Oy, it’s aspirin time. Pipe Bender, yer overthinking things … Your intuition about pitch transposition seems sound, so go with it.
When you finger note X on whistle Y, it produces a given (concert) pitch. If that’s the pitch you want, you’re all set. If not, you either finger a different note, or choose a whistle in a different key that will give you the right pitch for that fingering. It’s really that simple.
Hmmm … 53 words.
Part of your problem is your terminology. You use the term “D fingering” to refer to the various scale patterns that you would play on a D whistle. But that’s not how most people would probably use the term. More commonly, “D fingering” would refer specifically to “D scale fingering” - the fingering pattern of the D scale starting on xxxxxx. What you really mean is “concert pitch fingerings” - where the names you give to the notes match their concert pitches. And it just happens to be that, in the scheme of whistle naming, the D whistle is the concert pitch whistle. So you could also say “D whistle fingering”. But you need to be explicit, or you’re going to end up discussing apples and oranges.
Music written in key of C, played using D-fingering described, played on a D, followed by a C, and followed by a G. What key is the sound of the music from each whistle being heard in?
Too much thinking will cause brain rot
Let’s take a single note example in the key of C and assume D fingerings. I’m going to use the note D on the space below the treble staff since if I used a low C you couldn’t play it on the D whistle at all. So for my example:
With a written note of lo D using the fingerings for a D whistle (all six fingers down):"
Whistle Key Sound coming out when D is fingered using D whistle fingering.
D D
C C
G G
Notice it is one note up the scale from the key of the whistle and that only the D instrument produces the concert pitch of D. That pretty much tells you that the given whistles play in the Key they are named for doesn’t it? Now try the same thing with the note G second line of the treble staff and use the fingerings for a D whistle (top three fingers down). The chart shows
Whistle Key Sound coming out when G is fingered using D whistle fingering.
D G
C F
G C
This chart gives you the clue for the “other” major key that can be played easily on the whistles in various keys. Now notice smoething else about these two charts. The sounding note of the C whistle is always one pitch lower than the note you are fingering. The sounding note of the G whistle (assuming a low G whistle) is always four notes lower than the note your are fingering?
Does this make sense? If so you understand things. We could cloud your understanding by remarking that in this case all the whistles but the D will be “transposing” instruments. But you really don’t need to know that.
I’m the one who suggested “go play” before. I still think that is the best solution.
Well I spaced things out so the whistle keys and notes sounded were properly placed under the headers. I hope it is still clear since the site colapsed (sp–too late to think…) my “un-necessary” spaces.
MTGuru - You are right. My choice of a label for concert pitch fingering was unfortunate.
cboody - I agree 100% with your note transposition.
Why I thought music written in the key of C would be different I just don’t know.
In any case if I apply the same methodology I listed in my first post i.e. using “concert pitch fingering” repeated here: #1 - music written in the key of A played on a F whistle will be transposed into sounding in the key of C, #2 - music written in the key of G played on a C whistle will be transposed into sounding in the key of F.
And now using “concert pitch fingering” (with C natural and a half-holed natural F): #3 - music written in the key of C played on a D whistle will sound in the key of C, #4 - music written in the key of C played on a G whistle will be transposed into sounding in the key of F, #5 - music written in the key of C played on a C whistle will be transposed into sounding in the key of Bb.
Now keep in mind I have no music theory background, but I note that in #2 and #4 the outcome is the same which should mean that it doesn’t matter which is which the transposition is the same.
there are formating buttons when yer entering a post B for bold, i for italic
“Code” for leave me columns alone… (go back to one of my posts and click quote so that you can see how I did it)
I like to think of intervals (some say I think in intervals, mostly very short ones ) as opposed to absolutes. If this is the root, then the major 5th is here, etc.
) as opposed to absolutes. If this is the root, then the major 5th is here, etc.