I am an upper beginner. One problem I can not overcome is the squeaking sound that comes from changes of fingerings from say a middle D to the lower octave B on a D whistle, where you go from nearly all holes covered to only one covered. At the moment of lifting the fingers it makes a squeak, and I’m certain it’s in the way I’m doing it but I cannot seem to find a way to keep from squeaking. I find myself compensating by giving it a slight tongueing but I know thats just cheating and I often want to have no tongueing.
Is it finger pressure? Or is it a unevenly lifting or dropping the multiple fingers?
If I haven’t explained myself well enough, I’ll try again.
Hmmm…My Oak whistle does this going from middle D to lower B but I hadn’t noticed this until you mentioned it. I kind of like it myself…it’s a nice little rough edge. Almost sounds like you’re cutting the B. I would bet that Generations do this too. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
-Brett
P.S. Based on the new posts below, maybe you’re talking about a bigger squeak than I thought…mine just does a little high pitched “blip” for an instant before the B sounds.
“A jug of wine, A leg of lamb,
And thou! Beside me,
Whistling in the darkness.”
[ This Message was edited by: Bretton on 2003-01-11 23:21 ]
It’ll even out with time. Sometimes I get that squeak still but not always. I think it’s a combination of finger precision and breath control.
Instead of going from OXXXXX to XOOOOO you can try cheating and going from OXXXXX to XOOXXX - just swap the left hand fingers. Most whistles should let you do that without affecting the pitch - but it’ll depend on the surrounding notes for whether it’s a useful substitution or not.
That’s a bad habit to get into Tyg…I got that habit from my laughing, which is very lenient about that - but almost all my other whistles won’t let me do that. I’m currently trying to un-train myself and get back to venting correctly.
Especially on low whistle, it makes a difference…if you don’t vent the second D you get a really nasty overtone sometimes.
One thing that seems to help me is making sure the whistle is supported…that way I can get all those fingers off cleanly and avoid a squeak. Try keeping your bottom finger down, so you’re going from OXXXXX to X0000X. Those four middle fingers will come off more cleanly if they don’t think they’re about to lose their grip on the whistle.
Just practicing going back and forth helps too. Usually the problem is either not getting the fingers off cleanly or overblowing the B…doing an exercise where you switch back and forth from 2nd octave D to 1st octave B (maybe starting with quarter notes and progressing to eighth notes) can help a lot in both departments.
Read what Brother Steve has to say about D to B transitions in the “High D (second octave)” section of http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/notlifting.html
If you go from a vented D to a B, you are doing what Bro. Steve calls a “complete oil change”, which, as all backyard mechanics know, can be pretty messy.
I.e., Tyghress has the right idea.
[ This Message was edited by: Ridseard on 2003-01-12 00:46 ]
I maybe should have said that the D to B transtion is not the only time I have the problem but it is the worst. Any time I have to cover/uncover three or more holes at once it happens, but the less holes the less pronounced.
Your comments have been very helpful. Thanks you again.
On flute and clarinet they call this “going across the break” (although it happens at different places because flute overblows an octave and clarinet a 12th).
One thing you can practice to help is do eighth-notes from d to B, from e to B, from d to A, from e to A, and any other combinations that give you trouble.
Play this over and over, and start very slowly. It’s like lifting weights: don’t go faster than you can do it absolutely cleanly. At first you may not be able to do it cleanly at all, but don’t worry…do this a little every day, and it’ll clean up quicker than you think it will.
What you are doing is training “muscle memory” in your fingers so they can move with absolute precision.
On 2003-01-11 22:58, avanutria wrote:
That’s a bad habit to get into Tyg…I got that habit from my laughing, which is very lenient about that - but almost all my other whistles won’t let me do that. I’m currently trying to un-train myself and get back to venting correctly.
Beth, what do you mean by your other whistles won’t let you do that? Do you mean generally they squawk on unvented high-D’s, don’t sound at all, only in particular situations, or something entirely different?
I’d been playing for a long time before I even found out about venting the note. I’ve generally never had a problem with it, and only vent when going from Cnat to d. My Burke WBB occasionally squawks if I’m going from first octave A or B to the second octave D, but only when it has a little condensation. I’ve never noticed it in any other circumstances, and like the sound of the unvented d better.
Beth, I haven’t had a problem with it yet, even on my low D, but I admit I may not have as firm a seal on the top hole all the time. If I run into a situation where it won’t behave, I’ll probably have to relearn, but that won’t be nearly as difficult as relearning tongue/slur patterns, and high C nat fingerings.
I concur with the comments on using the un-vented D - I use either method depending on the tune.
The vented D is cleaner, so I always use it in slow tunes, but unvented is fine in Jigs & reels for me. btw I only have cheap whistles (Feadog, Generation, Walton, Clarke etc). Vented is handy in B-c-d runs.