I was trying to get advice about playing a G or F whistle and the musician told me the fingering is a little difficult to get used to on the F whistle but he likes the sound as I do. Can anyone that plays or has knowledge of this explain it to me?
Thanks…Scottie
I assume you mean a low F whistle, not a tiny high F? The fingering is not any different than on other whistles, but an F whistle is the first of the lower whistles which may be a bit challenging if you have smaller hands, i.e. it can be a bit of a stretch. It still is a lot easier than a low D though. If you have small hands you may either use piper’s grip or buy a whistle which has offset holes. I’ve made an “easy reach” low F whistle which has offset holes for L3 and R3, and the R3 hole is a bit smaller and closer to R2.
Thanks Hans for the information. I was not sure what he was saying. I did not think of the long reach. I thought there may have been some strange fingering that a person would use to play it. Since my initial question to him was trying to get advice on whether to get a low whistle in G or F. I heard some of his music and it sounded great in the key of F. I was thinking of the G since I knew it would be easier reach and probably less air needs. I wish I knew someone in this area that had a low F or low d whistle I could check out the reach on. Pueblo, Colorado(USA), is a little town that from what I have been told does not have much Irish activity. I may need to just get some dimensions and drill a few holes in a piece of pvc to check out the reach because I was getting ready to order a low F or low D. I would hate to order one and then find out I have a reach problem.
Scottie, you would find that breath requirements vary from maker to maker. Makers like Colin Goldie are known for efficient air usage if that’s a primary concern of yours.
It is generally true, owing to physics. that the stretch on a low G whistle will be less than that of a low F whistle. Some people can play a low G whistle without piper’s grip. Not me. I don’t know anyone that plays a low F without the piper’s grip but I am sure Wilt Chamberlin could do it. Piper’s grip is a good skill to develop. Some people take to it quickly, some don’t. It’s worth the effort, IMO.
As for which key, both keys are useful keys, IME. I find the low G gets more use personally but the F whistle is very popular due to recent recordings by the likes of Lunasa, Flook, etc. that use the F whistle. If you are in a band and the tunes/songs are in G and C get a low G. If the tunes tend to be in F or Bb get the low F. If you are playing for your own personal satisfaction you can flip a coin - or start with the low G. Just my thinking mind you.
That’s a good idea! I’d promote any kind of whistle making effort. 
Even if you are not interested in making the entire whistle it’s easy enough to calculate hole sizes and spacing using a calculator like TWCalc or Flutomat. You could then drill the holes and see how it feels. Still, there’s no substitute for hearing and feeling how the whole whistle behaves. If you want to go the route of drilling some holes in pipe but don’t want to do the calculation, I could PM you the hole sizes and spacing I use on my own low G and F whistles just to give you a feel. Mind you I kind of like largish holes.
Or you could just look here: http://www.ggwhistles.com/howto/
Feadoggie
I have an Alba low F and I play it without pipers grip and with pipers grip depending on how I feel. It all depends on your hands. I prefer an A whistle for the lower sound. I have a Dixon G whistle that I do not use pipers grip at all. Below the F whistle I have problems, mostly breath problems.
Ron
Thanks for the information Ron. Your info will help me get back into whistling. That is what I have been trying to decide on as to whether I should buy the low d,f or g. All of this is due to a bad experience I had with a Kerry Low D a few years ago. It did have a long reach but the main thing was the massive amount of air needed to play the thing. Through this forum a lot of guys have helped with advice and have shared their own experiences with different makes and keys of whistles which I really appreciate. Thanks again for your information it has been helpful.
Scottie
Thank you Dennis or all of your help. Just send any information at your convenience. Thanks for being on this forum. I appreciate the help to assist me at making the right choice.
Scottie
FWIW:
Finger spread on my G and F whistles are approximately, measuring from hole centre to centre:
G whistle: L1-L3: 63mm, R1-R3: 62mm
F whistle: L1-L3: 70mm, R1-R3: 69mm
This can vary a bit from design to design, by changing hole sizes.
A F whistle designed for short reach can have the spreads reduced by ca 4mm. Offsetting hole 3 and 6 from the centre line further helps for a more comfortable reach, and piper’s grip should not be necessary. Even with standard hole sizes I like to offset hole 6 a bit.
Just as a point of comparison for you, scottie, my dimensions come out to:
G whistle: L1-L3: 66mm, R1-R3: 65.5mm
F whistle: L1-L3: 74mm, R1-R3: 70mm
So you could expect some variation across different makers but the spacing should be grouped around those figures.
Feadoggie
…and while were’ on this subject, i find that’s it’s a good idea “working your way down” to a low D (if that’s what you want to do).
traditionally, the lower the key, the bigger the stretch, and greater the air requirement (at least all with the same brand), so if you’ve tried a low D and think you’ll never be able to play one, get an A or G and play that for a few weeks/months and then try something lower.
You’ll certainly catch a case of WHOA along the way, but logging onto this website will even give you the symptoms thereof…
I measured my F. L1 to L3 is 60 mm and R1 and R3 is 63 mm.
I found this during my trawl for UP vids.
Tunes on F whistles
David
If you want a cheaper way of playing in F, a Gen Bb whistle will do the trick and you won’t need to spread your fingers so much.
Gen Bb? How about a Gen C?
Oops yeah - a C, not a Bb!
Scottie, FWIW I’ve played a low F (Alba) without a piper’s grip. Also played my niece’s Jubilee practice low D and my Dixon low D using a regular hold. My niece uses a modified grip by using her little finger on the bottom hole. My hands are normal size for a 5’6" woman; my reach however is longer than my sister of the long, elegant fingers. The reach may make the difference. dspmusik suggests working your way from one size to the other. As I’ve owned whistles from high G to low D, this may be what I did … but not consciously.
My love of the lower sound was finally satisfied by a Casey Burns folk flute … much easier.
Judy
Great information Hans..thanks. This is very helpful.
Scottie
I just want to say thanks to everyone on the forum that has responded to this post. All of you have been very helpful in assisting me in gaining knowledge and understanding of the low flutes. Thanks again for sharing your own experiences for that gives me additional information to digest and try to understand how it can help me to make the right decision. I just do not want to overwhelm myself and then become discouraged. I want to enjoy myself during this learning experience and then share it with others.
Thanks again,
Scottie