The Burke High D Session Whistle - my full review...
- Leyna Robinson-Stone
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
Hi readers, welcome back to my blog!
Today I will be reviewing a very special whistle - the Burke Session High D which I recently got from Big Whistle. This has become one of my favourite high D whistles!
Burke whistles are designed by Michael Burke and made in the USA. The session high D is a beautifully crafted, high-end instrument which is highly recommended by many professional players and has been used in studio recordings for film and TV - and I fell in love with it as soon as I played it! I have played this high D in many of my recent music videos and recordings.
Appearance -
This whistle is really unique and has a three-part design, with a tuneable headpiece, black tipped head, and a barrel shaped middle part which the body of the whistle fits into.
It comes in brass or aluminium, I have the brass model (usually brass has a slightly warmer tone and aluminium has a brighter sound).
The barrel part is a very interesting design feature, but it is also functional and acts as the tuning system for the whistle - it is engineered with airtight seals inside which makes the tuning very stable. It looks very cool, and for me it has the aesthetic of a piece of high end Victorian engineering from some sort of steam engine! You can also get these whistles with the addition of a thumb hole, but I play the standard model. Overall I think this is one of the most unusual and unique looking high D whistles out there!
Sound and tone -
The Burke has a very pure and clean traditional sound, it is bird-like and lively whilst also having a warm and mellow quality. It amazes me how this whistle can be both bright with a fair amount of volume across both octaves whilst maintaining a smooth, buttery and subtle sound.
When you master good playing technique and breath control you can achieve great expression and dynamics of sound with this whistle - you can really sing through it and push with your vibrato to give a more vocal quality. Another great quality that this whistle has is that it almost never clogs up with condensation, making it really reliable for studio sessions and live performances!
Playability -
I find that the playability of this whistle is amazing and very responsive, giving you really crisp ornamentations. It requires a bit more air than something like a Killarney whistle, but is still very easy to play and has a great level of back-pressure, so you can really sing through the notes. The intonation is really good, and it is also tuneable - you may find that you need to use an alternative finger position for the C natural note, placing extra fingers down to flatten the note slightly when playing slower tunes, but this is quite a common thing that varies between different whistle brands.
This whistle is a gem to record with, and gives really clean and dynamic recordings and has very few unwanted overtones.
I played the Burke session high D whistle in my music video 'Over the Hills and Far Away' -
Overall I would say that this is one of the best whistles I own, and I highly recommend it! You can get this whistle directly from the manufacturer at Burke Whistles, but if you are looking for a supplier in the UK then Big Whistle are the only company to stock this brand, so this is a great place to get one from.
You can get a Burke High D session whistle here -
I hope you enjoyed reading and until next time, happy whistling!
Leyna ✨
