Which tin whistle should i get?

[highland-piper]

How much does 10,000 hours of practice cost?

You read that book too?

This book investigates the 10,000 hours in depth as it relates to music:

http://www.yourbrainonmusic.com/

1,000 hours, btw, is an hour a day for three years. Or 15 minutes a day for 9. And 1000 hours seems to be (roughly speaking) what it takes to become proficient with a musical instrument. Whatever that means.

[DrPhill]

How much does 10,000 hours of practice cost?

You read that book too?

This book investigates the 10,000 hours in depth as it relates to music:

http://www.yourbrainonmusic.com/

1,000 hours, btw, is an hour a day for three years. Or 15 minutes a day for 9. And 1000 hours seems to be (roughly speaking) what it takes to become proficient with a musical instrument. Whatever that means.

I got that book as a crimbo present. I thought it a very good read.

[Poppi]

This really isn't a response to "Which tin whistle should i get?" but I think it has some bearing on some of the discussions in this thread. Please bear in mind, though, that I have only been playing for less than two years.

I'm amazed, sometimes, at reading about the quantity of whistles that some people own and play. This doesn't surprise me, though, because I have four high D whistles and one in C. The most expensive whistle I own is a Mello Dog, which I have only played for about 2 hours. This was my latest purchase as a D/C set because I wanted to play a C whistle for a change. Before this, the most played whistle was my Dixon Trad, which I like.

On the advice of some of the members of this site ( I forget the thread), I decided to play only one whistle for awhile instead of constantly switching. I chose my Feadog Pro D (nickel) because it was the whistle I had been having the most problems with as far as consistency in the upper register. I have always liked the brightness of this whistle and it is an easy blower. For three short weeks, now, this is the only whistle I have played and my playing has improved significantly. Today, I thought I might go back to the Dixon, or maybe start playing the Mellow Dog D, but when I opened my whistle drawer I couldn't resist reaching for the Feadog. Once again, I was extremely satisfied with the improved quality of my play.

Someday I will reach for another whistle. But for now, I'm continuing with the Feadog because sticking to one whistle has made all the difference for me.

Poppi

[killthemessenger]

Well, I must have spent thousands of hours as a kid practicing the piano, but I never got even proficient at it. Motivation and interest are also (presumably unquantifiable) factors. Hours are good, but not the only thing.

And then there's the instrument itself. The piano is a great starter instrument because it lays out the whole diatonic/chromatic system in front of you, all the relationships (intervals, harmonies, etc.) are very visually evident. I'm happy I had that grounding, but only found out at the age of 49 that woodwinds are what really get my juices flowing. And my progress with recorder and whistle has far outstripped in just a couple of years what I achieved with piano from the ages of five to fifteen and (sporadically) later, despite a rigorous practice regime.

Now, ironically, I find myself thinking it'd be nice to get a piano again... yes it would.

[highland-piper]

Hours are good, but not the only thing.

Exactly -- practice is a necessary ingredient, not a guarantee, of success. And a person who isn't practicing correctly can do as much harm as good.

However, among people who are serious about their instruments (i.e., students in music school), there is a strong correlation between hours of practice and achievement.

[cunparis]

Exactly -- practice is a necessary ingredient, not a guarantee, of success. And a person who isn't practicing correctly can do as much harm as good.

However, among people who are serious about their instruments (i.e., students in music school), there is a strong correlation between hours of practice and achievement.

I used to think practicing piano was playing some of my favorite songs again and again. Or learning a song that was way too hard for me, which amounted to memorizing which keys to push and when and for how long. I consulted with a piano teacher (I'm still learning on my own) and now work out of a repertoire book which I find very challenging. That makes my practice much more productive. I've learned to play 30 something pieces at my level (prep).

So hours isn't enough, it has to be productive practice. I'm not sure how all that translates to the whistle. For now I'm working my way through the Ochs book one tune at a time. I don't think I have any of them at a polished level yet. I'm hoping a new whistle will help as I really struggle to play mine (Generation High F).

[highland-piper]

You make permanent whatever you practice. So if you're practicing a tune on whistle, if you make a mistake in a certain place, or pause, or whatever, and if you play it that way (in practice) many times, it will become part of how you play that tune.

Instead, it's necessary to slow it down and play it correctly.

I'm currently working on a tune I learned off a recording of a fiddle player. Some of the fingering is tricky for me. So I pick out the most difficult part, and play those 4 or 5 notes, slowly, but correctly. When I can play them, then I try them in the phrase, and then the whole part.

I don't waste time working on the parts I can play well. Once I have that part of the tune down, I'll focus on the other difficult parts, and then move the whole tune up to playing speed (probably in several steps), and work out the breathing with a metronome.

[Larry Marshall]

On the advice of some of the members of this site ( I forget the thread), I decided to play only one whistle for awhile instead of constantly switching.

I think this is really good advice and I follow it as well, mostly playing my Freeman Gen-D most of the time. But once or twice a week I'll play one song I'm working on with each of my whistles. Results aren't pretty but I feel that it's helping my ability to respond to the demands of the whistles and I still get the finger practice required to learn the song.

Cheers --- Larry

[Lars Larry Mór Mott]

I don't think there's a virtue in only playing cheap whistles and I'd be the last one to say they're all good. The elephant in the room however is the fact that quite a few of the 'designer' whistles don't live up to their pricetag in my experience. They do not by definition sound better and they they are certainly not easier to play. In fact most of them are not very rewarding to play at all in my opinion.

So the point of my advocating of learning to play a cheap whistle well is that you will develop skills that will enable you to determine what it is you are looking for in an instrument and subsequently which instrument will fit your preferences.

Expecting to get an easy playing, fine instrument because you throw money at it, that's not how it is going to work. Things aren't quite divided in such a simple black and white manner.

I second that 100%
I have recently taken up playing Irish music again after a brief 15 year break and dusted off my whistles ranging in age from a late 60's Generation to a 95 Clarke, each and every one of them is way better than me I see no reason to dish out silly amounts of money (unless you just want one for the hell of it and have the money to spare) until you outgrow the cheap ones. I have seen and heard phenomenal musicians making plain Jane Generations sing, and have had top notch musicians borrow my whistles and play heavenly on them.
If the question was about concert flutes i'd second the opinion "buy the best you can afford and don't spend/waste money on crocks ó sh*t", however when it comes to whistles that thinking does not IMO apply.

[highland-piper]

If the question was about concert flutes i'd second the opinion "buy the best you can afford and don't spend/waste money on crocks ó sh*t", however when it comes to whistles that thinking does not IMO apply.

I think someone who was new to whistles could probably read your post and conclude that all whistles are equal for a beginner, but that's not the case. I've bought a few in the last 20 years that were a bear to play. So bad that I've thrown them away. I'm not talking about any Generation whistle, or my Clarke original or even my Walton Little Black Whistle.

But I had some unpainted whistle with a loose fipple that wouldn't play above F in the second octave, and I have a Mel Bay whistle that's about midway between D and Eb-- try playing that in a session...

Sure, my plain Generation whistles are capable, and in the hands of some world class whistler, they would sound world class. But I'm not a world class player, and I never will be. I'll take an advantage where I can get one.

[Lars Larry Mór Mott]

I forgot to say (sorry as it is quite an important point) i have had/tried very bad specimens too of course, what i really meant was a "working" Generation is good enough for me.
Of course even Mary Bergin couldn't play a defective whistle.

[mickey66]

I love, love, love my Freeman-tweaked whistles. I probably play the Freeman Blackbird in D the most, because I like the sweetness of the second octave, and it doesn't require as much breath...but I love the Mellow Dog D/C set too. The C whistle especially. I also have several of those $5 red "Mel Bay by Clarke" whistles (same as a plain cheapie Clarke as far as I can tell) that I bought for my kids. Some are better than others. I still play those too.

+1 for this post for the most part.....Freeman whistles you can't go wrong or make a better choice for the money paid. the mellow dog set with the C and D tubes is a great choice.


http://www.tuxedomusic.com

[cunparis]

+1 for this post for the most part.....Freeman whistles you can't go wrong or make a better choice for the money paid. the mellow dog set with the C and D tubes is a great choice.

How do you think the freeman tweaked whistles compare with the Dixon Trad? For me the Dixon would be cheaper (slightly).

What about freeman generation vs. mellow dog?

[Mr.Gumby]

You're really entering a territory where the choice of whistle is determined by preferences and taste. They all work, all have stronger and weaker points.