I have made a whistle in the Arabic Hijaz key in A but the 7th hole is almost impossible to reach , has anyone got info on how to change spacing without changing tuning ?
Where did you put the tonic? As you probably know, Major scales on whistles can start in two places, the bell-note, if you’re using a mezzo A whistle
xxx|xxx
or the 4th if you’re using an E whistle
xxx|ooo
or the 5th if you’re using a D whiste, but the scale is Mixolydian rather than Major
xxo|ooo
And what does the 7th hole do? As you know whistles usually have 6 holes.
If you were starting the Hijaz scale on the bell-note of an ordinary 6-hole whistle, let’s say a mezzo A whistle, it would be
xxx}xxx A
xxx|xxo Bb
xxx|xoo C#
xxx|ooo D
xxo|ooo E
xoo|ooo F natural
oxx|ooo G natural
oxx|xxx A
So there’s a big space between Hole 4 and Hole 5.
But I don’t know what key whistle you’re using as the basis for your A hijaz scale.
About changing hole spacing without changing tuning, it’s done by changing the hole size.
So for a given pitch, if you move a hole higher on the tube you have to make the hole smaller, and if you move a hole further down the tube you have to make the hole bigger.
But that’s limited, you can only move a hole so far, because you’re also impacting the voicing of the note.
It just dawned on me that a solution to having the big gap between the minor 2nd and Major 3rd would be to have a little-finger (pinky) hole for the bottom hand and the ring finger of the bottom hand not having a hole under it, but becoming an “anchor” finger.
In other words the bottom-hand little finger covers a further-down Hole 6, and there’s no hole where Hole 6 would ordinarily be on an Irish whistle.
Hole 5 would be in its usual place and operated by its usual finger (the bottom hand middle finger) giving its usual Major 3rd.
Hole 2 is going to have to be smaller and further down because it has to give the minor 6th.
The minor 7th can be fingered in the usual “Irish whistle” manner.
EDIT: I just accomplished it on a whistle just by mostly covering Hole 6 and Hole 2 with tape.
Not great voicing but I’m getting a good hijaz scale, the Tonic being the open bottom of the whistle.
Years ago I did the same thing on Highland pipes, tape on Hole 2 and Hole 6 to get the hijaz scale Zemeratik, Hava Nagila on Bagpipes
On many whistles you can crossfinger a good minor 6th like so
xox|xxx
You can check here
Do you need A as the fundamental?
Or could the scale start on a higher hole?