When to get another key

[Leluka]

I am wondering, when should I start playing whistles in other keys. I have been learning for a little while now and I am comfortable (don't read good) with playing and reading music in "D". I am wondering if I should get another whistle, "G" or "C" most likely. Here's how I see it...
PROS - Whistles are made in different keys, may as well just get used to it. Also I will have a wider variety of tunes I can play. Finally it may help me to avoid developing some bad habits.
CONS - I am still pretty new at this and don't want to get confused or frustrated to a point where I won't want to play.

Any advice would be great.

[Redwolf]

There's no rush, unless you particularly want one in another key, or are going to be playing with people who need you to have other keys available.

One thing to remember is, you don't finger the whistle any differently just because it's in a different key. If you know how to play a tune on a D whistle, you can play it on a C or an Eb. There may be slight differences in breath requirements, but that's the case even when switching to a different make or style of D whistle. The tone holes will be farther apart or closer together (depending on whether you go up or down in key), but that doesn't usually take more than a day or so's practice (sometimes not even that much) to adjust to unless you're making a radical switch (say, from a soprano whistle to a low whistle, where the spacing and the size of the tone holes can get pretty extreme).

I'd say if you WANT a whistle in another key right now, a C can be a practical thing to have sometimes, but there's no need to go out and get one if you don't want or need one now.

Redwolf

[Bartleby]

Because each different whistle has different air requirements, I think that it's very important to play different whistles because it forces you to improve your breathing technique and control. For me, getting a new whistle in a different key is almost like learning to play a different instrument. It challenges you, and we all need to be challenged in order to improve.

Also, I think that if you play everything in 'D' or 'G' a lot of the tunes start to sound the same. A new whistle in a new key can make a tired old song sound new.

[Redwolf]

While that's true, it's true of various D whistles, not necessarily whistles in other keys. There's a much greater difference, for example, between my Susato D and my Elf Song D than there is between the Elf Song D and the Elf Song C. My MEG D and my O Briain "improved" Ds are so different as to almost be entirely different instruments, but there's little difference between the MEG D and the MEG C.

Redwolf

[kevin m.]

Hi Leluka,of course you WANT another whistle,WE ALL WANT MORE WHISTLES! No,seriously,a different keyed whistle can be handy,as Redwolf has suggested. Some singers prefer the key of C,or F. An Eb whistle can sound very bright and lively in comparison to a soprano D (a Generation Eb costs very little)-the difference in response could boost your confidence in playing faster dance tunes for instance.Playing in different keys can increase your musical knowledge, of transposition for example.I can't really see a down side-I sometimes think some people make too much of supposed difficulties of changing from one key to another-I don't think this is much different from changing your playing approach from,say one model of 'D' whistle to another 'D',unless you are immediately changing from a high 'F' to a baritone 'A'!!

[BrassBlower]

Much of this decision hinges on if you are going to play keyboard-based music. Most keyboardists don't like "sharp" keys, so if you are going to play with them, get a Bb, Eb, and F whistle, too.

[E = Fb]

Hi Leluka,
It's easy to switch from playing a tune in D to playing it in (say) C. Just pick up a C whistle and do the same things you did before. Same thing goes for all other keys...Bb, Eb, F, low D, etc.

But if you read music, it's an entirely different thing to pick up sheet music in C, grab your C whistle and expect to play. While you can read the notes OK, when you finger the C whistle the same way you did on the D, you'll be playing the wrong notes. I doubt that one in 10 C&F'rs can play a non-D whistle from sheet music. I can't, and it's not worth the effort to learn. It's not worth the effort because a D whistle can play D, G and A fairly easily, and that covers 90% of Irish music. If I need to play in another key I can use a whistle of that key, and learn by ear. Much easier.
Tom.

[Zubivka]

many other winds are transposing instruments, too.
See the transverse (concert) flute in G, English horn in F, clarinets, saxes, trumpets, saxhorns.
All the part says is "read this key, but play such instrument".

But the whistle is so perfected, it provides you one instrument per ha-tone

Maybe the best are still pipers, GHP as well as Bretons' biniou. Pretend they play in A (resp. Bb) with no # or flats, and end up in some kind of parallel world of their own...

[Kar]

If you're doing a lot of playing alone, another whistle key can be especially fun because you don't have to worry about learning the "correct" fingering for the new key, you can just play the D or G or whatever fingering. And it IS nice to hear those tunes in a new key.

Plus, if you're used to the high D's, I recommend trying some of the mid or low whistles. I can't play a low D yet (small hands, small lungs, etc) but I love the lower sound, so I enjoy playing my A and G whistles. You won't know what you like until you try!