Ethnic whistles (Eastern Europe, Middle East)

Whistle
1

Hello all, this is my first post on this lovely forum you’ve got going on here.

I’m going on a 6 month trip to Eastern Europe & the Middle East soon and I want a compact instrument I can bring along to play on the road. I’d love to bring my Weltmeister musette squeezebox along but I just can’t afford to slug around that extra weight while backpacking.

So I’m looking for ethnic tunings on the whistle that will allow me to play klezmer, oros and the likes or at least jam along with Roma, Hebrew and Arab musicians should the opportunity arise.

After some extensive googling I found out that a whistle smith by the name of Daniel Bingamon makes some in a Klezmer tuning. Is he alone in this field?

What do you guys recommend for playing mainly Roma (Gypsy) and Klezmer tunes? Please forgive my ignorance here as I’m not much of a whistle player and my music theory knowledge is really lousy.

2

My impression is that a standard D whistle will help,
whatever else you take. I play middle
eastern stuff busking on whistles. To my knowledge
there’s nothing about klezmer or middle eastern
music that requires alternate tunings.

I also play Indian music on standard tuned flutes/whistles.

3

I believe that Simon Styles makes whistle in different scales as suggested by one of Tony Hinnigan’s whistle reviews. You may wish the contact Simon to ask: http://www.westonwhistles.co.uk/

4

not sure abot the middle eastern tuning but if i was going travelling it’d be the everyman anyday for portability, and no-ones gonna nick it for the looks. … heres the links…

http://www.parkswhistles.com/Whistles/EveryWalkabout/Default.aspx

.. and I’ve just spotted that it’s a really really good deal. It seems to come with a free phone (albeit a motorola) … and a little something else for those lonely nights on the road all for $60.

5

I will happily make one for you, if you want. What scale do you prefer? I guess something like:

D - Eb - F# - G - A - Bb - C - D

but please feel free to specify another scale of your preference. PM me if interested.

Ciao, Guido =8-)

6

Tillerman, welcome to Chiff & Fipple

Gypsy music in East Europe - I live opposite a large Gypsy camp and have done some voluntary work in Gypsy camps in Albania, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and Greece. Also I have had opportunity to listen to Gypsy music in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. I have tried to play along with their musicians a few times.

The Roma love music very much and their musicians can be incredibly talented on their instruments. Sadly live music at their gatherings is being replaced more and more by CDs played very loudly. On the other hand in East Europe there are many Gypsy buskers that typically turn up at holiday events and gatherings. In Romania I have seen Gypsy musicians hired to play at weddings (this is a real treat as the times I have seen them at weddings they have played heavily ornamented tunes on panpipes at a blistering speed).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W9R3vpvH2o&feature=related [Hungarian music played by Romanians in a Gypsy style]

Jamming with Gypsies on your whistle - Having D, C and Bb whistles in your rucksack is a good idea. Learning their tunes can be a real challenge BUT you can jam along, as you put it. It will help a lot if you can play your whistle chromatically, and if you can improvise and play by ear quite well.

IMHO it is well worth buying a doumbek or riq and learning some of the amazing rhythms in E Europe and the Middle East. Istanbul is one of the best and cheapest places to buy instruments and many musicians in E Europe go there to buy their instruments. There are about 40 music shops near the Galatia Tower and they can also be very helpful in teaching you (in English) how to play various things esp if you look like a promising customer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq6z4xQAGlU&feature=related [doumbek - must see!]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gag_Z1cFgeA [riq - more compact for your rucksack]


If you visit a Gypsy camp with a doumbek you probably find that even the kids there can wipe the floor with you with the rhythms they can play but it’s great fun and they will teach you things. DON’T visit camps at night!!! DON’T give gifts or money!!!

Gypsies will want to play your whistles and it is worth having a spare as TB is an issue. They tend to play them in a style very different to western music as do the shepherds and other folk musicians in E Europe and the Middle East.

Wherever you go in this region find out where the cafes and tavernas are that have live music at night as these are great places to meet other musicians.

In Anatolian Turkey and Middle East if you want to experience live music try to get yourself invited to a wedding. These can be a week long so there will be several opportunities to listen to music. If you see one just go nearby and show some interest and you are very likely to be invited in to the celebration as hospitality is very important. I managed to get myself invited to one in Syria earlier this year, so it is possible.

Other places for live folk music in the ME are tourist spots and Sufi centers. In a Sufi center (think whirling dervishes) you will definitely not be able to play but it is an amazing experience to get caught up in the improvised flute music played on the ney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt0T0wSILZo [whirling dervish]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt0T0wSILZo [ney music]

Have fun on your travels.

7

Ahava Rabba Mode
D, Eb, F#, G, A Bb, C, D
it is greatly advisable to have a seven hole whistle the brings the C that is below the D note - lots and lots of Klezmer tunes need that note.

Also, A Shifted Ahava Rabba scale might be useful:
A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F#, G
As a lot of tunes descend down to A

If you want to play tunes such as Miserlou, you need this scale:
D, Eb, F#, G, A, Bb, C#, D
This is a *Roma scale, also called Hijaz Kar by Arabic communities.

*Roma = Gypsy, most people are familiar with the slang word “Gypsy” but keep in mind that some people can be offended by the use of it, to some it is like openly using the “N” word.

I’ve made Ahava Rabba Mode Whistles for a number of years.
I do recall Michael Burke making a whistle that was in a Hungarian mode several years ago. - might have been the Roma scale. You would probably have to write him.