Pennywhistles Are a Good Thing

Last fall, my best friend decided – after years of being thwarted as a child – to Follow Her Dream: learn to play the trumpet. And she now has her Yamaha trumpet. It’s not an easy instrument to play, from what she tells me. But she really enjoys it. A side benefit that she was not expecting is that it has expanded her lungs, exercised them, and brought much better respiratory circulation for her (she has asthma). She has developed much greater resilience and stamina.

That got me to thinking about my instrumental quandary: I’ve played the piano as a kid, and I love it. But it’s not a practical instrument to tote around on a whim. A guitar is much better for portability, but it’s not the easiest to master nor can it be blown into for improvement of the airways, the latter consideration being a real draw for me as well.

I investigated playing a flute, going so far as to rent one from the local music shop. I loved the sound! But it wrecked my neck and my hands. For me the transverse flute is an instrument of torture.

I had narrowed my selection to some type of wind instrument that I could play face forward with arms and hands in a more natural position. Clarinet? Saxaphone? Tuba? Recorder? I did a lot of web sleuthing. Then I stumbled upon Sweetheart Flute Co, which is run by Ralph Sweet and his son, who hand turn and produce wooden Irish flutes and pennywhistles. I did not care for the high pitch of standard pennywhistles. But then I listened to the sound sample for the low-D pennywhistle, and it was LOVE at first listen. Rich, warm, full. Oooh!

I HAD to get myself a low-D pennywhistle. And I did! And little did I know that this love affair had begun much earlier. I happened to come across a photo of me when I was 13, playing a standard pennywhistle. I had forgotten that - it wasn't the greatest period in my life. Well, good things always do manage to come around again. And they have. I will share more of my experiences with the low-D pennywhistle in future blog entries. “Stay tuned,” as they say….in this case, in the key of D.