C nat seems to be such a bear to me , I mean not just that one note , but the position on a G whistle Bb or whatever . Is it just me or what. I can sometimes get a good tone and then it sounds weak.
So far for me the Clarke original seems to be the most forgiving, with the thumb tweak and o ring. I imagine the cure is more practice , but do you have any tips? I have tried using the T blow or whatever youd call it.
Thank You Steve in Houston
I’ve only played for 4 months, so I can only say what works for me, rather than what you “should” do. The other guys will give you better advice and I don’t particularly want to advocate “bad” or “lazy” fingering.
I tend to half-hole slow Airs, or slightly faster (maybe a Strathspey, or Slip Jig), when I want a smooth transition. On faster Jigs and Reels I use oxxooo, or oxoooo, depending on the note combination going into Cnat, and coming out of it.
HTH
BS.
No matter how much you spend for a whistle, it’s essentially a $10 instrument, and the Cnat is not perfect. It’s part of the character of the thing. Best advice is to make it sound your best then embrace it for what it is.
Check out this thread for some other thoughts…
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/another-half-holing-dilemma/61054/1
Well Irish whistle players have played C natural using
oxx ooo
or
oxx oox
or
oxx xox
for generations and have done just fine. These fingerings produce C naturals with acceptable tone and tuning on pretty much any traditional-style whistle, and have stood the test of time and use.
No point trying to reinvent the wheel. People who insist on drilling thumbholes in their whistles, or making the top hole too large so that mutant fingerings must be used for C natural, or whatever, are not playing a traditional whistle, and are not playing in a traditional manner (fine for those playing jazz or pop music on the whistle, but not for those trying to play traditional Irish music in the traditional manner).
C natural is supposed to have a veiled quality; it’s not supposed to sound like the other notes.