Do I need whistles in the keys of E, G, F, C, A?????????

Whistle
1

Help FEllow chiff and Fipplers!!! I’m CONFUSED!! And probably just a mite bit stupid too, considering the question I’m about to ask…but you guys are the experts, so I am not making a move without running it by all of you first. Here is the thing…I have this great book of early American hymns that is really for dulcimer. BUT, it is in sheet music, so can be used for any instrument. Problem is..most of the songs are written in the keys of G, A, C, E and F. They don’t sound real good played on my soprano D whistle. Does this mean I will need whistles in these keys in order to play these songs?? DUH… If I am right…which key would be best for a beginner to start with?? Is the fingering the same as for a soprano D?? I feel dumb but will appreciate all advice. There are some great tunes in this book and I would like to play them! Thanks in advance!!!

Andrea

2

Hi, Andrea. The key of G will work just fine for your d whistle. You’ll just need to play C natural instead of C#. On most whistles, imagining the mouthpiece to the left, the fingering will be OXXOOO. To play those hyms, transpose to D or G. In general, whistles in keys other than d are transpoing instruments. This means that you always read D or G and play as if it were a d whistle. If it is not a d whistle, the notes you are reading will not be the notes you are actually playing, but it will save you form having to learn to associate all different notes with the same finger holes. Good luck.

Jessie

3

The first question you need to ask yourself is, Is there any reason why I have to play the tunes in any particular key, including the key in which they are written?

You might answer yes if you want to play the music with another player who wants to play them from the music, or to accompany a singer whose range dictates the key. In this case you might need another whistle - see later.

If the answer is no, then things are very simple indeed as far as which whistle you need. Any whistle will do! Although you may have to transpose the tunes, which might be more difficult.

Any whistle will do because you can easily play in two major and two or three minor keys on any whistle.

Your D whistle for example can easily handle D and G major, and E and B minor, plus A minor with a little half-holing to get an F natural.

(It can also handle E dorian and A dorian easily, and B dorian with a half-hole - these are older minor scales widely used in Irish and older European music.)

So, if you have a D whistle and the tune you want to play is in a major scale other than D or G, you’ll want to transpose it into D or G major. Which one you choose will depend on the tune’s range - how far above or below the tonic (main note) it extends. If the tune’s range is only an octave or so then you can play it in both keys.

Same goes for minor keys - on your D whistle you need to transpose into E minor, B minor or A minor depending on range.

Now, most whistle players think “D and G” whatever whistle they are actually playing. So once you’ve transposed the tunes into D and G, if you want to play them in the key in which they are written, you can then choose the appropriate whistle.

To cover the keys you mentioned, plus a few more:

An A whistle can easily handle A major (“D” fingering) and D major (“G” fingering), plus B minor (“E minor” fingering), F# minor(“B” minor fingering), and E minor (“A” minor fingering).

In the same order, a C whistle can handle C major and F major with ease, plus D minor, A minor, and G minor.

To play easily in E major major you’d need a whistle either in E (“D” fingering) or in B (“G” fingering).

Hope you can make sense of this. In many respects it’s easier to play by ear!

Steve

Hadn’t seen Jessie’s answer when I wrote this - she says it more economically …


[ This Message was edited by: StevieJ on 2002-09-30 17:15 ]

4

Hey Andrea

Good question! As Jesse mentions, if you are playing in the key of D or G, you don’t need to change your whistles or your music. If you wish to play in the other keys, things get a bit more interesting!

You have 3 choices at this point.

  1. Transpose your music so that you can read it and play it on your D whistle,
  2. Transpose your music so that you can read it and play it on another keyed whistle
  3. Get another keyed whistle, re-name all the notes on it so that they reflect their “concert names” and spend the rest of your life in therapy!

You only need to get other keyed whistle if:

  1. You plan to play with other musicians and they are playing in other keys,
  2. You have a recording you want to play along with and your D whistle is in the wrong key
  3. you wish to hear the music higher or lower than you do now
  4. You are like the rest of us and want to own as many whistles as possible!

If all you want to do is play some music that you have, but it is in the wrong key, the easiest approach is to Transpose the music.

Transposing

There are many ways to transpose music! I will give you but one and let you go from there. Do not be afraid! It is actually quite easy.

Transposing Key for Whistles: (basic keys)

Key:D D E F# G A B C# D

Key:C C D E F G A B C
Key:Eb Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb
Key:F F G A Bb C D E F
Key:G G A B C D E F# G
Key:A A B C# D E F# G# A
Key:Bb Bb C D Eb F G A Bb

To use the chart, find the key the music is written in. For example, key of F. If you have a G note, look at the key of D chart and see what the note becomes. It becomes an E. In the Key of A, C# becomes F#.

I will leave it there for now, hope it helps!

Sandy

5

I second Brother Steve’s choices.

After D: An A is good for those tunes which dip below low D. Its also great for a lot of Scottish tunes, that, if you read music, somebody decided to put them in, even tho’ I hear that GHBs are more like Bflat.
And I hate making G#s on a d whistle…

After that a C because then you got yer F tunes covered and a million simple folksongs are done in C Major or A minor.

My next choice: I bought an E whistle because some sea chantey guys like em and after a lifetime of playing guitar, its like comin’ home. its perky and sweet and you can make accompanying guitarist put on a capo and play all your D tunes if you please.

6

It’s simple, you need every whistle ever made in all possible keys and when you run out of money you sell the whistles to us for a slight discount.

Joe

7

Thanks to all!!! You have all been a great help!! Glad to hear I don’t need to purchase a bunch of new whistles…WAIT A MINUTE>>>>DID I REALLY JUST SAY THAT??? But seriously…your answers have been a great help. Sandy, thank you for the transposing chart..it is just the thing!! I knew that these songs could be transposed but I didn’t know how to do it. Now I do. I learn something everyday thanks to all you jokers!! Yeah, yeah, I know I should just keep buying whistles so then I can sell them to fellow Chiff and Fipplers at a slight discount! I liked that one ..LOL!You are all a hoot…and a big help!!!