I am from Malaysia in need of help!

souzaco · Post by **souzaco** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:52 am

Hi there,

I became intrigued in tin whistles from the corrs and initially I wanted a tin whistle just so to play some of the stuffs that the corrs play but upon further research, or so to say, I found out that there is more to tin whistle than just the corrs and there are lots of groups or bands that plays celtic music. I am just fascinated by all this and I guess I want to learn how to play the tin whistle and I dont even care if I cannot get to play songs from the corrs straight away. Its weird because everyday i would go to youtube to watch the people there play their tinwhistles which I should say, some are very good. I would go around forums such as this one and read about playing the tin whistles and stuff and I don't even have a tin whistle so I have decided maybe its high time for me to get one.

Okay then, enough about that. Is there anyone here from Malaysia? and do you know a place in borneo or sabah in which they sell the tin whistle? I went to one of the music shop in town but they had no idea what a tin whistle is. I hope it's not too expensive though because I dont exactly come from a well off family...

Thanks for reading and I wish you all the best for a brand new 2007!

Iyuk

anam cara · Post by **anam cara** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:26 am

Welcome to Chiff and Fipple!

The best way would probably be to order one on-line. I would recomend www.thewhistleshop.com but there are many on-line stores that you can buy them from. They are not expensive at all either. You can get one for $8 to $12 (plus shipping of course).

shadeclan · Post by **shadeclan** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:26 pm

You certainly came to the right place! You will find the information you glean from here invaluable!

Welcome!

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:51 pm

Hi souzaco, welcome!

Have you tried one of the bigger music stores in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore? Sometimes even the big stores carry a selection of inexpensive English-made Generation or Clark whistles. Feadóg and Walton whistles from Ireland are also popular and inexpensive. There is a photo on the net that shows Andrea Corr playing what looks like a Walton Little Black Whistle.

I have to disagree with anam cara about The Whistle Shop. Some people (like me) have had problems with them, especially for international orders. You can read these threads for more information:

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=46590
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=42673

But there are many online choices, such as Big Whistle in the UK, or Oz Whistles in your part of the world:

http://www.bigwhistle.co.uk/
http://www.ozwhistles.com/

You can also look on eBay for a good selection, including the excellent tweaked whistles by Jerry Freeman.

Good luck, and good whistling!

arnie · Post by **arnie** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:21 pm

I come from the Netherlands and many musicshops here know the tinwhistle as a flageolet. "Generation" is a flageolet sold in most of the musicshops here. Big Whistle and Hobgoblin are alternatives to the Whistleshop. They all sell cheap whistles as well, like Generation, Feadog, Clark or Walton. A recommendable tutor on-line is "Whistle This". Good luck! But be careful, it's addictive!

anam cara · Post by **anam cara** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:24 pm

MTGuru wrote:I have to disagree with anam cara about The Whistle Shop. Some people (like me) have had problems with them, especially for international orders.

Yes, sorry about that. I just saw that thread myself. I just successfully did business with The Whistle Shop at the beginning of December, but some of the other experiences reported are disturbing to say the least.

Doc Jones · Post by **Doc Jones** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:24 pm

Welcome aboard Iyuk.

It seems to me we had another forum member or two from Malaysia but I can't remember who.

Doc

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:59 pm

mostly pipers...and mostly spent time there rather than live there now

ask ausdag, he said it was his 2nd home...

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:04 pm

I agree that it is best to have one shipped to you. It is probably best to buy a whistle that has been tweaked by an expert like Jerry Freeman as this will guarantee you start with a decent whistle. I'd particularly recommend Jerry's Mellow Dog.

I have not found 'tin' whistles for sale in SE Asia but I have collected quite a few bamboo flutes and whistles from various countries in the region. You may like to try them as well as they are quite cheap and some of them are very nice instruments, though you have to check the tuning. I met three two people who played Irish whistle in Indonesia and one in Borneo so I'm sure that you will find other whistlers in Malaysia.

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:41 pm

Eldarion is from Singapore. Try a PM.

souzaco · Post by **souzaco** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:58 pm

hi there,

thank you so much for the reply. I cannot really go to kuala lumpur and singapore to check it out because it would be a tad bit expensive for me. I was thinking of buying online but then again theres a big difference in the currency. 10US would probably be around 30+ or 40+ Malaysian Ringgit, that is one cost and the other cost is the shipping which will probably be around 20 or 15 or something. I am still a student and I think that RM70 or 80 is a lot for just one whistle....that's okay though...I will just go browsing through the links given and I'll try save some money. Once again, thank you so much for helping out and boy was I glad to have encountered this forum.

Eldarion · Post by **Eldarion** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:01 pm

Hi souzaco,
As far as I know there are no whistles being sold in any of the music shops in Singapore. I'm not sure about KL though, your best bet might be to buy one from a reputable dealer in the US or Australia. I've bought from the Whistle Shop but didn't encounter problems with them. They were also willing to test out the whistle before shipping it so that was a plus for me.

Buckeye67 · Post by **Buckeye67** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:39 am

Mitch from Oz Whistles is great to deal with. He helped me with an order for my step-daughter who's in Australia (I'm in the US) and was just a pleasure to deal with.

He's probably your best bet for your side of the world.

nikiarrowsmith · Post by **nikiarrowsmith** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:05 pm

I don't know if Mid-East manufacturers make 'em in high D (I know they makes low Ds) but they manufacture in India and are dirt cheap. I'm from Sri Lanka, so I sympathise with you on the price thing

Dale Wisely has reviewed these whistles favourably, though some think they're rubbish. I trust Dale though!

Also, how about you try picking up a recorder. I know it's not what you want but for the sake of musical practice that might be a good idea. Back home in Sri Lanka all little kids had to learn the recorder in school. so maybe Malaysia has the same thing going there. If you do, you should be able to find a recorder relatively easily.

I'm a complete beginner myself, so I hope I can help just a little bit.

good luck! keep lovin the music.

psychih · Post by **psychih** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:30 pm

Am unsure about East Malaysia, but some MPH bookstores in the Klang Valley used to sell Walton's whistle packs, filed under "music". They used to cost around RM50-RM60.