Well now; I have been haveing a real great whistle day waiting for the maillady(?) to bring me my Dixon Low D combo. Haveing just gotten a gaggle of new whistles yesterday I only took time out for a little sleep and started right up again this mourning. It arrived at noon and I was shall we say in the mood. The Low D whistle is nice. I have never played one so I cant compare it to anything but It sounds just the way I hoped it would. When I tried the flute head thanks to dumb luck I found a tune in there. Its gone now and I am hyperventalating and just about to pass out and then I read aderyn thread and all the comments so I am going to saddle up Molly Morgan and go for a ride. My question is this; how far back from the embouchure hole is the cork supposed to be. I know this is a question for the other forum but well a , a, I know some of you have this cridder so I thought I would ask you. I know im in for some hard work to get a handle on this thing but man I love the sound they make, both the flute and the low whistle. Thanks
Holy smokes Mac; Thanks alot. I even had Terry Mcgees name down in my notes but couldnt remember why. What a great site. Some times when I am reading the old posts I get carried away with all the info and my notes start looking like an e.e. commings poem. I guess Ill be spending some time with Mr. Mcgee tonight.
Hi Tom,
Glad to be fo help, By the way, have you heard of AP Guitar Tuner? It’s a free download, I have it on my PC, It’s fully chromatic, just plug in a mic to your computer, play any note on whistle or flute and it’ll show you how many cent’s sharp or flat you are. I downloaded it when I was trying to make a Low D whistle. I don’t remember the web address but a search for AP Guitar Tuner should turn it up.
Hi Mac; no I havent herd of that one. I will check it out. I use my little Matrix quartz guitar tuner whitch sometimes gets pretty freaked out when I get up in the higher octaves. Thanks for the tip. Im off to cyber space.
Well in case anyone is interested in the AP Guitar tuner I found it here: Http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/AP_Guitar_Tuner/ The site is a share ware storehouse of music related software. Lots of neet stuff. You mite just want to check it out. Thanks again Mac.
Tom
[ This Message was edited by: Blackbeer on 2002-12-17 21:05 ]
Hi Tom,
I gave up trying to make a Low D, I just bought some instead. That’s not to say I won’t try again, but with an Ormiston flute and a practice set Uillean Pipes ordered I’d say I’ll have my hands full!! Yeah, I know, don’t try to play both at the same time.
I’m not much of a fluter but I can safely say that compared to other wooden flutes that I’ve owned/played, the Dixon is a very easy blower… Not sure why…any fluters our there have any idea? Even with my lousy ebouchure I can still get both octaves pretty easy… A feat which I had trouble with on my professional wooden flutes… It’s nice easy playing inspires me to go back to it…
Well well see about that Blayne. After one hole day of playing my fingers are stiff and usless and I think I am dehydrated from loss of body fluids but I will hang in there. I put the whistle head back on and carry the flute head around with me just playing it by itself. That works pretty good. Im hopeing that by playing the whistle my fingers will eventualy get us to the stretch. I can reach all the holes just fine but it sure aint no high D. But I love the sound it puts out and the easy octive jumps. Just need time with it.
Good luck on your store buddy. I sure would like to know what that slow down thing is. I sure need one. Trying to learn tunes at full speed is killing me.
Ha ha! Yep, stay tuned on the Slow Downer… We’re working on setting up the “code”…
You can get it direct from Roni Music http://www.ronimusic.com/ for now… In the near future you’ll be able to download it from us…
It’s a great program, simple, intuitive… I’ve tried some others out there and in my opinion, for what WE do… I think it’s the best… Yep, me Mary Bergin & the Amazing Slow Downer are quite a trio!
Thanks Blayne; Yup the only whistle album I have is an old Mary Bergin album from the late 70`s playing on a Gen I think. Almost made me quit trying. I will check out that site most diffinatly.
Are you using pipers grip on the low D? You don’t mention it, so I’m not sure if you are aware of it. Forgive me if I’m teaching my grandmother…
The Dixon Low D Duo is my one plunge into the world of Low Ds. I really need to work at it before I splash any cash on more, but I like the tone, and I’m not sure I’ll ever need anything else unless I get professional (sonwball in hell’s chance). I liked the Low D so much, I later added an A, and tomorrow a G, all Dixons!
flute is considered very difficult and you are doing great if you get any sound at all the first few WEEKS, let alone out of the package. you may want to just blow long tones a few minutes a day and get real comfortable with that before you even worry about tuning.you can spend the rest of your playing time enjoying the whistles. once your embrochoure is consistent, tuning will be easier. you can start by holding a low octave G for as long as you can for several breaths, then move up and down. as has been pointed out, the pipers grip is essential for any low whistle or flute.
On 2002-12-19 08:34, meir wrote:
… as has been pointed out, the pipers grip is essential for any low whistle or flute.
meir
I have to disagree. While it’s a bit of a stretch, the Dixon Duo can be played in both modes using the ends of your fingers. (Although, I admit often switch my right hand to the pipers grip when playing in Low Whistle mode.)
I would discourage trying to play the flute using the pipers grip - it will create problems if you ever try to play a keyed flute. Besides, most woodenflutes are conical, which allows the holes to be a little closer than on the Dixon combo.
fair enough dan. i sort of worry about repetitive stress injuries with tip playing on the low D. it is certainly possible, and i am sure that people more experienced than me get away with it. there was a thread about this recently…
Thanks guys, my hands are big enough to use my finger tips. My worst enemy right now is the hole flute posture. Holding a side blown instrament and covering the holes properly while trying to figure out where my elbows should be and why my neck and elbows hert, and whats going on with my neck and where are my lips supposed to be on this %$#@# blow hole and when does the music start.
I`m sure you all have gone through this and I just have to slow down and realize that this is a long term project so I just better get over it. Playing the low D whistle helps a lot in that the sound is similar to the flute but there is just something about the intamasy(?)of the flute and the potentential of expression, of actualy singing through an instament. Oh boy ramble ramble. Anyone have a photo of proper posture?
re. Slowdowner. They also make a freeware version that is an add-on to WinAmp music player. It’s limited to changing speed and pitch but it is easy to use and works great and for the price you can’t beat it. I think I downloaded it from the WinAmp website.
Mike
BTW, I didn’t know Dixon makes combs. Do they make brushes too? Maybe a comb with a brass slide for bigger heads.
[ This Message was edited by: burnsbyrne on 2002-12-19 11:29 ]
