Recently got to borrow a low d whistle for a bit, and I was wondering, is the hole/finger spacing comparable to the UP chanter? I know the bottom pinky and the top thumb get involved as well, but for the holes that are there? If so, how come the low whistle isn’t recommended as an intro/practice tool for learning UP?
The fingering for a whistle is erm…fingering for a whistle.The fingering for Uilleann Pipes is different frae that of a whistle.Similar some say but nontheless different
If ye want to learn the Uilleann pipes then ye get a practice set of Uilleann Pipes.
If ye want to learn the whistle then get a whistle…
I suspect that is the reason .
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
The stretch is worse on my low D whistle than it is on the D chanter I used for comparison - and the tone holes on the whistle are larger than those on the chanter. I imagine that’s because the whistle has a cylindrical bore while the chanter bore is tapered or conical. Tone holes on my conical bore wooden flute line up almost exactly with the chanter tone holes.
Larger holes and a longer stretch make my low D unattractive as a “practice tool” for the pipes. Sometimes I’ll use a whistle as a practice tool to get a basic tune under my fingers, but that generally only happens when I need to be quiet in the house. Otherwise, I think it’s just as easy to use the chanter itself as a practice tool.
My Bb chanter has a rather similar stretch like the lowD, my concertD chanter’s stretch should be comparable with a lowG or lowF I think…
Thanks for the replies, very informative, and encoouraging, if I ever decide to give uillean pipes a try. I was indeed talking about the spacing; I know the fingering is different. Smaller tone holes would indeed make things easier. I had just wondered, since people are often encouraged to learn whistle before they learn uillean pipes. Nice to know even the Bb chanter should be manageable for me. Thanks again…
This is quite wrong.I have never encouraged nor have I been encouraged to learn the whistle prior to learning the pipes.The whistle is a handy wee tool for learning tunes on not uilleann piping…
Slán Agat
Uilliam
In case you decide to get a Bb set/chanter, ask your maker prior to ordering if he can send you the finger spacings of his Bb chanter. Then copy the spacings on a piece of paper and fix it on your low whistle. Then try to cover the imaginary holes.
The toneholes of flat chanters usually are small or very small, so it’s just the spacing that makes the decision.
For example, my pipemaker offers two spacings for his Bb chanter model, one after Egan and one after Kiernan. The Egan has a wider spacing (actually very very, very wide!), very small holes and a softer tone, in contrast the Kiernan has a comfortable spacing (I have the Kiernan spacing), slightly bigger holes and a somewhat louder tone. But it’s the same bore.
Hope that helps. 
That’s surprising, all the Egan spacings I have measured are narrower than the Kiernan chanters I’ve seen. I don’t have Egan Bflat tonehole data to hand, but his C tonehole spacing isn’t particularly wide (though it’s wider than Coyne), I wouldn’t have expected Egan’s Bflat to be a lot wider.
Gabriel, would you be so kind as to measure the right hand spacings on your chanter? Just the right hand, as I don’t want to ask you to publish Chris’ measurements , but I’d like to compare the right hand with other Egan and with Kiernan B. The Kiernan B chanter I have in front of me measures 106.7 mm center-to-center from the g finger to the lower e finger; that seems rather wide to me.
regards
Bill