I’m Bill, and I’m not new here, but I’m “Bill”, not “serpent”, I have no intention of ever talking about my work anywhere but in a WTT, or to help someone with technical questions unrelated to my company. My website is not shown, and I will NOT be posting updates about anything. I want to talk about whistles, period, no matter who the maker.
Please allow me to introduce myself anew. I’m Bill Whedon, and I play whistles and love them and the music therefrom. In a chat the other night, someone mentioned nicknames, probably referring to my friend Randy. He and I are not the same person. Randy’s a newbie, and has been an advocate, which I have asked him to please tone down.
I’m not here for arguments. If you want one, please do so via email or PM, preferably with someone else. I will not respond here, and will abandon any thread where anyone tries to start one. I want to talk about whistles, whistling, and how to improve my own playing. I hope to have fun here, doing so. And if you want help with Java or JSP programming, please feel free to email me.
Best wishes,
Bill Whedon
(edited to correct abominable grammar and for clarification)
Cheers Bill.
Glad your back.
I will at least treat you like a normal member of this board and not… hmm, well, a whistle maker .
I hope others will too, and for those who don’t, well it’s their problem.
I think you know when to ignore a person who is beeing an arse.
Welcome back.
Welcome “back”, Mr. Whedon. There is, to my recollection, no history of acrimony between us and I am personally glad to see you choosing to continue to participate.
I also welcome the above intent, not specifically from yourself, but, at this point, from anyone. I’ve never been one to oppose OT posts or threads, but it’d be nce to see the board turn back to a more ‘whistle-centric’ format with a little less gratuitous deviation into the bottomless pits (or, perhaps, ‘pit’) of religion, politics and philosophy.
As for those who may be determined to continue past rancor, I offer the following advice from the Desiderata. “Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.”
May your whistle-centric stay here prove long and fruitful.
Chuck, Henke, thanks for the kindness. I only hope Dale and Rich and Alan see it that way. It is my intention to be a model citizen here. It’s me New Year’s Resolution, in fact!
Hey, I kinda like the “Deteriorata” quote, too… “Avoid quiet and passive persons unless you are in need of sleep”. Still, that’s my target being, and I’m stickin’ to it!
I won’t participate in OT stuff. That way lies madness, and not a few pointless arguments. I like whistles!
My favorite whistle key is alto A, 'cuz I can sing in that key, and 'cuz I can still play what little “D” stuff I know, too! Unfortunately, I don’t know a lot of cool guitar chords around A, but I have Mel Bay to turn to!
There is no whistle that plays in the key that I sing in, nor would there be one if anyone could ever determine what key that might be. Anyone who’s ever had the misfortune of hearing me sing would understand. Suffice to say I was never invited to go caroling twice.
… hmmmmm… last time I checked, I was pretty much the same, but with an improved attitude. Musta been all those years of therapy finally takin’ hold!
Happy New Year!
Lacking all experience with whistles, so far, I’d be interested in knowing, is an alto A really hard to play? How about a high E for playing in A? I’m thinking that I may eventually work out some Bluegrass-style fiddle tunes to play with my mandolin-playing friends, and they like A a lot. (The Whistle Police won’t get after me for that, will they?)
Regarding A on the guitar, my advice is “capo on 2 and play in G”. It’s worked for me through many years of playing in Bluegrass bands.
Hi, Darwin! I love my alto A. It requires a little more finger stretch than a high D, but only a little. PM me if you want exact dimensions.
As far as a high E is concerned, I’ve never played one, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be much more difficult than a high E-flat, which has finger spacing only a teensy bit shorter than a high D. I play a high F all the time, and a high G occasionally (too fat-fingered for regular play).
Anyhow, if you’ve fairly normal-sized hands, neither the high E nor the alto A should pose much of a challenge. Personally, one of the other main features of the A is that I can sing in the same or related key, and then play the thingie to make the sound bearable! (almost)
Cheers,
Hey, thanks, Lawrence!
does yer sing at all? That’s one of the things I like best about the alto A, is that I can sing some stuff in that key. That, and the fact that it lets me go lower when playing in D, … Bonus!!!
Cheers,
I sing all the time, but never when anyone else can hear me. I have no idea what key I’m in or if there even is such a key. I just like the sound and the playability of the alto A. I’m trying to learn Amazing Grace as my first tune on it.
Hey, Martin! “Amazing Grace” is a great starter tune. Gets you all over the notes, and into the second octave, as well. Once you’ve got it down in A, go for the D version on the A whistle to help “get” crossfingering and cuts!
Woooooo Hoooooo!
Hey, Bill - good to see you back. You were missed.
Interesting that this has turned into a thread on A whistles - I think my birthday gift to myself this year is going to be an A whistle - I love my low F whistle, and my tweeked Generation Bb is actually pretty good, but I want something in between.
I’ve heard that A and D whistles playing the same tune (with the same fingering) work well together (or C & G, or Bb and F - same interval) - I was thinking about playing some easy duets with my daughter on D whistle & me on A. (can’t do the reverse - she can’t even finger a Bb well - tiny fingers) . Sounds reasonable, or should I be going for a G instead?
Yeah, Jim, I do have a lot of friends here, and I’ve realized that and hope to, as “BillW” stay with a better line of chat. Like A whistles, for example - my current favorite! I have one, and I swear to y’all that it’s my absolute hands-down favorite for most of the stuff I play!
It isn’t just the singing part - though that’s pretty important to me, but it’s also the fact that I have notes below the bell note on a D whistle, that makes it possible to play along with one without it sounding all “eerie”.
The voice of an A by a maker who also mekes a soprano D, complements the music from both. Also, an alto A’s fingering is close enough to the sopranos to allow for reasonable speed on jigs and reels without killing yourself with work like you do with a low D. Keeping up with “the Kesh Jig” with Carol on a low D is an exercise in futility for me, but I can run circles round her on an A playing in D! (the fact that the Kesh is in G notwithstanding! ) Makes me feel like my fingers have superpowers!
Anyhow, it’s good to be back among friends. Thank you all for the warm welcome.
Cheers,
The whistle equivalent to using a capo is to pick up a whistle in a different key. Use the same fingering that you already learned and the tune comes out in the other key.
I can’t sing a bit.
Well, when I’m drunk I think I can sing. I sang on new years eve. On partys I always end up singing “Old Lang Syne” with a good friend of mine. It always does seem to sound good to us, but I can imagine what other people might be thinking about it .
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I just like the sound and the playability of the alto A. I’m trying to learn Amazing Grace as my first tune on it.