Hello folks, a few newbie questions.

[Stoo3]

Heya folks. I haven't played the whistle before, but just placed an order at the whistle shop for a Sweetone, a Clare one peice, and the tutorial books by Bill Ochs and L.E. McCullough (and accompanying cds). I played the Oboe for 5 years in middle/high school, and haven't touched music since. I'm looking forward to it.

I just wanted to say hi, and ask a question or two. First of all, I remember the recorder from 3rd grade... people actually play them....elsewhere? What is their normal use? (and why is there a lot of recorder-bashing around here?)

Is there any other good newbie material anyone can suggest? Or does a lot of practice with a little bit of material cover it?

Thanks!

-Stu

[Redwolf]

Hi and welcome!

Sounds like you've made some pretty good choices so far...the Bill Ochs book is first rate. I don't have the introductory McCullough book, but the one I have has wonderful accompanying CDs. The Sweetone is a great first whistle (I've been less than thrilled with my Clare, but that's more a matter of personal taste than because there was anything wrong with it). Sounds like you're well on your way!

Regarding your recorder question...yes, people do play recorder outside of elementary school . It's often used for baroque and rennaissance period "classical" music (it is, after all, what composers of this era meant when they called for a "flute"). There are a couple of recorder consorts in our area. You'll also see them used in Morris bands.

The "anti-recorder" stance here is more of a running joke than anything else...several of us play recorder as well as whistle. I think it stems from so many of us having been asked if our whistles are a form of recorder (but maybe not...people also periodically refer to our whistles as "flutes" and that doesn't seem to give rise to flute jokes).

Anyway, welcome! This is a great community here.

Redwolf

[blackhawk]

I just wanted to say hi, and ask a question or two. First of all, I remember the recorder from 3rd grade... people actually play them....elsewhere? What is their normal use? (and why is there a lot of recorder-bashing around here?)

Is there any other good newbie material anyone can suggest? Or does a lot of practice with a little bit of material cover it?

Thanks!

-Stu

As to the normal use of a recorder, I believe it's so you can record yourself playing the whistle, then play it back later to see how you did.

As to good newbie material, check out Bro Stevie's website. You can find it in the chiff links that Dale lists on the main website. That'll keep you busy for a long time (happily).

And welcome!

[StewySmoot]

Holy Smokes! Another Stooooo!

I gotta agree with what was previously posted. The C&F has plenty of resources, etc....

Have fun and welcome

Stewy

[TonyHiggins]

Get Laurence Nugent's cd, The Windy Gap, to see how it's done right. Don't forget to check out the Clips and Snips site to hear tune clips by people on this board.
Tony

[jluckett]

I haven't played the whistle before, but just placed an order at the whistle shop for a Sweetone, a Clare one peice, and the tutorial books by Bill Ochs and L.E. McCullough (and accompanying cds).

Hi Stoo3!

"The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tutor" book by L. E. McCullough is great! The CD's will help walk you through the beginning lessons, and also includes him playing all of the tunes included in the book. That book will keep you busy for a long, long time!

I also highly recommend his book (& 4 CD's) of tinwhistle tunes.

I'm fairly new at this, too, so I can't offer much helpful advice. But you'll find a lot of help through the C&F website and through this Board. Have fun with it... and welcome to the planet!

[cowtime]

You'll really enjoy the Och's book. (I don't have the other one, but have read rave reviews)I can't say you will or will not love the two whistles you've ordered. That's up to you. Which whistles are best is an often debated item here, and eventually it boils down to your personal preferences.

And, if you played oboe.......(hey, I did too).....you will have no problem with whistle.

[Jerry Freeman]

Hello and welcome.

Best wishes,
Jerry

P.S. Ralph says hello, too and would like to know if you have any sunflower seeds.

[Duffy]

Jerry:

If Ralph keeps asking everyone to support his sunflower seed habit He'll soon be too fat and lazy to work in your sweatshop and then what will we do for tweaked whistles. Please prove yourself the friend and companion you claim to be and help save Ralph from himself.

I hope you never permit him to watch Major League Baseball on TV and see that assortment of "seeds" they keep on the back shelf of the dugout. (ie: WGN/Chicago Cubs). He'll be busking for "Seeds" next. Shameless!

[Martin Milner]

Hi Stu,

I collected a lot of music & whistles in my first year, heck I've only been playing 2 years, and I still haven't scraped the surface of the material I collected. Probably having less would be less daunting.

I'd say what you have is plenty to keep you going at least six months to a year, practise with what you've got already, but listen to plenty of Irish music as well. Check out your local library to see what they have before spending too many dollars on buying CDs.

Also, think about where you would like to go with your playing. Do you plan to join in sessions? If so, get along to some local sessions to gauge their level, and find out what tunes they are playing regularly (there will often be favourites). Then you can practise these tunes especially, and could be participating within weeks!

Other options could include playing for the family, for the old folks home, hospitals, church, etc. These audiences will usually be less demanding than a session, but playing in front of others is still a hurdle it's good to cross.

Happy Whistling!!

[Jerry Freeman]

Jerry:

If Ralph keeps asking everyone to support his sunflower seed habit He'll soon be too fat and lazy to work in your sweatshop and then what will we do for tweaked whistles. Please prove yourself the friend and companion you claim to be and help save Ralph from himself.

I hope you never permit him to watch Major League Baseball on TV and see that assortment of "seeds" they keep on the back shelf of the dugout. (ie: WGN/Chicago Cubs). He'll be busking for "Seeds" next. Shameless!

The problem is, even though sunflower seeds have been promised, no one has sent any, and Ralph's getting nervous. I'm not worried about his getting lazy. He's a very energetic mouse.

Ralph hasn't showed any interest in television of any kind, including televised sports. I don't watch much baseball, but I'll be careful never to have it on when he's in the room.

The elves, OTOH, run the VCR all night and leave the place a mess in the morning. If they didn't do such excellent whistle tweaking work, I'd kick the lot of them out -- if I could. They show up at night when everybody's asleep and disappear if anyone shows up, so I'm not sure how I would go about evicting them.

[Flyingcursor]

Anyone related to Disco Stu?

Welcome Stoo.

[Martin Milner]

The elves, OTOH, run the VCR all night and leave the place a mess in the morning. If they didn't do such excellent whistle tweaking work, I'd kick the lot of them out -- if I could. They show up at night when everybody's asleep and disappear if anyone shows up, so I'm not sure how I would go about evicting them.

What you have to do is invite your mates round for an all nighter. Then all you have to do is work out how to get rid of your mates after they've scared the elves away.

p.s. Don't you have DVD? Or maybe the elves haven't figured out how it works yet.

[peeplj]

Welcome!

I agree with everyone on the Ochs book--really great tutor. The McCullough books are also nice, but start with the Ochs for ornamentation and then move to the McCullough.

Some more great whistlin' CDs you might like: McCullough's "St. Patrick was a Cajun" has really great, expressive playing, and Mary Bergin's solo CD's Feadoga Stain I and II are both wonderful.

Both the Sweetone and the Clare have fairly low resistance--if you find yourself longing for a whistle with more resistance, some good inexpensive ones are Dixon, Syn, and Susato (especially the VSB is nice in the D).

Also you might want to try an Oak...some folks have had problems with the mouthpiece, but if you get a good Oak, it has a lovely sweet traditional sound that's second to none, almost melancholy in its sound.

Best wishes, and good luck with your whistlin!

--James

[Stoo3]

Thanks for all the input.

My order came in yesterday, and I like the books just fine. I was satisfied for a few minutes being the omnipotent master of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, little star,' but that soon got old. It's a bit overwhelming looking at the tunes in the back of one of the books, but I'm looking forward to practicing more.

I find that overblowing going to the higher octave sounds a bit off on the high note. I might just need to un/tighten my mouth or change it a bit until I get it right. It will take some more practice. Although for some reason, it seems a bit easier to get high D sounding better on the Clare.

The whistles were packed/shipped nicely, but I noticed the Clare's brass was already splotchy and the mouthpiece was dinged a little bit (lacking the plastic covering that the Sweetone has.) Is this normal? Still seems to play ok though.

-Stu