Fear not, the Bb is on the extreme of normal holding & playing, you may need to use 'the piper's grip' on it & other lower whistles. Check out online videos to see how to use it. Basically, you use the pads of your fingers instead of your finger tips, put the pad of your ring finger on the lower hole, & let your others go where they want to go, same with the top three holes. It just takes a little bit of practice, we all need to use it on the low whistles.

It's nice to get a new whistle now & again. I have found that high priced whistles don't necessarily play any better, but it's nice to have them. You may find the sound of brass works better for some tunes. Our tastes do change over time, enjoy them both.

I have a Gemeinhardt myself, but I don't really play it, I prefer keyless. Of those you list, the only other maker I know anything about is Selmer, they used to make good instruments.

If you have a music shop nearby, you may be able to get a refurbished flute, & advice into the bargain.

This forum is for the tin/penny whistle, so not many will have any knowledge of flutes, but you might like to try this other forum for better info - https://www.fluteland.com/board/

Thank you, Keith, i'll check for that book.  

Could you please help me with making choice?) Just imagine, that you have 14-years-old son, who wants flute for his birthday

Which one flute would you buy? I found 3 flute:

1. Selmer Prelude FL711

2. Kaizer FLT-1500NK

3.  Gemeinhardt 2BLK

The first one is quiet good, and it's written that, it's designed for small fingers, and this is very good in my situation.

The second one cheaper twice, and i don't know, may be it would be better to take this one, and if he likes playing flute, we'll buy him more expensive and more professional flute after some times, and if he doesn't like we won't loose much.

The money is not the main criteria, but it's important for me, because i'm student

The third one my teacher recommended to me, but i want to hear some more opinions)

Very grateful for your help! 

Most people start off with either a high D or high C, depending on the type of tunes you want to play.

A good book to help learn flute would be 'Flute for Dummies', (you could get a pre used copy quite cheaply from a second hand book store like Abe Books online).

If you haven't bought your flute yet, maybe consider a keyless 'simple system' flute, just has the 6 holes like a whistle.

P.S. Open or closed holes generally refers to Boehm flutes.

Which whistle do you recommend to start with to my 14-years-old brother? Open or close holes? Apologize for writing here, but i haven't found appropriate topic on this forum, btw i was trying to find smth like "Flute for beginners"  

Had a nice practice session yesterday, mainly my 'A', low 'G', & low 'F' whistles.

I'm beginning to get the 'feel' of my MK Kelpie low 'F' now, it has a lovely tone.

I think I've come to the conclusion that the thicker walled whistles give the best tone.

My standard 'beginner' whistles, (Generations/Walton/Feadog), are OK, but my traditional brass, & my aluminium whistles have much better tone, & I find the polymers have a kind of softer/warmer tone to them too.

I'd likely use the high G, if my fingers didn't rub together on it - the high F is tiny, but fun to play.

The high F seems unusual to add in among the rest of those you listed.  Those things are tiny! 

Well, after a period of collecting whistles, , I tend to play my low Ds, low F, As, & high F the most.

It's actually a wonderful thing to even be able to talk about one's 'favorite' whistles... it not only means you have multiple whistles, but it also means you have more than one favorite whistle! 

The low F is much easier to play than the low D, without losing too much at the bottom end sound wise, so I've decided to order a low F flute from M&E next week, (should get it before any BREXIT nonsense).

Can't see me needing anything else after that, other than maybe new glasses to read the music.

Thanks, Martha, I think so too - & they all sound really nice.

Those are beauties!

Here are my 'best' whistles.

From the top - Dixon Brass Trad 'A' - Dixon Aluminium tunable 'A'

Dixon Brass Trad 'G' - Howard tunable Brass low 'D' - Shearwater aluminium low 'F'

Dixon Aluminium tunable Duo in 'C' - with the flute head along side it.

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My Shearwater low 'F' just turned up this morning, (nice whistle).

So my main whistles are now my Tony Dixon aluminium Duo in 'C' - my  Tony Dixon aluminium (low) 'A' - & my Shearwater (aluminium) in low 'F' - with my Howard low 'D' (brass) as back up.

Now, I must go concentrate on my music reading & play them.

I love my various whistles.. some are brass, nickel, polymer...

But I think the four I reach for most often are 

Black polymer Susato in C  (because strong bright nimble notes with almost no effort. Easiest to get good sound among the 4 C's I've tried)

Black polymer Susato in Bb  (clear but very warm tone, a little like recorder)

Jerry Freeman nickel Blackbird in high D  (pretty warbly tone. notes are clear & easy to hop between notes without squeaking)

Dixon brass Trad in high D  (because I like the chiffy 'hollow metal' tone, reminds me of temple bells or something)

I have been playing my various whistles these past few days, & I have come to the conclusion that I prefer whistles lower than the high D - & so I have just ordered up a Tony Dixon Duo in C to join the 'collection', & will see how I get on with it as a flute too.

I'm liking my low whistles best.

Recently, I added a Tony Dixon tunable aluminium in 'A' to my collection, which has a nice tone, but plays a bit loud for my taste.

A Howard tunable low 'D' joined a week or so ago, powder coated brass, really nice tone & fairly easy to play, once having got the hang of the 'pipers grip'.

And,  I have just ordered a Shearwater low 'F' aluminium, which sounds much like the Howard, tone wise, from videos I've listened to, but I'll have to wait a couple of weeks to find out for myself.

My favourite whistles are my Tony Dixon brass altos in A & G.

I have a collection of Generations, in both nickel & brass, in all the sizes too, (plus a Feadog, Waltons, & Tony Dixon ABS in high D).

As a newbie who purchased some "starter" instruments, my favorite to date is my carbon fibre D by Erik the Flutemaker.  It sounds true and pure as soon as it is picked up.  If I remain true to my nature with other instruments (clawhammer banjos and mtn dulcimers) I will have more in the months ahead.

I love my polymer black Susato 'Kildare' whistles.  Especially the lowest two with the single key so I can easily reach the low holes!         I also like their more mellow tone than metal whistles.

What are your favorite whistles?

I really love both of my Mack Hoover whistles when I play out at the hospital or nursing homes. But I tend to grab a Clark  traditional whistle (the one with the wooden fipple) when I go outside to play. I enjoy its breathy sound for airs and hymns that I like to play. The price is hard to beat.