My church has asked me to play a descant part of a song on the whistle. The song is in the key of E, the notes I need go from F# above middle C to the F# an octave higher.
What’s the best way of getting the G# and D#? Is there any way to do this on a D whistle (because that’s my “better” whistle)? I do have some other keyed ones - what is the best choice for this?
I wish the director would just let me play it on the dulcimer! I have a chromatic, so it would be no problem…
Thanks for any help.
Hi, Missy.
If you’re using an E whistle, the G# and D# should be easy to play: G# = XXXXOO D# = OOOOOO.
I don’t think you’ll be able to use a D whistle unless you have a tunable one and you can push it in far enough to tune it to E. Its probably easier to use an F whistle and pull it out far enough to tune to E.
You could play the tune on a D whistle but you’d have to half hole to get the D# and the G#.
D# = XXX XXD
G# = XXD OOO
D = half covered hole.
Try pushing your 2nd and 3rd fingers close together to get a G#
Is it a fast or slow piece, are you mic’d up and who else is playing?
Check how many D# and G#s there are too, if there are only a few it may not be that difficuilt. You could try changing a few of the tricky notes to make it easier, especially if you are playing with a few people eg move a G# to an E or a B (try both and see what fits) and try moving a D# to a F# or a B.
Hope this helps
I often play in the key of E on a D whistle in church rather than use my higher pitched E whistle, and found it is quite easy as you only have to half hole with the third fingers of each hand.
You play whistle at your church group?!?!? 
Sure! Some of the most powerful contemporary Christian music today incorporates the whistle.
Wow, i never heard the whistle played in any hymes, i bet it would sound good, do you happen to have any clips of you playing with your group, you got me interested now 
You provided an important clue here. As this is a descant part, you can (and probably should) substitute a different note for the leading tone (in this case, D#), wherever it may occur. This leaves the notes E, F#, G#, A, B, and C#. All of these are readily accessible on a D whistle except for the G#, which is an easy half-hole. I would probably use an E or A whistle here and avoid all half-holing, but if your D whistle is that much better, you should go ahead and use it.
Your daily dose of music theory. 
Sure it’s not in F# minor? Doesn’t matter. I’d play it on a B whistle (an O’Brien) but I’d need a mic. If you like half-holing, use your favourite D; if you want it easy, use an E whistle. Either way, do what’s comfortable for you.
Good luck!
BrassBlower
Teach please. Why a different note for the leading tone in a descant part? And what would normally replace it?
Thanks
Thanks for all your suggestions.
After working a bit with Tom (who plays a r^&*%@r) we’ve decided he’s going to take the main notes of the descant part, and I’m going to do a harmony note to match him, leaving out the pesky half holing. I’m actually not having too much trouble with the G#, but the D# is still kinda hit or miss if I catch it. So we figured the best way is to just eliminate it!
After this weekend, I need to switch to the hammered dulcimer and practice for Christmas. We’re going to do some of the prelude - Star of the East and Carol of the Bells.
Thanks again!
It’s probably more of a personal preference than anything. When I play a leading tone, my ears and fingers immediately want to go to the key note, and that often turns out to be incorrect. 
It depends on the chord being played. I usually play the root note of the chord.
I guess it’s all up to the individual but I play in the key of ‘E’ best with my ‘A’ whistle. It takes a few half holes but it’s not too bad (depending on the tune, of course). Good luck! 
I’ve been playing whistle at church for about 15 years. That’s probably even before it was “cool”.
Mark
I don’t have anything material to add to the subject matter at hand. I just thought I’d pop in to say howdy to another Cincinnati whistler!
I just completed a CD project using my whistle on “Songs of Deliverance”. Go to this link and click on the song to listen to a sample:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/surrenderwb
This is more of a haunting “Titanic” sound rather than a reel or a jig, but it fits well into the song. Enjoy!
FYI - I didn’t have a score, but rather, I simply closed my eyes and let the melody flow!