I’ve seen video reviews on both versions of this whistle and to me the Lir original sounds a little bit brighter. Is the Lir pro worth it?
To me, the most atractive thing about the Lir Pro is the fact that it does not tarnish overtime (or at least not as much) as it is aluminium and not silver plated brass.
They also say that the Lir pro overall has more control over the tone, but I just started playing and I don’t know if i’ll notice the diference really…
So, which one is better in your opinion? Have you tried both? How does it compare to other whistles at arround same price? Is it a professional instrument? (I want to eventually play along with some friends)
I am still a beginner player. If it matters I also play acoustic guitar and can sing and play a bit so my rythm is ok. I can read music at a basic level but it doesn't feel as natural as tin whistle tabs... I also can play a few songs from memory.
I want to get more serious about tin whistle though and I learn better from books combined with video or audio. I happened upon a jig played on youtube by a youtuber who highly suggested Mary Bergin's books to learn from. However I was nearing buying this book:
Tin Whistle - A Complete Guide to Playing Irish Traditional Music on the Whistle by Stephen Duckehttps://amzn.eu/d/1GZXe9H which is £40.
Does anyone have experience with these books and can suggest which will be better or more worthwhile? You could also read the sample contents of the amazon book and see what you think? Both books are a bit expensive so I want to make the right purchase. I do like the idea of Bergin's books haveing multiple volumes up to advanced/professional player.
So, I've been playing for a few years, and it's been good fun, but I've noticed that I've mostly taught myself songs to play. Not really a problem when I'm playing by myself, but when I join the odd session I'd like to be able to throw out some proper jigs or reels. I can do the Swallowtail Jig and John Ryan's polka, but that's about where I end. It really feels like there's a giant skill gap between songs and session tunes - they feel like they go way faster, which feels really hard to keep up with.
Obviously, the primary answer is 'practice, practice, practice,' and I'm working on that, and I'm also trying to find some good arpeggios to practice to help me catch the hooks you often hear in session tunes, but are there any other tips for learning session tunes specifically? Thanks in advance!
Hello all! Im a newbie when it comes to tin whistle(just got my Clarke Sweetone two days ago!) but im putting together a catalog of songs I want to learn eventually, and one song I'd love to learn is Johnston's Motor Car. The Dubliner version is great, but I really love the Flying Column version for the nostalgic value, as thats the version I heard for the first time as a kid. Does anyone have the tabs for that song? Thanks in advance!
I recently picked up a Clarke Sweetone Tin Whistle and have absolutely loved playing it—it’s been such a fun and rewarding instrument to get into. Now that I’ve gotten a feel for it, I’ve started researching my first upgrade and would love to hear your opinions.
I’m looking for a high-end/professional-quality tin whistle that could be a true “buy it for life” purchase—something I’ll enjoy for many years without feeling the need to replace or upgrade again.
If you have personal favorites, recommendations for makers, or tips on what to look for when investing in a whistle like this, I’d really appreciate your input!
Im a thin whistle player from around 1 year now and had a pleasure to test few whistles.
I have started from a thin semi plastic whistle of unknown chinese manufacturer, both clarke whistles and a custom made pear wooden irish whistle of a fine quality.
For my aniversary of playing i have decided to buy myself a better quality instrument and invested in a LIR flute.
So lets start from the good part. Whistle is great, i like the low octave very much, it forgives a lot, keeps the tone well. Mouthpiece is comfortable. Higher octave is also well but amount of air needed for last sounds is insase. Im a big guy with a lot of space in lungs but boy, you need to have a compressor to keep up with it.
Now some questions to other users. I know 110 euro its not a fortune but yet its not something you spend lightly. I know that at some point Lir changed their primary model, added chrome finish and started to produce a premium whistle for double the price.
So in terms of quality:
Flute flew some distance from Irland to "europe" *haha i know cheap joke
After box opening i spoted visible scratches, a larger bump under the mouth piece, the whistle air outlet looks like i was machined by a very dull tool. Finger holes drilled with a very high feedrate are also not welcoming. The main drill of the flute has visible inside grews - i am a cnc turner and boy i would not left something like that for a customer if i wished for him to return. I know its not a precise piece of engineering equippment but man, thats just unexpected.
With mouth piece i have an issue. I know the flute is tunable but mouth piece is not aligned with outlet "whistling" part. I know i can just rotate the mouth piece to be aligned with the holes but man my ocd is getting touched by this. I dont know if this is "by design", im not that advanced of a player but in a custom made wooden whistle everything was aligned to a mm. Here i have some 9 degrees of missaligment.
When unboxed i found inside the whistle flowers, dried ones. Also i dont know if its by design or just a hapoy accident but it made me smile.
Overall i rate this instrument very good. Its robust, well balanced (it took me a longer time to adjust myself to a new weight, its like 5 times heavier than any other whistle i playied on). It has a cold sound and resonates very well. You feel each note resonate in the chamber and i like it very much. In terms of playing it catches moisture very fast. I blame pour inside finish that leaves many spots for humidity to condensate and impact the tone.
Hope you can share some stories of this instrument, maybe... i expected to much for a price?
Hey folks! This week on Whistle Wednesday I’m talking about slides, a simple but effective way to add character to a tune.
The idea is really straightforward: just slide from one note into the next (from below or above). I played a simple melody without slides, then again with slides, and the difference in feel is huge.
It’s a fun effect to experiment with, try sliding on different notes in a tune and see what works best. Sometimes less is more, but even a couple of slides can make a melody come alive.
How do you all use slides in your playing? Do you have go-to spots in certain tunes where they always feel right?
Hey,
I have no experience with whistles but ordered the Sweetone. It looks like the metal barrell is not perfectly round. It's slightly oval and flattened, especially toward the mouth piece. is that normal or should I send it back?
I’m travelling to ireland next month and I’m going to buy a Lir Low D whistle, but i’m worried about its size because it has to fit on my small flight case
I havent found any info on the internet about its exact size…
So, the title is very self explanatory. I want to get my first Low D whistle, coming from a high d whistle.
I first saw the tony dixon flute and whistle combo aluminium which has caught my attention because its versatility, but I have read mixed reviews on the internet, specially concerning about the low quality flute and low volume of sound in general.
The other option I saw about the same price, is the Kerry optima Low d whistle tunable, and looks also great to me.
I will mainly play the low whistle, but I was curious about the option of having a flute mouth piece as well, but If there is a big quality diference, I’ll rather have a good low whistle than a bad whistle and flute combo.
I will mainly practice at home, as I’m still a begginer, but if I eventually play with someone else as a duo or a band I would like to be heard, thats my other concern regarding the tony dixon, the volume.
So, I picked up this bad boy today at a Ren Faire because it plays like a tin whistle, and I loved the key of it (A), not knowing entirely what it really is. If anyone knows, I'm super curious because it might help me to solve my problem that I'm having with it.
It plays excellent, up until I go into the second octave and try to hit C# (two bottom holes uncovered only). It plays both notes kind of muddied together, doesn't sound good. I wanted some advice on how to remedy that, as I've seen some sources say it has a lot to do with oral posturing and breath control, which I may have yet to fully understand. Thank you!! :D
My brass killarney tin whistle is almost entirely brown now I'm not sure if I should do anything with it or let it be?
If I Polish it back to the gold brass color then is there an mild oil that is not that oily and prevents the corrosion?
I have another account which i since deleted but I posted here before and people say are corrosion and patina.
Asking as I want the tin whistle to last forever as it a fairly expensive instrument
Edit , i decided to keep it as is. The reason why was i thought the color of the tarnish/patina looks so much different from the tin whsitle I see else where.
How does the Humphrey Low D tin whistle sound? And how does it compare to others? If anyone has one I'd love to know. I'm planning on getting a Howard with a balanced head, but whistletutor is so adamant about Humphrey's, I figured I should do more research first. Thank you.
Just got a Clarke original high D. I’m having a blast with it! But after about 20 min of practice, it starts getting temperamental. Like it’ll only squeak out the high octave even when I’m trying to play the lower. Is this from moisture? How do you get it out?
It came in this set with a book and cd/mp3 download. It was pretty affordable so i’m sure it’s not the best but it sounds okay. And i’m impressed that after only a few hours and no experience playing an instrument i’m able play the tune on the left side there “The Rattlin’ Bog”. Switching from B to High D and back took some figuring out but i got it after a bit. So hats off to Ian Bascombe, the author and artist that put the book and accompanying recording together. It works! Can’t wait to get further into it.
I’ve been playing recorder for the last 7 years but I’d like to try tin whistle. I know nothing about tin whistle and I don’t know where to start, where to find music, what instrument to buy, etc. if anyone has any recommendations for where to find music, technique information and what instrument is best for a beginner I would be very grateful. I really like the sound of the low whistle but I’m not sure if it’s a good beginner instrument. I live in Ireland so I assume most things will be available here.
I recently purchased a Shush pro in D from Shush instruments, but am not too happy with how it is playing.
For starters, the lowest D only sound cleanly when played incredibly softly, probably capping out at only a third as much air as I can blow on the low D of my basic Clarke Sweetone. As a consequence, tonguing the note is almost impossible and it is also extremely, extremely quiet.
The more major issue though is its huge tendency to squeak all the time. For instance, the standard fingering for High D often just produces a squeak, and notes easily over blow to this very loud squeak in general. There is also often a squeak in between the transition from a note in its first octave and its second octave when I am jumping an octave. None of these things are present on my clarke sweetone. Why does this 80 pound whistle play worse than one that is 1/5 the price?
I was also told that there is a greater balance in volume between the first and second octave for this whistle, but that does not seem to actually be the case, so I am let down there to.
I kind of expected more out of an 80 pound whistle, so im wondering if something might be wrong with mine. To those who own a shush or shush pro, what has your experience with it been like? Do my experiences sound similar to your own or perhaps not? Must I simply get used to the whistle's character or is there perhaps more to it?
Saw this in a video and got curious, the closest match I could find look-wise was a Busker which is apparently pretty loud (you'd have to be when playing along with so many different instruments I suppose).
These are the 4 high D’s available to me in my area and I’m trying to choose one. I am really only getting this to practice a bit before getting what I really want: a low D.
Earlier I asked about a Clarke with the wood mouthpiece and was warned it’s hard for beginners, so I did some research and found some other options near me.
Which of these will likely be well made and easy to play? Which would you choose?
I’m grabbing a high d tin whistle to practice before going for my real wish: a low D. Looking at a Clarke that’s available in town, just because it’s easy and not too pricey. But I’d love some feedback from those who have played it. No sense wasting 40 bucks if it’s commonly hated or something!
hi everyone
i’m trying to re learn old tin whistle tunes for my music practical and i have rembered this part of the song but i’m not sure if that’s it or if there’s more. this is all i can remeber it’s on a Feadóg D. if you know the name or have the notes please help me out 🙏🙏🙏
Hey folks, I bought my first whistle—a low G. I want to play from tabs online but it seems like most sites are geared to D whistles. Any suggestions? And is there a way to convert the D music to G? I assume the same fingering (ie three holes covered) produces a different note for each whistle in a different key?
I got my brand new Killarney 2 weeks ago, a major upgrade from my Generation. But while playing I'm getting dribbles coming from between the head and the body of the whistle. Is this normal? It sounds pretty flat and I'm being drowned out on group sessions.
