A Question for the musically wise

Whistle
1

Hello,

I am a new whistler who happens to be building a high D whistle based on Kim Fulton-Bennett’s plans available on the Web. In the course of tuning my new instrument, I came across a puzzling phenomenon which none of the Internet whistle pages address.

As I checked the initial tuning of my whistle before drilling finger holes, using a Sabine MT 8000, I discovered my unfenestrated D whistle was producing a nice natural C. This despite a perfect 26 cm tube which I expected to produce a flat D before tuning.

Cross-checking to see what note my Feadog D produces with all finger holes closed, I discovered it generates a fairly true C ! Likewise, my C Clark whistle doesn’t generate a C with all holes closed. It makes a nice A sharp. (All this assuming my electronic tuner is accurate) I have enough musical physics to know tuning a finger hole is at best an approximation of its assigned note value. I would expect some variance from perfect tones with any finger holes open.

What confounds me is that the whistle tube at its fundamental frequency can be off its labeled value by two or more half tones. Can any of you who are well versed in whistle lore tell me why when I buy a D whistle its lowest note is not a D ??

Thanks for any input you may contribute.

2

If you’re a newbie, the answer may be in how you are blowing. The low notes are especially susceptible to under or overblowing, producing notes that are too high or too low. Two and a half steps is quite a bit-- you might be getting some funky overtone. If you know any experienced players, check their playing against your tuning meter. Also, experiment with blowing a bit harder and softer.