Im frustrated!! My Howard is a pain in the proverbial, when it comes to playing the high A and B . I have to blow my lungs out to get these notes sounding good. I can handle the problem when playing slow to medium paced tunes, however when playing fast jigs and reels where the melody line has intervals apart (eg highB to f# or further apart), I struggle to play the following notes as a result of pushing lots of air through the mouthpiece. Thus killing the tune.
Does anybody who owns a Howard Low D have,or have had these kind of problems??
If this problem is due to the whistle itself, rather than me and any kind of musical defficiancy that I have, then i think its time for me to move to another and better low D. Can anyone suggest some GOOD low whistles?? I have read a review from the C+F of the Overton?? I would love to read any comments that you whistlers have on this whistle.
Howards do take a lot of air in the upper octave, which might not be to everyone’s liking. I, for example, seldom play my Howard anymore, precisely because of this characteristic.
Most low Ds I have tried are more “easy blowers” compared to the Howard. The easiest blower I have tried is a Dixon.
Do you know how old your Howard is? A few years ago Howard changed the mouthpiece design, making the upper notes easier to reach. I used to own one of the newer Howards, and it wasn’t too bad, so perhaps you have the old style head. If that’s the case, you can call or write Howard Musical Instruments (sorry I don’t have the contact info any longer) and they can send you a new mouthpiece which will still fit the old bodys. I don’t know how much they’ll charge you, the were kind enough to send me a free replacement at one point when I had a problem.
I have a new one and will send photos of the head if you want to compare. For what its worth, this newish player has similar problems to yours but I’m not quite at your frustration level about it.
Would you mind posting those photos to this thread? I’ve got a Howard that I’m mostly happy with (I’m not a big low-D fan in the first place) but I’m curious which it has.
The Whistle Shop also sells a separate Howard Low D head. I don’t know if its the new head or not but they’ve got a picture that you could check. Thom should also probably know.
I haven’t really had any problems of that kind on my Howard until I get up to high C natural and up. For me the notes are very unstable up there and I have to use very precise breath or you get a wonderfully disgusting sound. I have notices that mine has a tendency to play pretty sharp, have to pull that mouthpiece way out, and the low D & E are not as strong as I’d like them to be. I dunno, maybe I’m just a big blowhard…
I’ve had the same problems with my Howard. I think one reason is that the holes are so darn big. If you don’t get a perfect seal (and even with piper fingering you may not) it can sound pretty bad. It’s really too bad, because they have a really unique sound. I rarely play mine any more because my Dixon is so much more versitile. Steve
Hi Andy, I have two Howard low Ds.
They’re both easy to play in the
second octave. I like them very well.
You may have a defective
mouthpiece. Might want to contact
Howard. Best, Jim
When I first got my Howard low D, I faced the same difficulty in getting a second register A or B. Someone (probably was through C & F) told me about a “standard” fingering for Howards:
B XOOXXX
C# OOOXXX
These have made a huge difference in my level of enjoyment on the Howard.
As I am at work, and don’t have a Howard in my hands, I can’t tell you if this works for the A or not.
Best of luck,
Well, I’m not sure where I can post my photos so they can be directly linked to this board, but here’s a link you can follow to find them: http://photos.yahoo.com/jvnn
Thanks everyone for your replies.
Firstly, i have a black Howard, ands its only around a year or so old, and as far as i know, is the improved Howard from the one that was made a few years back.
I will try that fingering for the high A and B, but regarding the hole sizes, i find that I cover them well even with smallish hands.
To MARK02, with the fingering you suggested, I have a question regarding how you go playing fast tempos using that fingering.
IF anyone can give me some advice on other whistles (like Overton??) that would be great. I dont really know what to look for and where to go?
Well let’s see…yup, no problem with my Overton Big Hole Tenor D. I don’t have Colin’s standard Low D so I can’t comment there, but my BHD sounds amazing and is easy to reach the B,A, and sharp. Colin did mention that the BH “can” be easier in upper register. I can’t imagine there being a problem with his standard though. Maybe not as warm sounding? I know Loren has both of Colin’s Tenor D’s so he would know more about this. Your going to have to send Loren something in return though. He got out of the review buisness a while back
Seriously, If your pondering the Overton, don’t think twice. You can’t go wrong.
Have you tried opening the topmost tonehole just a little when playing certain notes in the upper octave. It acts as an octave key does and requires less air to hit the note in the upper octave.
Ive tried that yes, but you really need to seal the hole properly otherwise the note sounds even worse. I haven’t played other low D whistles, aside from my Howard, but the tone of the top note in particular the high B, sounds YUCK. The tone sounds really forced, with too much air.
I guess that is why after serious thought, I have decided to get another low D. Just dont know whats good and whats out there.
See ya
andy
There are a bunch of good Low D’s out there to choose from: The Dixon is a great whistle for the money, The Copeland, Overton and Burke whistles are all fantastic, and all quite different from one another. There are others as well. My suggestion is to search the archives for “Low D”, “Low Whistle”, and the names of the whistles like “Burke” or whatever that you might be interested in. There’s a ton of detailed info on these various whistles in the archives - including observations/opinions on the differences between the Big Hole and standard Goldie Overton Low D’s
Thanks Loren, I might take your advice and begin reading earlier low D posts. I didnt realize that the Overton has a big hole whistle and a “goldie” made whistle. HHMMM, I guess after the Howard the big hole couldnt be that tough!! Ill check it out. I wonder whether the whistles have different tones/sound qualities/ease of use, etc.. Another thing Ill have to look at.
Thanks all, for your posts on this subject, it is appreciated.
See ya
Andy
I don’t seem to have a problem with the notes but I never play anything fast on mine. Just personal preference really, the sound seems too mellow for livelier tunes.
