Another quick key check, please....

Whistle
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At risk of imposing on you good folk again… I think I am getting better at this but still need reassurance.

I like this tune - I think it is in Amin, or something related to C. Is that the right way to express the fact that it will fit better on a C whistle (which I do not have) than a D whistle (which requires half-holing to get Fnat and dropping a note off the bottom).

I hope I am right, because it has got me practicing half-holed Fnat. Another decade and I might be chromatic. :smiley:

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I think you are quite right with A minor. Fits well on a C whistle.

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Phill, with your developing whistle making skills and computer calculator, I’m sure you can knock yourself up a very passable PVC C whistle, low or high, in no time! (Or a treble/alto G - will play A minor using D whistle C nat cross fingering for the F nat.)

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Thanks to you both.

I rather prefer the fingering that I need at the top cdedcAcBGB when played in Amin rather than Bminor. I dont know why - it sounds easier, or softer to my ears. If I do make a C whistle it will be converted to play D with an optional pinkie-hole for the low C. Then I can have the best of both worlds. BLF in the calculator.

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If I do make a C whistle it will be converted to play D with an optional pinkie-hole for the low C

… an option I am very pleased with. It gives access to a raft of music prepared for the recorder that includes that “pinkie-C” that would otherwise have to be transcribed up half an octave to be easily playable on a D whistle … most of which is not ITM :boggle: :smiling_imp: :open_mouth:

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Isn’t this melody a variant of the familiar “Siuil a Rún”? Here I sit on Buttermilk Hill, etc.

Phil, on a D whistle … Since the melody is mostly hexatonic and that F-nat is just a passing tone, you could substitute F# - making it effectively Dorian instead of Aeolian. And for the low C you could substitute E. Not quite as nice, perhaps. But following the principle of, when possible, making things work on the instrument you have in hand. :slight_smile:

Of course, using the “shifted” whistle fingering on a standard C whistle gives basically the same effect and capability, with no need for any physical modifications. You need to learn 4 different cross/half fingerings, for F#, c-nat, c# and f#, and you’re good to go.

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Thanks for the ‘fit-the-whistle’ suggestions, MTG;

    • I will try the substitution of e for c, though it may make the tune bounce around a bit D E D E D E rather than D E D C D E.
  • I would like to play this tune with others, so I may try to discipline myself to play the Fnat. Despite my initial resistance it seems accessible.


You lost me a bit there. Do you mean ‘pretend to play in Bmin on a D whistle’, but use a C whistle instead? I first learnt the tune in Bmin on the D whistle, but for some reason actually prefer the Amin fingering for the higher bit.

I could buy a C whistle, though it would need to be a low whistle and I have not the funds at present. I could make a C whistle I guess, but Feadoggie would win his bet then…

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Yes, that’s right. As I said, it’s not quite as nice. :sniffle:

Oh, sorry. No, I mean using the “whistle capo” fingering, shifting your hands up by one hole. Don’t worry about it, the suggestion was really directed more to Kypfer.

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the “whistle capo” fingering, shifting your hands up by one hole. … the suggestion was really directed more to Kypfer.

… thanks for that … so much to learn, so little time :slight_smile:

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Ah, I understand now. A bit too much for me to think about. I will leave that to Kypfer… Thanks.

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:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
I think the bet has been off for some time now, DrPhill. And using your proven logic, all you need to do is make another tube. Just think of the key of C as a low pitched key of D (Hey, it’s all relative anyway!). Do I have that right? Go for it.

Feadoggie

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