Spent the weekend making a low D using the directions at http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/low-d.htm. I had the materials around the house and thought I would try this before I spent the money on a commercial whistle. It went very well and ended up with a nice mellow tone. However I am amazed at the finger stretch needed to play. I am 6’3" with corresponding hands. I have had no problem with GHB, piano. etc., but this is impossible even using a piper’s grip. Do commercial whistles require this much stretch?
Use Peter Kosel’s Flutomat calculator and tweak the hole diameters to bring them closer together. It’s a kind of trial and error process at first. http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/flutomat.html
(edit) Larger diameter tubing will also bring the holes closer together. That’s how I’m dealing with a low-F I built for Sandy Jasper, who has small hands. I couldn’t get them close enough without using really weird sizing, so I went from 7/8" to 1" tube, and they’re all falling into place nicely!
You can safely ignore the embouchure hole size, and take your length measurement from the bell end of the fipple plug to come out with near-perfect tuning. To be on the safe side, add a half-inch just for some slack. Trim to exact bell note, then measure the fingerhole placement. The distances given are from the end of the bell to the center of the hole.
Let us know how you come out!
Cheers,
Bill Whedon
I’m a whistler, and I’m Okay!
[ This Message was edited by: serpent on 2002-12-02 14:40 ]
