Recomended Whistle Keys

PallasAthena · Post by **PallasAthena** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:19 am

It occured me today that all my whistles are in the key of D. Are there any other keys it would be good to have or is that kind of unnecessary (surprizingly, I have yet to fall prey to the need to own every whistle I see)?

slowair · Post by **slowair** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:29 am

I personally play about 99% Irish music. My whistle needs are usually met with a D, C and A whistle.

Hope that helps.
Mike

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:40 am

It depends on what you play and what you like. If you play with a vocalist you need more keys. If you play with other instruments you may need more keys and they should be tunable. I play different keys for specific tunes because I like the way they sound in a different key. Its what you feel you need.

King Friday · Post by **King Friday** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:03 am

Whistles in F are sweeeet. Low F's more specifically

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:37 am

I play mostly in D, but really appreciate playing alone on Bflat and G whistles.

Philo

kintailpipes · Post by **kintailpipes** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:33 am

I play my C whistle the most. Its a very sweet sound.

Jon-M · Post by **Jon-M** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:43 am

As noted above, D whistles cover most tunes but in addition to a C and an A (good for tunes in D that reach down below low D), a high E is best for most tunes in A.

Dave Parkhurst · Post by **Dave Parkhurst** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:42 am

To add to the above post... I agree with the keys recommended here. Also a whistle in high E (NOT Eb) is good because sooner or later you're gonna run into some guitar player or group that plays contemporary tunes and many of those are in E.

Dave

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:04 pm

the G is helpful if you are playing with people playing or singing
in C. The tonic (three fingers down) is C, so you can
use what would be the 'G fingering' on a D whistle to play in C.

Similarly the key of A gets you an alternative fingering for D.

Doc Jones · Post by **Doc Jones** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:32 pm

Bb and F are good keys for playing while chicks are singing.

Doc

StewySmoot · Post by **StewySmoot** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:43 pm

I agree with Mr. Kiley in that it depends on what you play. I play a lot of non-ITM so having a complete set is versatile for playing along with any music.
Also having other keys helps break up the monotony of playing in D/G, and A. A B-flat or F is a nice change of pace.
If I only had 3 whistle keys to chose from, I would probably go with a D, a C and an E-flat (or a Dixon C/D tunable which plays all 3!).

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:04 pm

Doc Jones wrote:Bb and F are good keys for playing while chicks are singing.
Doc

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:51 pm

crookedtune wrote:
Doc Jones wrote:Bb and F are good keys for playing while chicks are singing.
Doc

No, you looney tune, not THOSE sort of chicks!

Chiffed · Post by **Chiffed** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:29 pm

I use a Bb or Eb for jazz tunes, and mezzo A and G for accompaniment in folk stuff. Low E is nice for tunes in A, but I use flutes for most low stuff. I never seem to use C whistles, but that's just me...

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:49 pm

True WHOA dictates that there should be no less then one of each. Then there is the question of how to find the one you want to play, so you will need a few extras.

D, C, and Bb are a good start, but the Eb is fun to play sometimes..................Then..... Ya, one of each to start with.