Hello!
New to the the forum and to whistle. I'm italian, so I apologize for my poor english... I play guitar and lately i find it very interesting and nice to learn irish tunes...they're very fresh and joyful. And ITM looks one of the few aspects of european culture still surviving (in italy we've lost in few decades quite all of our musical culture)...
I like a lot whistle and i decided to learn both penny and low whistle. I'm looking for a low whistle in the 150-250 euros range, that can reasonably satisfy my difficult ear....precise in intonation and with a holes spread not so high. Any suggestions by the experts? Greetings from italy!
Welcome aboard. Your English is certainly good enough to communicate on this board, really no apologies necessary.
There are lots of whistle experts here, but not me. The reason I write here is because you wrote 'in italy we've lost in few decades quite all of our musical culture'. Could you explain what happened? I thought that folk music in Italy was prety much alive.....
Hello!
Thanks for your appreciation about my English.
I don't see so much folk music here. We have a little of Occitan dances and music near to France, a little of southern music (pizzica, coming from Puglia)...and that's all. Liscio "dance" is still surviving, but not as much as in the past, and this you can find mainly in northern east (romagna). Generally the traditional italian culture has disappeared under the "new media" pressure (TV) . This is my opinion, or just what i can see. Other people can probably see the picture otherwise...
scorr, the Low whistle has the holes farther apart becaus eof the length of the air column, but there are these "easy reach" whistles made by Sweethart Flutes
The Overton whistles are very nice, but you need to use the piper's grip because the holes are farther apart
I play a Tony Dixon whistle, which is a nice whistle to learn on. It is made of plastic, but it has a nice tone. I paid $120 USD for the "combo" whistle that comes with a whistle head and a flute head.
Tony Dixon is in the UK, so I don't have a link handy. I got mine from a shop in Baltimore here in the US
Hello Nate, thanks for your reply.
I have no problems with piper's grip, if the R2-R3 distance is not more than 45 mm. I'd prefer if it'd be about 40 mm...
But accuracy in intonation is an issue to me. Even if i know intonation depends on the player too, I'd be glad to find an instrument well tuned on both the octaves. Playing guitar, i found that it is much more easy to play well on a good instrument than on a mass built one. That's why after many different guitars i finally feel satisfied with a Larrivee
They are currently priced at £190 which I understand is just under 220 euros just now.
Misha is a great guy to deal. The holes are not too bad to reach although, as with most low whistles, you will need to develop a "piper's grip". Once you have this though then there shouldn't be a problem.
There have been a number of discussions on low whistles in the past so if you do a search of the forum then you should manage to find a few more suggestions from the past too.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions. You're very nice persons! I'm listening Matt and Shannon and i find them lovely. Inspiring....
I have already contacted Misha, and I ordered a low d.
But....there's time to wait and learn, before getting the brilliant MK whistle....in the meanwhile, i'll play my selfmade pvc low d, better, one day i'll spend in trying to play and the next one to fix the many defects detected... thanks, best regards to you all! Sergio
Heaven will pay you back, I'm sure!....
(and I'll be grateful...of course...)
.....but the same is to Nate, who suggested me a good buy with Dixon...since Misha will make me the whistle in few months, and i am a reasonable being, i cannot rely on my trials as a whistle maker...;.) so I'm thinking to get a good low costing polymere Dixon, and then when i'll be able to play two songs more .... (or three, who knows?).. i'll be ready to get "the best"....
Beyond jokes, i found you all very nice people..and Matt and Shannon web site is a nice resource.
Thanks again...!
I agree with llig here - I have Howard and Overton Low D's, and they're nice enough, but ultimately the tone is too bland or smooth (or something) and too quiet for sessions. I concentrate on box now, and only pick up the whistle for tunes I don't have on box.
Sergio, you might think about going straight to flute, or another solid raucous sessiony ITM instrument?
Hello, Ilig and Martin!
About flute, i'd like to eventually go to it later, 'cause i feel it a little bit difficult than whistle (or am i wrong?). The "modal setting" (can i say so?) in whistle make it easier to me to learn..and i like more the low frequencies in low whistle than the higher in tin whistle.
I live in an apartment, and i have to manage the "community" issues too..so a not so loud instrument is good to start, while later most probably i'll prefer a strong one..
@mikeof: i tried to contact ian lambe by email, because the look of his whistle is very attractive; but i got no answers ; while misha replied in some minutes...SInce a musical instrument is a tool to make sounds, a basic point to me is listening to its sound....i didn't find any clips about ian lambe low d, while mk whistle has been reviewed by Phil Hardy on his site....so i decided for the MK whistle, and i just have some decisions to take about an entry level whistle to start.
If Dixon has a well intonation, it could be a chance....
Yep, flute is the way to go... High D whistle is a distinct instrument with its' own voice and role in the music, but the low whistle in D is IMHO just for those who want to play flute, but don't want to put in the time to learn how. (flute - has dynamics, a choice of tone qualities, faster response (for ornaments) and honking power on the low notes if you want it.)
(Low whistles in other keys have a legitimate role in accompanying singers in those keys. ...Or you could get flutes in those keys too - I have flutes in low A, low Bflat, D, F and G. And whistles in low A, low G, high C, Eflat, BFlat, etc.)
I think the biggest problem with low whistles is the lack of dynamic range. Try to play it quiet and you'll play flat, try to play it too loud and you'll play sharp. You have to play it bang on the right preasure. And that usually means the second octave is two or three times louder than the first, and the third octave (if you want to go there) is 50 times as loud.
While you might think that a low whistle is easier to play than a flute, it's no easier to play in tune.
The flute v low whistle thing really comes down one thing only, and that is that every thing you can do on a low whistle, you can do on a flute. But not the other way round.
I am two years in to learning flute after a long time on whistle. I go along 100% with what Crackpot and llig say. If you hear the tunes the way fiddlers and fluters play them - with a range of dynamics and tone - flute is the way to go despite a delay of maybe months before you can get a bearable sounding tune out of one.
Yes, you may well be able to get a tune out of a low whistle quicker than a flute, but as I said, it will take just as long as the flute to get a bearably in tune sounding tune.
Well, I find the discussion very interesting and rich. One thing i can do so is trying to make a compromise between different needs. I think that (if it worths the money) Dixon tunable duo head Low D could be something able to let me learn the tunes (i know the learning processing is very stressing to any people living around...) and the fingering techniques. While the flute head can open a window towards flute and its wider range of dynamics and tone. As i told, I'm basically a guitarist and whistle - flute world is something new to me. I like the sound and i find the technique (in whistle) not so impossible to reach.
On another side, I'm converting my playing style towards ITM in guitar also, and i don't want to overcharge my free time too much. Just a little bit
My goal is to achieve a medium level in order to be able to join some sessions....(sessions? where? ....but this is another topic...!)
Sergio, the Dixon combo with the flute head is what I bought and I had the same idea as you did.
It gives me a chance to try the flute and learn how to make a sound for little extra money. It is a good choice for someone who wants to try something new.
Like yourself, I am a guitar player first. I learned as a child and played strings all my life, so blowing into something to make music is a completely new thing to me.
It is a wonderful thing after all these years to be a beginner again. I hope you find the same joy and happiness. You sound like you have found a new passion
Hi Nate!
Thanks for your italian!
Well, I started playing guitar when i was nine, now I'm 53...
If not for Irish (and Scottish) music, i wouldn't have started this new thread in my life..this music touches me deeply and makes me feel i "must" play. In the first years I played Donovan, Dylan, Beatles, then CSN&Y, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. I let my guitar alone for a lot, and now that I'm back playing this music make me feel again like in those years. Listening to John Doyle, Samie O'Dowd, Dervish and Chieftains i see that there's much to learn, much to express in this music. I feel it a source of fresh and joyful feelings.
So, I'm back a happy beginner!
Best regards!!!
For an interesting insight into the low whistle there is a good series of youtubes with opinions of some of the best players. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp-RndJFKz0 The others parts are in the related video section.
I wouldn't pay to much attention to the flute v low whistle thing. They are different instruments. Anyone who can't appreciate the tonal difference in the two must have their ears painted on.
On the flute/low whistle combi front, sweetheart flutes do a combination set which I haven't heard anything bad about yet. Might be worth a look?
Does anyone have a nice slow simple low whistle sample that I can try to duplicate the tone of on a flute? Caveat here - I am far from the world's best flute player! Recorded with no effects, especially no reverb and please also tell me what sort of room it was recorded in and any other technical information that might be relevant. (I am not looking here for a link to a commercial recording...)
I'm not so good in English to tell how happy I am to listen and to crawl into these web pages you are suggesting.
Bogman, i came back tonight and went to watch you tube videos...how wonderful!
Thanks a lot, it's a great pleasure being in touch with such open people here.
.......but i promise, if i'll make a very good pvc whistle, i'll tell you!
Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Hello!
New to the the forum and to whistle. I'm italian, so I apologize for my poor english... I play guitar and lately i find it very interesting and nice to learn irish tunes...they're very fresh and joyful. And ITM looks one of the few aspects of european culture still surviving (in italy we've lost in few decades quite all of our musical culture)...
I like a lot whistle and i decided to learn both penny and low whistle. I'm looking for a low whistle in the 150-250 euros range, that can reasonably satisfy my difficult ear....precise in intonation and with a holes spread not so high. Any suggestions by the experts? Greetings from italy!
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Hi scorr55,
Welcome aboard. Your English is certainly good enough to communicate on this board, really no apologies necessary.
There are lots of whistle experts here, but not me. The reason I write here is because you wrote 'in italy we've lost in few decades quite all of our musical culture'. Could you explain what happened? I thought that folk music in Italy was prety much alive.....
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by Henk Bos
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Hello!
Thanks for your appreciation about my English.
I don't see so much folk music here. We have a little of Occitan dances and music near to France, a little of southern music (pizzica, coming from Puglia)...and that's all. Liscio "dance" is still surviving, but not as much as in the past, and this you can find mainly in northern east (romagna). Generally the traditional italian culture has disappeared under the "new media" pressure (TV) . This is my opinion, or just what i can see. Other people can probably see the picture otherwise...
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
scorr, the Low whistle has the holes farther apart becaus eof the length of the air column, but there are these "easy reach" whistles made by Sweethart Flutes
http://www.sweetheartflute.com/lowwhistle.html
they are rather expensive, however
The Overton whistles are very nice, but you need to use the piper's grip because the holes are farther apart
I play a Tony Dixon whistle, which is a nice whistle to learn on. It is made of plastic, but it has a nice tone. I paid $120 USD for the "combo" whistle that comes with a whistle head and a flute head.
Tony Dixon is in the UK, so I don't have a link handy. I got mine from a shop in Baltimore here in the US
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by Nate Ryan
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Hello Nate, thanks for your reply.
I have no problems with piper's grip, if the R2-R3 distance is not more than 45 mm. I'd prefer if it'd be about 40 mm...
But accuracy in intonation is an issue to me. Even if i know intonation depends on the player too, I'd be glad to find an instrument well tuned on both the octaves. Playing guitar, i found that it is much more easy to play well on a good instrument than on a mass built one. That's why after many different guitars i finally feel satisfied with a Larrivee
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
MK Whistles are truly excellent:
http://www.mkwhistles.com
They are currently priced at £190 which I understand is just under 220 euros just now.
Misha is a great guy to deal. The holes are not too bad to reach although, as with most low whistles, you will need to develop a "piper's grip". Once you have this though then there shouldn't be a problem.
There have been a number of discussions on low whistles in the past so if you do a search of the forum then you should manage to find a few more suggestions from the past too.
Good luck.
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Hello & welcome;
If you haven't already you might want to check out ~
http://www.chiffandfipple.com/~ It's a whistle & flute site.
I just chose a random thread below. My name is random.
Post subject: Burke/MK Question
http://forums.chiffandfipple.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69115
Definitely check out Shannon Heaton's Tune of the Month. You can never have enough tunes.
http://www.mattandshannonheaton.com
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by Ben Steen
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
You will also find discussions on tuning whistles. I think there was one about a month ago.
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by greg sheils
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Thanks a lot for your suggestions. You're very nice persons! I'm listening Matt and Shannon and i find them lovely. Inspiring....
thanks, best regards to you all! Sergio
I have already contacted Misha, and I ordered a low d.
But....there's time to wait and learn, before getting the brilliant MK whistle....in the meanwhile, i'll play my selfmade pvc low d, better, one day i'll spend in trying to play and the next one to fix the many defects detected...
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Nice to hear. If only I got a commission for this!
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
(and I'll be grateful...of course...)
.....but the same is to Nate, who suggested me a good buy with Dixon...since Misha will make me the whistle in few months, and i am a reasonable being, i cannot rely on my trials as a whistle maker...;.) so I'm thinking to get a good low costing polymere Dixon, and then when i'll be able to play two songs more .... (or three, who knows?).. i'll be ready to get "the best"....
Beyond jokes, i found you all very nice people..and Matt and Shannon web site is a nice resource.
Thanks again...!
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Maybe you might want to leapfrog the half way house of the low whistle then and just go straight to the flute?
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by ...
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
try ian lambe whistles
http://homepage.eircom.net/~mirian/ilambe/
or colin goldie, who was taught by bernard overton, makes lovely low whistles
http://www.overton.co.uk/texte/csghomeuk.html
# Posted on June 3rd 2009 by mikeof
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
I agree with llig here - I have Howard and Overton Low D's, and they're nice enough, but ultimately the tone is too bland or smooth (or something) and too quiet for sessions. I concentrate on box now, and only pick up the whistle for tunes I don't have on box.
Sergio, you might think about going straight to flute, or another solid raucous sessiony ITM instrument?
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by Martin_BC
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Hello, Ilig and Martin!
About flute, i'd like to eventually go to it later, 'cause i feel it a little bit difficult than whistle (or am i wrong?). The "modal setting" (can i say so?) in whistle make it easier to me to learn..and i like more the low frequencies in low whistle than the higher in tin whistle.
I live in an apartment, and i have to manage the "community" issues too..so a not so loud instrument is good to start, while later most probably i'll prefer a strong one..
@mikeof: i tried to contact ian lambe by email, because the look of his whistle is very attractive; but i got no answers ; while misha replied in some minutes...SInce a musical instrument is a tool to make sounds, a basic point to me is listening to its sound....i didn't find any clips about ian lambe low d, while mk whistle has been reviewed by Phil Hardy on his site....so i decided for the MK whistle, and i just have some decisions to take about an entry level whistle to start.
If Dixon has a well intonation, it could be a chance....
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Yep, flute is the way to go... High D whistle is a distinct instrument with its' own voice and role in the music, but the low whistle in D is IMHO just for those who want to play flute, but don't want to put in the time to learn how. (flute - has dynamics, a choice of tone qualities, faster response (for ornaments) and honking power on the low notes if you want it.)
(Low whistles in other keys have a legitimate role in accompanying singers in those keys. ...Or you could get flutes in those keys too - I have flutes in low A, low Bflat, D, F and G. And whistles in low A, low G, high C, Eflat, BFlat, etc.)
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
I think the biggest problem with low whistles is the lack of dynamic range. Try to play it quiet and you'll play flat, try to play it too loud and you'll play sharp. You have to play it bang on the right preasure. And that usually means the second octave is two or three times louder than the first, and the third octave (if you want to go there) is 50 times as loud.
While you might think that a low whistle is easier to play than a flute, it's no easier to play in tune.
The flute v low whistle thing really comes down one thing only, and that is that every thing you can do on a low whistle, you can do on a flute. But not the other way round.
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by ...
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
I am two years in to learning flute after a long time on whistle. I go along 100% with what Crackpot and llig say. If you hear the tunes the way fiddlers and fluters play them - with a range of dynamics and tone - flute is the way to go despite a delay of maybe months before you can get a bearable sounding tune out of one.
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by David50
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Yes, you may well be able to get a tune out of a low whistle quicker than a flute, but as I said, it will take just as long as the flute to get a bearably in tune sounding tune.
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by ...
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Well, I find the discussion very interesting and rich. One thing i can do so is trying to make a compromise between different needs. I think that (if it worths the money) Dixon tunable duo head Low D could be something able to let me learn the tunes (i know the learning processing is very stressing to any people living around...) and the fingering techniques. While the flute head can open a window towards flute and its wider range of dynamics and tone. As i told, I'm basically a guitarist and whistle - flute world is something new to me. I like the sound and i find the technique (in whistle) not so impossible to reach.
On another side, I'm converting my playing style towards ITM in guitar also, and i don't want to overcharge my free time too much. Just a little bit
My goal is to achieve a medium level in order to be able to join some sessions....(sessions? where? ....but this is another topic...!)
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Sergio, the Dixon combo with the flute head is what I bought and I had the same idea as you did.
It gives me a chance to try the flute and learn how to make a sound for little extra money. It is a good choice for someone who wants to try something new.
Like yourself, I am a guitar player first. I learned as a child and played strings all my life, so blowing into something to make music is a completely new thing to me.
It is a wonderful thing after all these years to be a beginner again. I hope you find the same joy and happiness. You sound like you have found a new passion
bella fortuna mi amico
sorry, my Italian is not good at all
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by Nate Ryan
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
Hi Nate!
Thanks for your italian!
Well, I started playing guitar when i was nine, now I'm 53...
If not for Irish (and Scottish) music, i wouldn't have started this new thread in my life..this music touches me deeply and makes me feel i "must" play. In the first years I played Donovan, Dylan, Beatles, then CSN&Y, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. I let my guitar alone for a lot, and now that I'm back playing this music make me feel again like in those years. Listening to John Doyle, Samie O'Dowd, Dervish and Chieftains i see that there's much to learn, much to express in this music. I feel it a source of fresh and joyful feelings.
So, I'm back a happy beginner!
Best regards!!!
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by Sergio Corriero
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
For an interesting insight into the low whistle there is a good series of youtubes with opinions of some of the best players. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp-RndJFKz0 The others parts are in the related video section.
I wouldn't pay to much attention to the flute v low whistle thing. They are different instruments. Anyone who can't appreciate the tonal difference in the two must have their ears painted on.
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by bogman
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
On the flute/low whistle combi front, sweetheart flutes do a combination set which I haven't heard anything bad about yet. Might be worth a look?
Does anyone have a nice slow simple low whistle sample that I can try to duplicate the tone of on a flute? Caveat here - I am far from the world's best flute player! Recorded with no effects, especially no reverb and please also tell me what sort of room it was recorded in and any other technical information that might be relevant. (I am not looking here for a link to a commercial recording...)
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by Crackpot
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/21098/comments may be of interest
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by David50
Re: Low d whistle suggestions, please!
I'm not so good in English to tell how happy I am to listen and to crawl into these web pages you are suggesting.
Bogman, i came back tonight and went to watch you tube videos...how wonderful!
Thanks a lot, it's a great pleasure being in touch with such open people here.
.......but i promise, if i'll make a very good pvc whistle, i'll tell you!
# Posted on June 4th 2009 by Sergio Corriero