaps, like you, a lateral move. i don't know many whistle players (there is one other that i know if in the county where i live), but none have given up the high D. but, still, i am looking to those who would best know (the members of this forum) for a response to the claim put forward.

be well,

thank you,

jim

[fearfaoin]

Yeah, I think moving to flute is often considered a "graduation".
Although, when you graduate, you usually are given gifts of
money ... in this case, they take your money and give you a
flute.

[DrPhill]

I initially wanted a low D whistle, but the very nice guy in the shop assured me it was much more difficult to play and that I'd be better off starting with a high D whistle. For once in my life I took some advice. Doh! I hated the sounds coming out of that small plastic device, and went and bought a low D anyway.

I dont play the high d any more; well, sometimes I pick it up to see if it has improved, but I soon put it down.
But I really like the sounds my low D makes, and play it lots. Perhaps if I had a high whistle with a sound that I liked I would play it as much. (why does my low d second octave sound so much nicer than my high d first octave?)

So did I graduate? If I did it was because of the advice that a high whistle was easier, cheaper and a better place to start. Perhaps that the source of the idea. I personally dont see my move to low whistle as a graduation but as a preference, perhaps even a failure to get a nice sound out of the high whistle.

Does that help?

[Protean]

Yeah, I think "graduate" is perhaps the wrong word to use.

I'd love to get a low whistle, but right now I can hardly play a D or a C whistle, so there's no sense in shelling out a couple hundred on a low D. That said, when I can play well, I have every intention of getting a low D to play with it. Nice thing is, I'm already learning the pipes, so I should be a pro at piper's grip by the time I pick up a low D! But I don't have any intention of NOT playing the high whistles upon getting a low one. The high whistles are too bloody fun to give up!

[TheSpoonMan]

A high whistles is a fine instrument in its own right... don't see why the low whistle has to be superior. You're right that people often start with a high one, and later get a low one. But I've never gotten the impression that they then stop playing the high one.

[jiminos]

i cannot thank all of you enough. you have all pretty much confirmed my impression that very few whistlers "graduate" to a lower key and leave their trusty high D's behind. the claim just didn't seem right to me. but, by all means, please continue to respond.

again, thank you all very much,

be well,

jim

[riverman]

The loyalty you all have for the high D is touching--and I think you're basically right. When I bought lower whistles, I kept coming back playing the high D also, even now when I try not to.
But, to be honest, the high D can get pretty...well, high! My family doesn't like it when I hit the high B note, even in the basement. And I cannot endure blowing a high B note in a tune for more than a split second--which, by the way, many Irish Airs require.
For this reason I rarely play a high D when people are "within range," except occasionally my Clarke original, which has a softer sound, being less air efficient. My Burke D gets only occasional play now (I would like to trade it for a Burke C) and I need earplugs if I toot it for long.
That being said, I must admit that my low A does lose a bit of the "chirp" that higher whistles have. This, I think, must be why I keep coming back.

I know you have all been intensely interested in this.

[Dale]

But, to be honest, the high D can get pretty...well, high!

I have a number of CDs in which the (high) whistle is the lead instrument on every track. I really can't listen to those CDs straight through, no matter how skilled the playing. This, to me, sets up a kind of ear fatigue.

[riverman]

Exactly, Dale.

[Dameon]

They both have their place. The high whistle is generally more responsive, so better for fast reels, while a low whistle has a more tolerable pitch and a more soulfoul sound that make it easier on the ear. I like using the low whistle, and do whenever I can, but for reels like, say The Gravel Walks, it's not responsive enough to keep up (although that depends partially on the whistle itself and the player). I tend to switch between them, especially at sessions. Playing a slow tune on the low whistle backed by a flute player doing harmony sounds lovely, but playing a Susato low D with a reel that requires fast octave changes sounds like an Irish goose being tortured.

As far as difficulty of playing, a low D isn't really more difficult. Breath control is actually easier, and the piper's grip is just a matter of positioning your fingers slightly differently, and not really more difficult. I wouldn't consider switching to the low D "graduating" in any sense, just adding a different sound to your whistle collection.

[Bill Hennessy]

Personally, I've just purchased my first low whistles, starting with a pair of tenor whistles from Jubilee Music Co. And I've ordered a low D from Mack Hoover. That's after a couple of years now playing the high whistles. I don't think of it as graduating so much as expanding. I'm curious to learn some different sounds. My next mini-obsession will be Native American flutes, I think. But those are a bit more expensive than I've ever paid. As far as going from high to low, I've seen it recommended several times on the forum that players learn the basics of fingering and breath control on high whistles before tackling the more difficult low ones. FWIW...

Peace

[jiminos]

again, i thank you all very much. you have pretty much confirmed my suspicions, and i thank you.

i, too, have a couple of lower whistles.. not real low, a few C's, a Bb, an A, a G... but they don't get anywhere near the play time that my hi D whistles do.

anyway... thank all, again for responding to the post.

be well,

jim