Can you recommend a good whistle?

this is a "How long is a piece of string?" question!!

Everyone has their own opinion and sound which they prefer.

My favourite whistle at the moment is made by Tony Dixon - slightly more expensive than the cheapies, but well worth the extra cost.

for a long time I played a cheapie Generation whistle (silver with a blue mouthpiece), available from most music shops, and online from Celtic Southern Cross.

You can hear me playing the Tony Dixon whistle on the Celtic Dreamtime site.

The Chiff & Fipple website has a huge section reviewing many makes of whistle - well worth checking out.

Where can I buy a good bodhran?

to be honest on this one I don't recommend buying the imported drums brought in through music shops as the skins tend to be too thin and they dry out really quickly in the Australian climate.

I play a beautiful tuneable bodhran made in New Zealand by Davy Stuart.

There are some excellent bodhran makers in Australia

John McKnowall is located in Kyogle NSW (Phone 02 9266 322 450) visit John's website

Erle Bartlett is located in Hartley Vale NSW

Jim McWhinney makes beautiful synthetic skinned drums (skin is always perfect - not too tight or too loose) Ph 06 3323 2162

What music should I play along with?

Often trying to play along with Irish CDs as a beginner is quite daunting, all the tunes tend to be played "flat out"!!

Hence I made a CD which I recommend for beginners and people trying to practice.

This CD is designed to be a step towards playing the faster tunes. It includes instruction on playing the various rhythms (reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas, slip jigs, marches and waltzes), and I have played the tunes slower than usual to make it easier to play along with.