I have been playing this beautiful tune/song by Kate Rusby on my guitar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS_BlryH1BQ Although I play music, I don’t understand the mathematics of it and play by ear. On the guitar with a capo on the first fret I can play along with C F G Am Em G etc
The tune itself is quite simple on the whistle and I can play it. But not along with the track
Can anyone tell me which key the whistle being played is? I have tried D,C,F,G and Bb whistles and have to half hole.
Assuming that your guitar is in tune, it seems like the tune is being played in C#.
That may explain why you’re having a difficult time finding a whistle to play along (although perhaps the head on your C whistle could be pushed in far enough to get to C#, or maybe the head on the D could be pulled out enough). Time for a whistle capo…
I just played the song, pulled out the guitar and it is indeed in C# as noted by Steve. The two part whistle breaks are very, very nice (as is the case on many of Rusby’s songs).
Yeah, use a computer/software to pitch shift the recording. C# and Ab whistles aren’t the most common keys to have on hand.
When you play accompaniment for a vocalist the key is dictated by the singer’s range and comfort. C must have just been too low, I would guess.
I really like Kate Rusby’s music. What’s the quote from the movie Llewyn Davis? “If it was never old and if it was never new, then it’s a folk song.” Good stuff. It never gets old.
'nuff said. Got that? That question has been answered.
Now there are two whistle parts in the recording, one lower than the other. I’m not going to sit down on this beautiful holiday to figure the parts out, sorry. But, I am assuming, with the guitar playing in D (capo 2nd fret playing first position C chord shape), you would use a D whistle for the higher pitched part along with perhaps an A (or maybe a low D) for the lower pitched harmony part. At least that’s where I’d start working on it.
No,not at all.
If you play the guitar in C, no capo, you might be able to play the lower harmony part on a G whistle. G whistles play in G, using the basic scale with no half-holing of cross-fingerings, and in C, provided you play the F nat note by either half-holing or cross-fingering it (like C nat on a D whistle). But the higher, more dominant whistle part, is probably played too high to sit on a low G. You would use a high C whistle for that, I think.
If you capo up a whole step, two frets, from C you would be playing guitar in D. High part would likely be played on a high D and harmony on an A whistle (guessing, without sitting down and figuring out where the notes actually sit).
Yes, Feadoggie described it well. In case it’s still not working out, if you capo 2nd fret and play this …
…Am
Fare thee well,
…G… C
Fare thee well and adieu,
…G
Fare thee well,
…Am …G
With this song I’ll be gone,
…C
Fare thee well.
… it will be in D (although she doesn’t tend to use typical chord structures). You should be able to use a D-whistle for both the main whistle part and the harmony. I transcribed the whistle parts in D but am unsure of copyright issues with posting it publicly, so feel free to PM me if you’d like me to send you a copy.
and play by ear. On the guitar with a capo on the first fret I can play along with C F G Am Em G etc
but second fret doesn’t work on ‘D’ whistle