Clarke 700541 Pennywhistle Sweetone C-tuning black

This is an ideal penny whistle for beginners.with a nice tone.

This was my first whistle and learnt to play on this. It has a nice tone and is not very expensive and a god whistle for anyone who wants to try a tin whistle. I have now moved on to a more expensive whistle but I still like to pick up and play my Clarke Sweetone D.

I have a number of whistles (though I've only been playing a year) and this is very definitely my favourite of the high whistles. It is easy to play, very responsive, easy to switch between octaves, and the tone - especially in the second octave- is sweeter and much less shrill than my others (a Generation, a Parkes and a Waltons). It isn't the loudest, so probably not the best to play with other instruments unless you're using a microphone, but on the other hand that makes it much kinder to the neighbours when you're playing at home!I haven't checked the pitch with a tuner but it sounds reasonably in tune with itself, as far as whistles ever are. The 'D' sounds a little sharp, but liveable with. The cross fingered 'C' plays well as oxxooo or oxxoxx and I find half holing easy despite the small holes - I can actually manage to play in the key of 'F' on this D whistle. (though why I would want to I'm not sure.....)Some people don't like the ridge down the back -it was very obvious when I first picked it up but I didn't find it affected holding / playing it and I stopped noticing it within a couple of minutes.Arrived well packaged in corrugated cardboard, which is just as well because it's very lightweight - easy to carry around but I would guess vulnerable to getting dented.

Conflicting detail "with bag". Or "what's in the box ? Penny whistle" no bag received with my order have several Clarke whistles recently all came with bag

Whistles are cheap so easy to try many. My opinion: Clarke whistles are best for beginners and are used by many experienced players for practice. They are relatively quiet - so not to annoy neighbours and family too much. Hint: use blutak to partially cover top hole to make even quieter.Best get a high D whistle as these are most often used. The Amazon price is good but if you visit the Clarke web site you might findnd a nice package deal - so why not buy high C and high D? Throw in a cleaning brush and you might just have spent enough to get a free T-shirt!.Clarke also sell the original - from 1843 - tinwhistle - this is more expensive looks pretty in black & gold but has a cheapish wooden block in the fipple mouthpiece. Sound is good but a bit ‘breathy’ which some players like.IMHO best to start with a sweetone D, but if you can afford it try other whistles. Happy whistling!

I got this whistle at the same as the Clarke original tin whistle and much prefer this one. I'm a total beginner to the tin whistle but have played recorder when I was very little (would have no clue how to play now) and can play the ocarina a little bit, which uses the same fingering system.For whatever reason, this one sounds so much clearer than the original (more expensive) whistle. To me, the original sounds really breathy and is quieter than the sweetone.I prefer the way the original looks and the fact that they're still using the original design, but for whatever reason (probably the piece of wood used to create the sound in the original), my sweetone sounds a lot better than the original.Advantages of the original over this one - it looks better and includes information like a back story on the whistle and a fingering chart and tune sheet, but the sweetone sounds better to me.

I guess for the money you definitely get as much as you would expect - you can learn the basic premise of playing the tin whistle. I have previously purchased the Clarke 'original' tin whistle in D for around £17 which is a dream to play (and I would highly recommend) so I thought I would try out the Clarke Sweetone for my C whistle. Whilst the tin whistle itself is easy to get a clear note out of with a little bit of breathe control practice, and it delivers a pleasant reed-like tone, I found my whistle to be out of tune with itself and I had to alter my fingering in order to get certain notes to play at the right pitch - not practical for beginners who may be relying on using finger charts to get the notes. Regrettably this whistle will be being put away and I will have to replace it with a different model.

The good reviews from musicians on this page prompted me to choose this product over others on sale. I was not disappointed. I am a learner on the pennywhistle and was surprised to find the finger work was very similar to my childhood days of the recorder. I like the tone this produces and I like the tapered shape. It makes it much easier to work with the lower range.I think this pennywhistle also looks more professional than others on sale that are brass with coloured mouthpieces. With a good book, it only took me 30 minutes to get going and play my first tune. It's not screeching loud, so my neighbours are spared the noise of my practice. All in, my experience of this pennywhistle is a very good one and I would definitely recommend it.