Posted in Flutes, Learning | Comments Off on Along came a flute
Now I just had to learn how to play my new flute…. She also got me a copy of The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle by Grey Larsen. My friend Jennifer was kind enough to buy me one for my birthday this past February, a three-piece, tunable eight-hole low D flute with inline holes and added lip plate headjoint and Tipple-Fajardo wedge. I decided that, rather than buying the flute myself, I’d go with the same strategy I used successfully with the whistle and make it known that I’d like to receive one as a gift. While perhaps not as fine as a flute made from African blackwood, Doug’s PVC flutes reportedly had a nice tone (thanks in part to some of Doug’s innovations) and were great for beginners. Part of the reason for the low cost was the material Doug chose to use, simple PVC pipe. On the scale of flute prices that was pretty darned impressive, especially given the praise I saw heaped on Doug’s flutes on the Chiff & Fipple forums. I’d been considering buying a low whistle as the next step in my musical education, but then I learned that a fine gentleman named Doug Tipple made flutes for about the same price, meaning around $100. Don’t get me wrong, the whistle is a great little instrument and lots of fun, but the reason I started with it was that it was both cheaper and simpler to learn than a flute. Posted in Whistles | Comments Off on My whistlesĮven when I first started learning the tin whistle, I think I always had the idea that someday I wanted to move on to learning to play the Irish (aka simple-system) flute. Unfortunately, Tommy doesn’t currently seem to be selling these either. Here’s a review of it that pretty much echoes up my thoughts, and has some pictures too. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like he’s currently selling them.Ī Walton D that’s been tweaked by Tommy Dion, which I got because I was so happy with the tweaked Generation Bb I bought from him. It has a strong, smooth, mellow tone that I like a lot, and overall I’ve been really happy with it. Dion, using what he refers to as the Irvine tweak, in part because it was a good bit less expensive than a similar whistle tweaked by Jerry Freeman. I decided to go with one that had been tweaked in advance by Mr. There’s a chance the new Generation you buy will be among the finest whistles you’ll ever own, and a chance it’ll be more or less worthless without a lot of tweaking. While Generation Bb whistles are considered by many to be the best in their key, Generations in general have a reputation as being rather hit or miss in terms of quality. Generation Bb whistle, tweaked by Tommy DionĪ Generation Bb that’s been tweaked by Tommy Dion. This is a Sweetone D that’s been tweaked by the master of whistle tweaking, Jerry Freeman, which has left it much improved. Sweetone D whistle, tweaked by Jerry Freeman I don’t think it’s in tune with itself, and on top of that the tone isn’t particularly pleasant. This came in a set with my Sweetone D, but it’s not nearly as good. It’s easy to play, and the tone is okay, so I don’t regret starting with this one.
This was my first whistle, chosen based on the recommendations on the Chiff & Fipple Guide to Inexpensive Whistles.
I don’t see myself adding much to this list, though at some point I would like one of Jerry Freeman’s famous Mellow Dog whistles, maybe as a D/C set. This is my collection of whistles, all of which fall into the “inexpensive” category.