just a quick question from a newbie
how high are whistles supposed to go? i have a D folk whistle by generation and it gets quite good sound on three different D’s, ie in three octaves and can make a squeeky E and F above the very high D. should it be able to play them ok? cos the high B, C# and D notes on it are also quite squeeky, kinda in between the good sound of the ones below it (in the higher octave) and the awful sound of the ones above it (in the too high octave!). i have tweeked it a bit so far to get most of the notes sounding nice but need a bit of help strengthening the top notes… any helpers? and should those very top notes be playable too?
sorry i said it was quick but it turned out to be long and confusing!!
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Most (folk) tunes will not go above a high B (1st finger down, high octave).
Occasionally they may reach high c or c#.
If you can get higher than that cleanly, great for descants maybe, but you probably don’t need to as a melody instrument.
i have been trying to play pogues songs which (unless my ears are very much mistaken) keep using the full two octaves and spider stacey doesn’t appear to have any problems! Streams of whisky gets to D in the third octave (i think) and I think the Broad Majestic Shannon goes all the way up to very high A (and using a generation!) but I am often wrong with such things!
maybe i should stick to sensible folk songs!
Even if you CAN play those highest notes, nobody will want to listen to them. The third D up is the highest note I ever use.