Got a Bb whistle. (Actually, I first got a tweaked Gen Bb but didn’t like it, so then I got a Susato, which I enjoy much more, but that’s a whole other thread). I’m working through “Hole in the Wall” by Henry Purcell and am stumped by this one:
It calls for an F# in the second octave. Here’s how I analyzed it, which makes perfect sense in my head but sounds AWFUL! The F would be XXOOOO. On a D whistle, that’s analogous to an A. So I ask myself, how would I play an A# on a D whistle. Actually, I asked this board and got the wonderful theretofore unknown [to me] answer: XXOXXO. So I figured I’d try that same alternate fingering on the Bb whistle to produce the F#. Nada. Don’t know why, but that dog don’t hunt.
Any wisdom? Thank you. (Yes I could half-hole but prefer alternate fingerings if available)
Thank you for your reply. It caused me to go back, and I realize now that the “logic” underlying my first post was all wrong. The cross fingering I noted (XXOXXO) was not offered by this board for playing an A# on a D; it was for playing a G#. So now I will try you’re fingering.
I learned “Hole in the Wall” from dot-music transposed to “the people’s key” of G (from an out-of-print book called “Jack’s Maggot” with some lovely old dance tunes with great harmony settings). The problem note of Bb becomes a problem note of D#. The tune does not go so high and fits well on a whistle. Playing the version written in G as Bb then requires a F whistle. Just tried it: it sounds good on a low F, the tune plays an octave lower than playing it on a Bb whistle.
I just tried all the above on my Gen Bb. XOX XXX gives an F# (A# on a D whistle) that is a little sharp but can be blown in tune. X@O OOO (half hole) is more stable once you find the right finger position. XOX OOO is a flat G/very sharp F#. Other combinations of XOX — are varying degrees too sharp.