Meant to ask when enqiring about oiling (qv).
Sweetheart High D whistle, rosewood. Quite large bore.
Can’t figure out fingering for High C, C# & D.. Anything else is out of my league anyway. Can get up to high B (top hole only & and blow hard!)
Don’t really know these particular whistles, but generic basic fingerings are as follows:-
2nd 8ve B - xoo ooo
2nd 8ve C nat - oxo xxx or oxo xxo or oxo ooo
2nd 8ve C# - oxx xoo or possibly ooo ooo (usually flat)
3rd 8ve D - oxx ooo, though on a few whistles oxx xxx is better.
These may or may not be the best (most in tune, best tone, easiest speaking…) on your whistle, but are the places to start experimenting from.
My impressions of the handful of Sweethearts I’ve had goes on over the years are not favourable (air hungry, unresponsive, uneven between octaves, recordery sound, reluctant to go where you’re asking about!..), but I haven’t tried any recent ones and I gather they’ve changed design, so…
Good luck!
Nice, Jem! Actually, the only Cnat fingering that works consistently on all my whistles is different: oxx xxo. On most (but not all), it’s identical to your oxo xxo - i.e., the T3 has no effect. oxx xxo also makes for an easy transition to either of your D fingerings.
The other Cnat fingerings you give are hit or miss for me.
Weird trick: On my Generations, Feadógs, and Burke, the fingering oxx xox can produce both a high Cnat, and a high D by overblowing. And you can almost “warble” between the two notes with breath pressure alone.
Of course, it’s also possible to overblow into the 3rd and 4th harmonic like a tabor pipe for the following series, which is sometimes very convenient:
A xxx xxx (3rd)
B xxx xxo (3rd)
C# xxx xoo (3rd)
D xxx ooo (3rd) or xxx xxx (4th)
Going higher, the following fingerings work pretty well on my whistles:
E xxo xxo
F# xxx xox
G xox xox
CAUTION: I seriously recommend wearing hearing protection when experimenting with fingerings in this 3rd octave range. The earplugs I use give ~22 dB attenuation at these frequencies, which feels safe and comfortable to me.
oxx xxo for C nat is useful too - thanks MT - though it is way sharp on my Gen and on my low D, for both of which oxo xxx is a clear winner, followed by oxo ooo. As you say, it is pretty much an equal choice between oxo xxo and oxx xxo on both my Swayne boxwood and on the Susato I never play. As for Sweetheart, not having one to try, we’ll have to leave that to the owner.
The harmonic overblows you mention are useful too in some fingering sequences, though I don’t often use them myself on either whistle or flute. Incidentally, the (flute standard) C# I gave is actually a vented (assisted) version of the 2nd harmonic of F# you suggest - speaks more readily and is sharper (too sharp on some instruments, but the open fingering and the F# 2nd harmonic tend to be flat).
Similarly with the D fingering - oxx ooo is the correctly vented version of xxx ooo - the 2nd harmonic of G. xxx xxx is the 3rd harmonic of the fundamental D. They all work, but will vary in accuracy of intonation and how readily they speak and tone quality (“wolf” sounds - undesirable partials).
One just has to experiment with the possibilities and find what works best on each individual instrument.
As for the 3rd octave above D:
E can be xxo xxo (often slightly sharp) or xxo oxx (often slightly flat) or xxx xxo (3rd harmonic of fundamental E - overtoney and often hard to break into).
F# is usually xxx xox but can be xox xox
G is usually xox ooo (vented 3rd harmonic of G) or xox oox. (xox xox as MT suggests is mostly flat or even an F#)
A is oxx xxo
You don’t wanna go above that!
Though I usually cross-finger for low c-natural, I always play high c-natural by half-holing. It’s easy enough to do up there, and works reliably on every whistle.
Oops, you’re right. Those are definitely better.
Yes, I half hole, too, when that c’ is the top note of the phrase (e.g., Trim the Velvet). One advantage of oxx xxo is an easy transition if you’re moving up to d’. It also cuts nicely with d’, and you can get a decent c’ roll with
c’ oxx xxo
d’ oxx ooo
c’ oxx xxo
b xxx xxo
c’ oxx xxo
Thanks for all the ideas. Lots of experimenting to do, and LOTS of practice