Orchestra & Whistle suggestions

[loowitt]

I play third flute and piccolo with a community orchestra. This coming fall we are performing a Beatles Tribute piece that has an extended whistle solo in my part. I want to do this right and not just play it on piccolo. I've arranged a lesson with a trad player.

I need whistle advice.
Here are my requirements:
1) Must be in tune with self.
2) Must be tunable. (I don't want looks from the oboe player.)
3) Must project over the orchestra.
4) Part calls for a C Whistle

What do you suggest?

Sharon

[hoopy mike]

What's your budget? Will you be amplified, or do you need the whistle to be relatively loud?

On the cheap side, you could try a Generation C or a Clarke's Original in C. See which sound you prefer - they are very different.

[Geraint]

For a cheap(ish), tuneable whistle that'll carry, I'd suggest a Susato.

Mind you, they're not that cheap any more, by the looks of it - nearly £50 in Hobgoblin, in Britain. For that, you can get a Dixon plastic/metal tuneable - you might prefer the tone, but they ain't as loud. The all-plastic Dixon tuneables are cheaper again.

If those are way too much, I like my Feadog C a lot. Not that loud, but lovely tone.

[loowitt]

It will not be amplified.

I don't think a Clark Original will work because it must be tuneable.

I'm not opposed to spending some money to get the whistle that will do the job.

I don't want to struggle trying to make something work.

I am aware this is not the usual whistle request.

s

[highland-piper]

Susato might make the most piercing relatively inexpensive whistle out there. If you got one, you'd need to get one from the Kildare line. They are the ones that are tunable.

Be aware that even a Susato whistle isn't a very loud instrument, particularly in the first octave.

If it was me, I'd definitely consider this one:
http://www.thewhistleshop.com/catalog/w ... ckbird.htm

It's got a clear tone that will project well, even though it's not as edgy as the Susato.

They are tunable by moving the head.

[Latticino]

If initial cost is not a major factor I would suggest a Burke, Sindt, WD Sweet, or Freeman Mellowdog. These are quite reliable, tunable whistles with enough chiff to sound like whistles, decent volume, and that also hold their value well. Once you are done with this particular performance, if you don't want to keep the instrument you will be able to sell it. Please be aware that despite being a simple looking instrument playing the whistle well takes a good investment of practice time. I think you have made a good decision to take personal lessons given the performance deadline. Doesn't your teacher have an opinion on what would be a good chioce? At minimum they should be able to let you try some of their whistles to get an idea of what is out there.

Not sure whether any single whistle will fill the "aural space" that an orchestra leaves for a soloist though. I think you will find there is a reason that most performers play with amplification.

Best of luck.

[highland-piper]

*There’s really no such thing as a key of C Mellow Dog. With a D tube, the Mellow Dog is a wide body whistle. With the C tube that comes with a Mellow Dog D/C set, it’s a standard body whistle, identical to a key of C Blackbird.

source: http://cgi.ebay.com/Freeman-Whistle-Mel ... 3f09df25b0

Most community orchestras seem to lack the ability to play any quieter than mf. If yours is like that, and if you have to play from your seat, the sound will probably be largely swallowed up. If you can go stand in front of the orchestra it could work -- kind of depends on the hall.

Here's one thing to look into. I'm not really recommending it, but it might make sense:

http://carbony.com/Whistles.htm

The reason to consider it is that carbon fibre has a really low thermal expansion factor -- it won't go out of tune with changing temperatures the way any metal whistle will. I'm not really recommending it because I have never played the higher pitched whistles. I do own one of his low whistles and I love it, but low and high are different. If you sent Rob an email, maybe he would send you one with a trial period.

You're not going to have any difficulty playing whistle. I think one thing many readers might not really get is that you're not trying to fit into an Irish session -- you're needing to play the part the arranger wrote. The biggest potential difficulty for you might be if the arranger wrote the part out transposed to D.

Which tune is it?

[Feadoggie]

This coming fall we are performing a Beatles Tribute piece that has an extended whistle solo in my part. I want to do this right and not just play it on piccolo.

What's the piece you're playing? Do you want to be authentic to the sound of an original Beatles recording?

Feadoggie

[MTGuru]

I agree with H-P, volume will probably be your critical factor. I'd also suggest the Susato C (S bore, tunable Kildare model). It's loud, relatively inexpensive, excellent ET intonation, low-maintenance ABS plastic. Available directly from Kelischek in North Carolina ($42.90).

http://www.susato.com

If you continue to play whistle for yourself, you can add a standard D tube for half the whistle cost.

Other loud whistles include Goldie, Chieftain, Copeland, Abell. All are considerably more expensive.

A friend of mine recently performed John Corigliano's "Pied Piper Suite" with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. The piece calls for whistle in several movements. The whistle chosen was a Copeland D, and it worked very well.

Added: Just thinking ... Are you sure you need a C whistle? If the part is written for a concert pitch instrument like flute or piccolo, then you may need a D whistle, not C. A C whistle is the equivalent of an orchestral Bb instrument.

[plunk111]

Added: Just thinking ... Are you sure you need a C whistle? If the part is written for a concert pitch instrument like flute or piccolo, then you will need a D whistle, not C. A C whistle is the equivalent of an orchestral Bb instrument.

ummm... no... A C whistle is the same as an orchestral C instrument. Not sure what you mean by this. If you see a written "C" in the dots, you play with all fingers down. Also, the notes are in the C-major scale (or A minor).

Pat

[MTGuru]

A C whistle is the same as an orchestral C instrument.

No, Pat, not in terms of fingering. Transposing instrument. To an orchestral concert pitch flautist, 6 fingers down is D. The equivalent non-transposing whistle is the D whistle (though with a natural D scale, of course). In orchestral instrument pitch nomenclature, a C whistle behaves as a Bb orchestral instrument: xxxxxx = C. Two different naming systems.

But I should elaborate my added comment. There are several possibilities for the orchestral whistle part that will be provided to the OP. More to follow ...

[loowitt]

Added: Just thinking ... Are you sure you need a C whistle? If the part is written for a concert pitch instrument like flute or piccolo, then you will need a D whistle, not C. A C whistle is the equivalent of an orchestral Bb instrument.

I am sure it is a C whistle. The whistle part is in Bb the piccolo part that doubles it is in C.

S

[loowitt]

I think you have made a good decision to take personal lessons given the performance deadline. Doesn't your teacher have an opinion on what would be a good chioce? At minimum they should be able to let you try some of their whistles to get an idea of what is out there.


That's the idea for the first lesson.

[loowitt]

The tune is Blackbird.

[MTGuru]

I am sure it is a C whistle. The whistle part is in Bb the piccolo part that doubles it is in C.

OK, good. If you mean that the whistle part is written as for a Bb instrument ... Then yes, a C whistle should do the trick for you, and you can read it right off using standard fingering.

The tune is Blackbird.

Then you should use a Freeman Blackbird whistle!

(It's a lovely whistle, but probably too quiet for your needs.)