I’ve been looking, but I’ve only found a couple of tutorials out there on putting your fingers in the right position on a low D. Does anyone know of a video tutorial? I think I’m getting it but I would rather not get bad habbits from the get go.
I am happy with my 2 new whistle purchases, though. I picked up the Dixon poly low D to learn on but I had to look at 3 of them to find one that seemed to work best for me. The woman I purchased it form (The Harp and Dragon) was nice enough to let me sift through some. I also picked up one of the new Dixon Trads which sounds really nice.
Let’s see, I think Phil Hardy had some videos of himself playing the low whistle. I haven’t checked out his site lately but i think it’s Kerry Whistles. I could be wrong or there may be differing opinions but i don’t think the finger positions are written in stone; heck, if you could manage to use the fingertips as with the regular size whistle, that would be ok. (not that this will be an option but there is that point when going from higher key whistles to lower that you’ll find the need to change to the piper’s grip, probably around the Bb whistle i think)
Probably piper’s grip with the rt hand angled so that the
wrist isn’t badly bent. R3 closes the hole with the first
finger pad, R2 with the second finger pad, R3 close to the inner
crease of the second. This keeps the rt wrist more straight.
Also one of the reasons I play the flute.
What’s all the fuzz about the piper’s grip. It’s so easy, it’s even meant to make things easy for your fingers and wrist. For me it didn’t even feel awkward the first time I tried it (and I had to because I have an Overton low D that requires it). The piper’s grip has to make your fingers feel relaxed, and it does. Try it, and don’t stretch your fingers and wrist in awkward positions.
I agree that piper’s grip is actually easier on the hands (and pretty easy to learn, too), but my first low whistles (Serpent F and Dixon D) had such easy spacing I was able to get by without it. It wasn’t until I got a Howard D that I had to take the plunge.
Use what feels comfortable. If you find you have hand cramps, reach problems, etc with a standard high-whistle grip, though, it’s a sign that you really ought to switch over.
The Low Whistle Book is quite good - I like the tunes, blurbs, and pics, and it’s aimed at the experienced beginner+ level. The KerryWhistles site’s videos are nice for seeing pipers grip in action, but they’re pretty fuzzy.
As Arnie said, keep it simple and comfortable. The only hard part is feeling the toneholes under different parts of the fingers, but time and practice takes care of that.
Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I’m looking forward to diving into it when I get home (was in Bethlehem for the Celtic Classic). I’m really enjoying learning the whistle and Celtic music. I’ve been a fan for some years now and it’s a nice break away from the music I typically play, write and record. Eventually I hope to put the domain I own back into use after I’ve got some things recorded (celticrock.net).
