On 2002-08-23 14:59, selkie wrote:
That is an interesting whistle. Now have I got any old whistles I could go away and drill holes in? Seriously though. I have been wonderinf what would happen if I drilled a hole in the bottom of a cheap D. Would it make a C? or a squeal that would stop the wretched dog barking for once.
selkie
No, it would (assuming that it was in the right place) make your D fingering (XXX XXX O) sound D# and your āall 7 downā (XXX XXX X) sound D. To make it go down to C you need to add length, not holes.
I think she means a C natural thumb hole on the back of the whistle. That is possible.
I like the idea of a keyed chromatic whistle. It is like going full circle. First there was the shepherdās pipe, which became the flageolette, which was keyed and joined the orchestra. An English patent was granted for a flageolette with all holes on front, this was simplified into the 6 front hole whistle, and Clarke introduced the tinwhistle in the mid 19th Century. The keyed pennywhistle is like a flageolette with a better mouthpiece, and I think that is a great idea.
I recently purchased a Jazz-Studio Piccolo from Ebay and Iām going to attempt to make a whistle headjoint for it. If this works, it will make a very nice chromatic high whistle.
These Piccoloās have attractive keys and it employs a straight headjoint with a conical bore.
Here is the Piccoloās Photo:
Iāll post my findings here in a week or so.
BTW - It comes with a very nice case.
[ This Message was edited by: Daniel_Bingamon on 2003-01-22 22:29 ]
On 2002-08-21 08:19, scissors wrote:
How about just a regular style whistle but bored for different scales, like the klezmer I mentioned earlier, or melodic minor, or some of the middle eastern or Indian scales?
This is as good a place to start as any. Daniel already makes them. I purchased two from him just before Christmas and they work very well. I can hardly review them (in the usual way) because there is nothing to compare them directly to. Iāve been meaning to give impressions for a while but wanted to give them a thorough workout first. Hereās a start anyway. The hole sizes and spacing of the Ahava Raba whistle will strike most players as unusual and Iām experimenting to find the fingering that works best. At this stage let me just say that I really enjoy playing them, would happily record with one, and will be buying more from Daniel and watching his experiments closely.
Iām also very likely to order one of Colinās āalmostā chromatic whistles. Only the holiday period and uncertainty about time zones has so far prevented me from taking up an offer to phone him and give him the opportunity to try to talk me out of it.
I, too, want to be able to play Klezmer and other modal musics. I also want to be able to play blues and jazz without the limitations of the six-hole beasts. Sure, I can play blues in a very satisfying way already on standard high and low whistles. But sometimes I want to do fast, cleanly articulated chromatic runs and my 6-hole technique isnāt up to that. OK, so what I want is an end-blown concert flute? Sort of, but I want to be able to half hole and get microtonal effects that are very whistle-specific. I want the best of both worlds. I also want a villa in Provence and a very wealthy patron.
This is an interesting subject for me as it is the reason I made my first whistle. I have quite a few ideas for chromatic whistles and wanted to make a regular one first. Unfortunatly, I am so busy now making the regular whistles, I havenāt had time to experiment with the chromatic whistles!
I donāt know when I will do it but it is important to me, one of those things on the list that have to happen for me to have peace. That and learn to paint, draw, play the fiddle, solve world hungerā¦
I wish you all the best of luck in your experiments and endeavors!
Now, it seems it did nore really find a market.. But maybe itās only because of its ābaroque recorderā looks.
Now that you suggest it, I wouldnāt mind a just-tuned 4-key alto in G, to play along binious, bombardes and Scots pipesā¦ It could play session D as well if consistent enough in the 2nd ocateā¦
Now would this qualify as an alto keyed whistle or āvertical fifeā ?
[ This Message was edited by: Zubivka on 2003-01-23 04:53 ]
I donāt know when I will do it but it is important to me, one of those things on the list that have to happen for me to have peace.
Sandy
Hey Sandy, Iām deeply humane. I want you to achieve peace really soon. To help out, may I place an order for a chromatic in Emerald Gold please? I knew youād understand.
[ This Message was edited by: Wombat on 2003-01-23 11:50 ]
On 2003-01-22 22:24, Daniel_Bingamon wrote:
I recently purchased a Jazz-Studio Piccolo from Ebay and Iām going to attempt to make a whistle headjoint for it. If this works, it
Iāve seen this on ebay - as a piccolo/flute, how is it? Any good?
Iād go along with BrewerPaulās comment that a Soprano recorder (Key of C) is, essentially, a chromatic whistle. Same range, (though high D is a touch harder), similar fingering for many notes.
The problem is - recorder fingering is a LOT more complex for the upper octave, a bit more complex on the lower octave, and a lot harder to do at speed. Tone - thatās a matter of taste, but when allās said and done a recorderās just a chromatic whistle with a rather pure tune. Itās the usual tunes played on them that differ the most.
But you can get a quite good, well-in-tune-with-itself plastic recorder, in a selection of interesting colors, for under $10. I really wish Yamaha, say, would make D and C whistles available with the same quality and price.
The problem with recorder is that itās much harder to learn and harder to play traditional tunes (in their proper keys) on at speed, with no real offsetting advantage for traditional music.
I like recorder - and have played them for a long, long, time - but far prefer my whistles for anything in the key of D or G.
This is kind of another approach but if you
want a chromatic whistle that sounds
like a āwhistleā why not try to make a
recorder that has those particular sound
characteristics (whatever they may be)
instead of 10 tone holes or an elaborate
key system. Either way anyone who
doesnāt play recorder will have to learn
a new fingering and the recorder would be
in my humble opinion easier to make
and play and therefore less expensive
as well. But then it would still be
a ārecorderā and many of you
canāt have that can you.
I play an 11-hole McDonagh fife (B flat), but the truth is that most of the music I play doesnāt really require it. I think I know 5 or 6 tunes with G# and one with an F natural. C natural is a weak note on the B flat fife no matter how many holes it has. The 6-hole McD has an excellent cross fingered high G sharp and half decent low G sharp.
Skip Healy also makes 10 hole fifes, in B flat and A. He makes 10 hole chromatic simple system flutes and piccolos in high E flat, D, C and low F. The low F is a dandy thing!
As far as a 10-hole whistle goes, I sure donāt need one, but Iāll probably end up with one.
I have four recorders in my instrument collection, but itās not what Iām personally looking for. I personnally like the Rudall & Rose type system, I canāt afford most of those but since I build whistles I decided to do my own low whistle with 6 keys - thatās working fine and Iāve made a number of improvements.
This little Piccolo that I found on Ebay is Cheap cheap cheap! I purchased it with the idea that I could easily make a high whistle (for myself) that is chromatic. I will share my results with anyone else here that wants to similarly explore this.
Information on the piccolo.
The keypads are a reddish colored soft leather material, they seal well. I am bit concerned with replacing them in the future. The action of the keys are good, they donāt rock from side to side.
The headjoint tenon is wobbly (uses thread) and should be converted to cork. A whistle headjoint will go there in its place.
I need to sit down and do a good tuning test session with it. If the tuning is a little off, I make the neccesary adjustments. Hopefully there wonāt be too many changes.
It has 6-keys, they are attractive cast keys, probably nickel plated, the castings do have rough spots on them. The Bb key is operated by the thumb and thatās my only complaint about the keys on this little piccolo.
Nothing wrong with a recorder, but if you want to play stuff thatās usually in D or G major, (ie. with F# notes in it), then a soprano recorder in C is not that convenient, IMO. The recorder is designed to play F natural rather than F# easily, and I really donāt like the cross fingering for F#.
On 2003-01-23 23:13, tuaz wrote:
Nothing wrong with a recorder, but if you want to play stuff thatās usually in D or G major, (ie. with F# notes in it), then a soprano recorder in C is not that convenient, IMO. The recorder is designed to play F natural rather than F# easily, and I really donāt like the cross fingering for F#.
But most stuff in D or G major doesnāt need too many accidentals. Itās other keys that need them. A recorder or other fully chromatic instrument lets you play the other keys (though possibly with awkward fingering).
Mind you, even for its own major scale a recorder fingers a bit slower than a whistle - on a baroque recorder both Fnat and Fsharp are cross-fingered, an alternative fingering for Bnat differs from Csharp only in the thumb (Bnat: T 0XX000, Csharp: 0 0XX0000), high E is cross-fingered, above that requires half-holing the thumb . . .
I find playing key of D awkward on a recorder, key of G rather easier. Key of C is easier still, but a touch slower than a whistle on its major key.
[ This Message was edited by: DCrom on 2003-01-24 17:56 ]
Seriously though. I have been wonderinf what would happen if I drilled a hole in the bottom of a cheap D. Would it make a C? or a squeal that would stop the wretched dog barking for once.
