Here is the first release of a Tin Whistle guide I put together for the Ceolas archive, largely from discussions on Irtrad-L and rec.music.celtic. It is also available by FTP from celtic.stanford.edu in the new /pub/Instruments directory, where it will share space with guides and FAQs for bagpipe, bodhran-making, harp, and soon-to-be-added guides to flute and accordion. This has already been a collaborative effort: if you have any corrections, additions, complaints or other comments, please send them to me for inclusion in the next version. Gerard Manning ceolas@ceolas.org --------------------------------------------------------- Ceolas Tin Whistle Guide 1. Introduction 2. Tutors 3. Recordings 4. Buying, Brand Comparison 5. Tuning 6. Sources Acknowledgements: Thanks to Richard Darsie, Scott DeLancey, John Wash, T. Dawson, Larry Mallette, Han Speek, Paulette Gershen, Michael Mc Gettrick, Steve Wolfe, Elaine Charlson, Gilles Mevel, Anna Peekstok, Robert Newton, Stephen Smith, Brad Hurley and several others who contributed to this guide, via discussions on rec.music.celtic and Irtrad-L. Copyright (c) Ceolas, 1994. Contact ceolas@ceolas.org regarding permission to reproduce this guide. 1. Introduction: The tin whistle or pennywhistle is a simple and cheap wind instrument used widely in Irish traditional music. The most common type has a moulded plastic mouthpiece attached to a cylindrical brass tube with six finger holes. It is diatonic though accidentals can be played by half-covering holes, and is available in different sizes for almost every key. Sometimes it is played in the key a fourth above the tonic (e.g. G for a D whistle). The most common key is D (an octave above middle C) and the fingering is standardly referred to as though for a D whistle. Mass-produced whistles are very cheap (less than US$10) and there are several tutors availble that make it an easy instrument to start off on for playing traditional music. 2. Tutors There are several good beginners books. The most reccomended include: * "Geraldine Cotter's Traditional Irish Tin Whistle Tutor". Ossian Publications, Cork. 1983, reviesed 1989. ISBN 0 946005 12 5. Includes notes on ornamentation and 100 Irish tunes. The Ossian catalog lists it for IR6.50 (about US$10) with a companion tape for IR3.99. Ossian also publishes Tom Maguire's "The Tin Whistle Book" for IR2.25; this is much more simple and basic than the Cotter book. * Robin Williamson: "The Penny Whistle Book". Oak Publications, New York. 1977. ISBN 0 8256 0190 8. Not as detailed on ornamentation as the Cotter book but has a good description of the modal basis of traditional music. Has many international tunes, though some of the arrangements are a bit irregular. * Cathal McConnell, flute and whistle player with Boys of the Lough has a book+tape set available from Homespun tapes (Box 694, Woodstock, NY 12498). I've heard good reports about it. * John and Eithne Valley: "Learn to play the Tin Whistle" books 1-3. Armagh Piper's Club. 1976 (7ed.). * Traditional Highland Tin Whistle is a tutor based on Scottish tunes, including some transposed bagpipe tunes. For more advanced players, probably the best book around on the whistle, including lots on ornamentation, phrasing and articulation is: * L.E. McCullough: "The Complete Irish Tin Whistle Tutor". Silver Spear Publications, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, first published in 1976, revised since then. (see his website: http://members.aol.com/feadaniste) 3. Recordings These are all recordings featuring solo whistles. Mary Bergin Feadoga Stain Gael Linn 071 Shanachie 79006 Mary Bergin Feadoga Stain 2 Gael Linn 149 Cathal McConnell On Lough Erne's Shore Flying Fish 27058 Paddy Moloney/Sean Potts Tin Whistles Shanachie 79033 Donncha O'Brien Donncha O'Brien Gael Linn 083 Various Artists Light Through the Leaves Rounder 6014 Sean Ryan Take the Air Gael Linn 142 Micho Russell The Man From Clare Trad HC 011 4. Buying a tin whistle Most of the mass-produced tin whistles vary a lot in quality, so it helps if you can try out a few before buying. Check the mouthpiece for bits of plastic left over after moulding, play it to check the tone and bring another instrument or an electronic tuner to check that it is at normal pitch and that it is in tune with itself (if the holes are badly bored, then just some notes will be out). If you end up with a dud that has left-over plastic on the airway or wedge, you can try to remove it; a jewelers flat file is a good tool for the job, a sharp thin knife will also usually work. Brand Comparison There are three categories: cheap cylindrical whistles, the older-style conical whistles, and high-end whistles. Cylindrical Whistles Generation This is the most standard tin whistle, cheap and very popular. Many of the top players, such as Mary Bergin chose this one over all the fancy expensive models. It is cheap, comes in almost every key and is available in brass or nickel-coated brass, which looks fancier but makes for a rather slippy surface. About $7. Red plastic mouthpiece. Their precise, sweet tone is often mentioned. The nickel-plated versions reportedly have a shriller tone. Feadog Made in Ireland. Like the Generations, some say sweeter-sounding than them. Brass, with green plastic mouthpiece, which is said to be more comfortable than that of the Generation. Cillian O' Briain in Ceardlann na Coille (craft centre) Dingle, Co. Kerry, is a pipe maker who adapts Feadog's, by "voicing and boxing". producing an instrument which is quiet, but clear and in tune. Cost is about 12 punts, up from 5 for the original feadog. He does business by mail order; I'm not certain, but the above address should get to him. Oak American made, (difficult to get in Ireland), nickel-plated, with black mouthpiece, several people say this is their favourite. Gives a mellow tone in lower register, but harder to play in upper register. Eagle Irish made, with green head and a 2-part brass body, which dismantles into less than 6" long. Susato This is a plastic whistle (less likely to be crushed), with a removable headpiece, about $18. Tuning is not always reliable. Perri This is a very cheap-and-cheery brand, only about $4 and made of very thin metal which easily dents. They are coloured a rather ugly bright orange but have a clear, bright sound that many like. Soodlums Green mouthpiece, brass or nickel-plated body. Low notes harder to get, require more air than the Generation or Feadog brands. Waltons This Dublin music store has recently come out with a matt black whistle, cheap and very similar to the Gererations. They are very light (aluminium) and visually striking, a bit on the quiet side Conical Whistles The only two inexpensive conical tin whistles made these days are Shaw and Clarke. Both of them have a wooden block set in the mouthpiece and taper in from there on down. Compared with cylindrical whistles, they are easier to play, with a soft, breathy tone which requires more air and tonguing, especially in the second octave. The Shaw seems to be the better made and liked of the two. In the US, Clarke's are availabe in C and D, ($6-13) and the Shaws in D,C,A,F and low G, low D for about $15-50. High End Whistles Expensive pennywhistles may seem a contradicion in terms, but there are now several brands of handmade whistle, running up to several hundred dollars. For your money, you get excellent construction, good tuning (usually adjustable), volume and clear tone. Some swear by these instruments, but some of the best players, such as Mary Bergin and Cathal O' Connell stick with the cheap and cheerful Generation brand. Abell Makes whistles of blackwood, with a silver mouthpiece and tuning slide. These also have a conical bore and are much louder than cheap whistles, standing up well in sessions. Round sound. He makes some with a C natural hole in the back, like a recorder. Cost is about $200. Chris Abell, Concord, MA ph. 617-369-7114 Chris Abell, 111 Grovewood Road, Asheville, NC 28804, ph./fax 704-254-1004 Copeland Brass whistles ; run about $130-180. Very clear, loud, tunable. Some say the loundness detracts in slow airs and solos. One person had one whose fipple blocked frequently. Michael Copeland, 609 Pine St. Philadelphia, PA ph. 215-545-5574. Harper Steve Harper of Buckingham also make aluminium whistles like the Overton, but are louder and tunable. Makes a C and D body that fit the same head. Sold through Hobgoblin. O'Riordan O' Riordan makes a tunable brass-lined whistle with a wood or imitation wood finish. Good volume. I have heard both that it's a little harsh and that it is pure and sweet, maybe it's variable. Overton Aluminium line of whistles by Bernard Overton of England. The low D is popular, played by Davy Spillane. Soft tone. There is one report that they tend to 'wear out' with time and start to sound fuzzy. Sweetheart flageolet Sweet as the name. Look and sound more like recorders than whistles, made of different woods. Requires fairly careful attention to breath pressure. I've heard of two people who's Sweethearts had poor tone and didn't like them, so there may be variablilty in the quality. Ralph Sweet, 32 S. Maple Street, Enfield, CT 06082, ph. 203-749-4494 Thin Weasel Wooden, with steel mouthpiece, tuneable, handmade by GA Schultz. About $200. 5. Tuning Tin Whistles The pitch of a regular tin whistle can be altered by sliding the barrel in and out of the head. Many whistles have the head glued or securely jammed into the barrel. To loosen the head, you can try holding the joint under running hot water and twisting; holding it with a dishcloth will help for traction. Be careful not to overheat, or the plastic head will melt. If you get the head off, smear it with vaseline or grease to make further tuning easier. Another possibility is to hold a lighter under the joint while turning it, for 5-10 seconds. The plastic will blacken, but this can be cleaned off later. Both of these techniques have been used successfully with the glued-together Generation whistles. To flatten individual notes, you can tape over a little part of the hole in question, or close it down with a little glue or varnish. To sharpen, you could try to file away and make the hole bigger. 6. Sources Ireland ------- Ossian Publications PO Box 84 12 Pope's Quay Cork ph. 021-300350 fax 021-300352 Cotter and Maguire tutors and tapes, small range of whistles, recordings by Micho Russel and others. Britain ------- Hobgoblin Music 17 Northgate Parade Crawley, West Sussex RH10 2DT ph. 0293 515858 Fax 0293 561602 USA --- Elderly Instruments PO Box 14210 Lansing, MI 48901 ph. 517-372-7880 fax 517-372-5155 McCullough, Cotter, Williamson and other tutors, tin whistle tunebook, whistles by Generation, Soodlums, Susato, Clarke, Shaw, Thin Weasel, Copeland, Howard, Sweetheart. Andy's Front Hall PO Box 307 Wormer Road Voorheesville, NY 12186 ph. 800-759-1775 fax 518-765-4344 Tutors by McCullough, McConnell, Williamson, Maguire, Cotter, several tunebooks, whistles by Generation, Feadog, Susato, Oak, Cooperman, Clarke, Shaw, Howard, Thin Weasel. Lark in the Morning PO Box 1176 Mendocino, CA 95460 ph. 707-964-5569 fax 707-964-1979 Whistles by Generation, Oak, Feadog, Waltons ('little black whistle') Shaw, O'Riordan, Sweet, Howard, Clarke, Copeland, Soodlum, Susato, Overton. Tutors by McCulough, McConnell, Armagh Piper's Club, Williamson, Maguire and several tunebooks. If you order from any of these, please say you heard about them on the Internet or from Ceolas. They aren't giving me anything to include their names here, I need them to consider this guide important enough to send me update information for future versions. Gerard Manning ceolas@ceolas.org Copyright (c) Ceolas, 1994