Hello
I looking for recordings (I mean something which is on the internet) of low whistle in B. I know that key is unusual but maybe some of you know any…
Regards
Adam
Hello
I looking for recordings (I mean something which is on the internet) of low whistle in B. I know that key is unusual but maybe some of you know any…
Regards
Adam
By low B do you mean low as in lower pitched than a low D or low C whistle?
Or would you be looking for B below the common high C whistle?
B whistles just below the high C whistle are not that uncommon. I would not call it a low B though. They get used for playing with flat sets of pipes on occasion and for playing in the key of E, usually with guitar in my experience. I’ve made a few of those myself and I also play a Burke whistle in B made of brass.
The low B below the low D/C is pretty rare in my experience. A low C is about as much as I can handle without resorting to keys. I’ve never had a call for one either.
Feadoggie
I mean B below low D whistle I know there is no one and only nomenclature, Colin Goldie called this key baritone B for example.
I know some of makers make high/soprano B, I like this key but I’m looking for low B because I “enter” into trad. swedish music and in my head almost every tune sounds well only on low B whistle. So I wonder how sounds Goldie’s low B or whistle from any other maker if someone exept of Colin make one in this key… Maybe some of you know that.
Yes, I am aware of Colin Goldie listing a low B whistle. I’ve never seen one personally. Low C is about as low as most makers will take things. As I said above, the finger stretch on a low C is as much as most hands can deal with. But that hasn’t kept makers from experimenting with lower keys than that. The physics still works. I have no knowledge of clips on YouTube or elsewhere of a low B whistle. It’s just a rare key at that low a pitch.
There are a number of videos on YouTube of folks playing low C whistles which are pitched only a half step higher than a baritone B whistle. You can search for some of those if you have not already done so. I’ve owned a few low C whistles (Howard, OS Chieftain and Burke) and they can be difficult to play if you do not have large hands. But they are still playable and I would think a low B whistle wouldn’t be a lot more difficult.
Bass whistles present two ergonomic problems to their design. First, optimal hole sizing could result in an unmanageable finger stretch. Some makers offer keys to help solve that issue. The second issue is that the whistle’s overall length sometimes makes it difficult for an average sized player to reach the holes using a direct blow head and an a straight pipe. Of course a bocal or fujara type windway can solve that.
You have probably found the videos by Hatao playing his Goldie made bass G - yes, low low G. That should give you some impression of what a bass Goldie whistle can sound like. And it should give you some sort of impression of what it takes to play such a low whistle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESr6jrVSSuk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGAXe1p-KN4
Then there is this video on a Goldie bass A whistle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeEYEr5dG3o
There is another radical way to get to the sound of a baritone B whistle. Play an everyday B whistle through a mic and use software to pitch shift it down an octave. That would probably be what I would do if I were asked to play a piece pitched that low.
Good luck with your quest.
Feadoggie
I own and play a low B whistle, made by Overton. It is large, but I’m able to play it much like you would play a low B or Bb flute.
I had a Low A Chieftain for a brief time, virtually unplayable and whisper quiet.