I’ve played whistle for 14 years (not continuously!) but have only just begun to attempt flute. Received my 2 piece D Tipple flute last week and am loving it. (That doesn’t mean I’ve finding flute easy-- just that I’m loving trying!)
My major problem is jumping back down smoothly to a good low D from any note higher than G-- takes me a moment to find it again. But I’ve not had too much trouble playing or holding individual notes in tune with what sounds to me like okay intonation-- so that’s been a relief.
I have a background in articulatory and acoustic phonetics and think that’s actually made a big difference embouchure-wise-- I’m used to doing weird things with my speech organs and vocal tract . Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself in the hopes of participating here.
Same here. The bottom D is tough to find and has a very narrow “sweet spot”, especially when there’s a bit of water build up. And the holes have to be completely sealed. But boy is it nice when you do find that fat bottom. That’s the one the whistle can’t give you, no matter what. Oh yes - welcome!
The bottom D is a tough note to find and sometimes the others are as well for me .
I’m a beginner to the whistle and flute (Tipple D in late November) but do find the whistle has been a great help with the flute. I learn the tune on the whistle and then I can focus on the embouchure when playing the flute.
Yes, welcome! And maybe you can clarify something for me!
In 1962, my third grade teacher, (Mrs. Spath. Do you know her?), taught us that you should pronounce the color “white” as if you were blowing out a candle. We pretty much decided she was a ridiculous relic of a bygone age of Victorian society wannabes.
Now I’m convinced she was trying to set us up for humiliation, and I’m seeking compensation for lifelong psychological damages. D’ya think I’ve got a case?
Thanks all! I plan to find a few hours today to play D! Actually I’m working on Off to California since it has that hoppy DAFA pattern and is good practice.
Crookedtune, Up until fairly recently most speakers of American English did in fact distinguish ‘w’ from ‘wh’ in speech. ‘wh’ was aspirated-- that is-- accompanied by a small puff of air (hence blowing out the candle). ‘w’ was not. Today both ‘w’ and ‘wh’ are pronounced the same by 99.9% of Americans and neither is aspirated. It’s not totally gone from the language, however-- some southern dialects for example still pronounce w and wh differently. So, for example, ‘which’ and ‘witch’ are not homophones for those speakers as they are for most of us. But even in 1962 Mrs. Spath was likely an artifact! Now aren’t you sorry you asked !
Interesting. I grew up in rural NH, and all the old ladies there (including my grandmother) still pronounce ‘wh’ that way. It always seemed that it was associated with people who were better-educated or had good diction.
Come to think of it, my first-grade teacher taught me to pronounce ‘wh’ that way in the mid-eighties (but she really was a relic – she was also my father’s first grade teacher, and she was old even then).
I don’t know if this will help, but in going from the octave to the low D on my Tipple I decrease the air pressure slightly and it goes straight to it. The lower register on this thing is sweet.
Oh, and educated in Virginia in the '60s, I put a ‘wh’ in white and which.
Please let us know how things are going. As long as you’re not doing anything you shouldn’t with your speech organs or vocal tracts, I think you’ll do fine.
Thought I’d de-lurk for a moment and post a brief update. Enjoy reading the posts here and have been making reasonable progress on the flute (I think!). Play about 30-45 mins a day in short bursts of 10-15 mins and everything has gotten much easier! Far to go but at least I notice some improvement (even my low D issues have been pretty much addressed!). The bad thing is that I know in a few months I’m going to want a wooden flute (not that I don’t love the Tipple and it will become my travel flute).
Thanks!
Brad I know you’r the expert but I rarely hear people who pronounce the w and wh the same. Maybe my ears are hearing incorrectly.
Hey back on topic, welcome and this is a boost of encouragement for me (a relative newbie to the whistle) to get a flute, maybe the tipple. I also learned that there is a local maker of Delrin flutes which are supposed to have a great tone…a bit more pricy though..
Thanks all. I am a hoarder (I have about a zillion tin whistles) so am sure a lot of flutes are in the future (though not nearly so many given the price difference with whistles!).
Off Topic: Kenny, Trust me – the distinction is largely gone. But 2 things could be going on. You might live in an area where they still do distinguish w/wh or you yourself might make the distinction and simply over-perceive a difference where there is none in the actual speech. (This is a common problem among people learning a foreign language-- mis-hearing within the boundaries of their own language-- and it applies to dialects also.)
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