WHISTLE LINKS

Links marked with an * are either whistle folk that I have personally dealt with, and can recommend based on my own experience, or sites that I have found particularly helpful myself.
For example, under "Whistle Smiths", the asterisk indicates ones whose whistles I either own myself or have had the opportunity to try out personally, some of whom I have actually met face to face.
(Note: that doesn't mean they would know me from Adam's off ox. LOL!)
Others are ones I have found via the internet, or have heard about by word of mouth and recommend checking out.
(this is by no means an exhaustive listing, and there are many more for all catagories that I have yet to find, I'm sure.)
I will add more links as I have the time.

WHISTLE SMITHS:

* Alba Whistles, Flageolets and Flutes - Handcrafted in Scotland. Stacey has the most bodaceous fipples! And some darned nice whistles too. Her Q-1 is excellent for when you want to play without getting the neighbors mad.
* Michael Burke Pennywhistle Company - Mike makes a full range of Whistles in Brass, Alumininum and Composite. His DBSBT is one of my most played whistles, and in my top 4 favorites.
Black Diamond Whistles - Erle Bartlett, of Syn Whistle fame, hand crafts these brass and delrin whistles.
* Busman Whistles - Got wood? Got Delrin? You will want one of these. Nice whistles, fine guy to do business with.
* Clare Tin Whistle - Traditional Irish tin whistles in the key of 'D' made in County Clare in Ireland by the David Le Bas Manufacturing Company. They offer a nice two piece D whistle too, that fits handily in a pocket.
* Clarke Tin Whistle Company - Official site of one of the oldest penny whistle companies. History, product information, playing tips, etc. Clark was the first to mass produce tin whistles back in the 1800s.
Copeland Woodwinds - Hand-made whistles and flutes by Michael Copeland.
Elfsong Penny Whistles - Custom-made, high D and C copper pennywhistles made by the West Coast Whistle Company in Ladysmith, B.C. Canada.
Feadóg Original Irish Whistle - 100% manufactured in Dublin, Ireland. "The oldest commercially produced tin or penny whistle in Ireland."
Fred Rose Flutes and Whistles - Fred Rose hand-crafts flutes and whistles to a very high quality at his workshop in Lancashire, located in the north of England.
* Freeman Tweaked Whistles - Jerry Freeman tweaks several brands of inexpensive whistles to give you an excellent choice in reliability and affordability, and offers them on eBay. His "Mellow Dog" is a favorite of mine.
* Granite Falls Manufacturing - New in 2005, Chuck Tilbury is intent on making fine pennywhistles, and I can attest that he is on his way to doing so.
Greenwood Pipes - David A. Boisvert makes some absolutely beautiful wooden whistles... OK, and pipes too.
High Plains Whistler - Handmade Clear Polymer whistles.
Mack Hoover Whistles - Quiet whistles in brass and aluminum, hand made by Mack Hoover. Mack also makes replacement whistle heads that are quite popular.
* Howard Music - Howard Low Whistles have been made since the early 1970's and the design has been constantly improved since. As of Jan 2007, there is a new and improved head available for your Howard whistle that improves the sound overall and increases the volume. I have noticed a difference in mine.
* Hudson Winds - Handcrafted Brass Whistles - conical body, thin walls, tunable. Another of my top 4 whistle picks.
Humphrey Whistles - Gary hand crafts whistles in all keys, offering several tubes that will fit the same fipple
Ian Lambe Handmade Low Whistles - Low whistles handmade in County Clare, Ireland.
Impempe Whistles - Find yourself in South Africa and needing a whistle? ...The word 'impempe' reflects the Zulu roots of their unique design, blending the melodies of the Gaelic culture with the charm of the Dark Continent.
Jubilee Music Instrument Co. - Builder of brass and plastic whistles and various other wind instruments
Kelischek Workshop - Manufacturer, distributor and dealer of Susato whistles.
* Kerry Whistles - Kerry and Chieftain Irish Low and High Whistles by Phil Hardy.
M and E Whistles - Tunable Polymer or Cocobolo Wood Whistles in D from Mike Cronnolly.
MK Whistles - Visually stunning low D or F Whistles hand crafted in Glasgow, Scotland. This is a low whistle I hope to get someday.
* O'Brien Whistles - David O'Brien makes some nice copper whistles with several bodies fitting one headjoint, and now makes some very nice wood whistles as well.
* Overton Whistles - Hand-made whistles from an aluminum alloy. You won't find finer people to deal with.
* OZ Whistles - Mitch is also making whistles now, and I must say I love the Oz Vambrace in delrin and silver that I purchased from Mitch this past year. One of my top four whistles.
P.G. Bleazey Woodwinds - tunable wooden whistles in the key of D and C for folk, medieval and Irish music. Also wooden flutes, recorders, and rope-tensioned field drums.
Parkhurst Whistles - Made-to-order, handmade copper two-piece pennywhistles.
* Parks Whistles - Home of the "EveryWhistle", which I got to try on a tour - this is a great whistle for the price, made of CPVC, tunable, and incorporates a handy tone/volume adjustment ring that allows you to practice wherever and whenever without risking the wrath of those around you. It would be in my top 4 list, but I had to send it on to the next tour recipient. I'm ordering one right away.
Reyburn Low Whistles - Celtic low whistles, featuring precision machined wooden headjoints with brass bodies.
Seery Woodwinds - Professional standard, hand-made Black Delrin or Wooden whistles with Metal Tuning slide.
Shaw Whistles - a tapered design, handmade in solid nickel silver sheet with a carved hardwood block
Silkstone Whistles - Hand-crafted in uPVC by Paul Hayward in Silkstone Common, Yorkshire, England.
* Sweetheart Flute Company - Ralph Sweet's whistles, including Rosewood and Blackwood and Dymondwood© whistles. I love my Sweethart Pro in Dymondwood.
TWZ - Tin Whistle Zentrum Deutschland - Wood and brass whistles made in Germany. NOTE: Site is in German.
* Thin Weasel Woodwinds - Handcrafted from exotic woods or man-made materials, by the late and much missed Glenn Schultz. Be sure to check out Glenn's poetry - He was an awesome fellow! His whistles and futes are still highly sought after.
* Thornton Whistles - made by Tommy Martin of tompipes.com. They are really an attractive design, incorporating a brass fipple and lower body with an ivory toned PVC top. Different enough to be quite recognizable. I got to 'test-drive' them recently, and they are quite nice.
* Tony Dixon Music - wood and polymer whistles including "Pied Piper polymer flute and whistle," a single body with two heads: one flute and one whistle.
Tully Whistles - Individually crafted sterling silver whistles.
Vargas Whistles - Erik Torp-Olsen is a whistle tweaker who shares his experience in the search for a cheap whistle that sounds and plays well... he offers tweaked versions of Generation, Feadog, Clarke, and Waltons whistles that he's made sure you will like.

WHISTLE RETAILERS:

* The Irish Flute Store - Doc will set you up with what you need.
* OZ Whistles - No, Dorothy, You're not in Kansas anymore... You're in OZ, located in the beautiful garden village of Leura in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia! "Dedicated to all whistlers, from beginners to professionals, traditional or contemporary, near or far, it's likely that we've got the whistle for you!"
Big Whistle Music - Meet Mr Wetyer, and find some great whistles.

WHISTLE COMMUNITIES ONLINE:

* Chiff and Fipple epicenter of the TinWhistling online community, also Flute, Pipes, and more
The Pipers' Grip - Dedicated to the Irish Low Whistle, this new site promises to be a useful resource for those who want to stretch their horizons, and finger-spans.

TECHNIQUE RESOURCES:

* Technique and style in Irish traditional music - Some recordings of a few of the greats of Irish Traditional Music, with explanations and commentary, as well as transcriptions of the tunes. Very informative.
* Comhaltas - A great resource for traditional Irish Music. Includes audio, video, notation,
* Brother Steve's tin-whistle pages - Very informative site dedicated to the playing of Irish traditional music on the tin whistle ... improve your understanding of the music and techniques of playing.
* WhistleThis.com - Interactive community of learners and mentors for the whistle... "The world's largest group whistle lesson. Hear a tune -- get the music. Learn the tune -- make it your own. Share the tune -- upload your recording."
* Kerry Whistles Tutorials - a wealth of videos including tutorials and examples.
* TradLessons.com - New from Michael Eskin - a collection of self-produced short instructional videos and other materials for learning to play the whistle (as well as a variety of other Traditional Irish instruments)
-- These next two are things I am working on while I learn. Perhaps you will find them helpful as well:
* Tin Whistle Key and Mode Chart - our chart showing which keys and modes are reasonably easy to play on each tinwhistle. For example: If you know a tune in Am on the D whistle, but need to play it in Em - simply play it on an A whistle, using the same fingering. Printable.
* Whistler's Little Circle of Fifths - (2.26meg)PDF file - Just a little tool to help with figuring what keys can be played on which whistles. When I perfect the making of it, I'll offer them pre-made, but for now at least, they are free, to 'make your own'. Free use of this is encouraged, however it is copyright, so please do not try to sell it. This version is a prototype, and has some errors. The improved version is in process.... slow process... but process.

TUNE RESOURCES:

* Richard Robinson's Tunebook - a veritable wealth of tunes!
* Scots Minstrelsie - A National Monument of Scottish Song
* BBC Virtual Session site - virtual sessions, great way to practice, no sneers, and they'll wait for you! You don't even have to dress for the session!
* Sessioneer
* The Session.org - The exchange of tunes is what keeps traditional music alive. This website is one way of passing on jigs, reels and other dance tunes.
* Murphy Roche Irish Music Club - Slow Session Tunes with notation and mp3s
* the Wandering Whistler Music Archives - vast resource for tunes, with notation, midi and mp3 files of penny whistle music
The Roots Music Listening Room - Irish Dance Music from the 1920s - 1970s

TIN WHISTLE MUSICIANS:

* Cherish the Ladies - Joanie Madden and the rest of the Ladies - great music, great people! Any recordings of this group are great inspiration.
* Phil Hardy - doesn't just make great whistles, he plays great whistle, and manages to record and share others playing great whistle as well. Check out the video section of his website.
* Shannon Heaton - Shannon is an excellent flute and whistle player.
* Brian McCoy - of The Kells, is a fine whistler too.
* John Skelton - John has two Book and CD sets out, "A Few Tunes" and "A Few More Tunes" that are a great resource, as well as any of his recordings. He is a fine flute and whistler, as well as piper.
* the Wandering Whistler Music Archives - vast resource for tunes, with notation, midi and mp3 files

RELATED RESOURCES:

* Folk Jam dot Org - Find Sessions. Play well with others!
* Central Missouri Celtic Arts Association
Irish Philadelphia - The Web guide to Irish music and culture in and around the Quaker City, and of interest to all.
* St. Louis Tionól - Excellent annual event for Celtic Music players, with workshops, concerts, sessions and the opportunity to put faces to the names. Well worth attending!

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