Having recently developed an interest in whistle music, I decided to give the low D whistle a try.
I purchased an instrument in the £80 to £100 range and made a start at the bottom of the learning curve.
The instrument has a very pleasing sound but I immediately came up against a problem when attempting notes in the high octave, in particular the E, F#, and G, they all came out a semi-tone flat !
My first reaction was that I had bought a bum whistle…WRONG !, the solution to the problem was in my own hands (or rather my fingers), i.e having read several articles on whistle playing, one important point which they all made was to make sure that the fingers make a proper seal over the finger holes and with this in mind I was pressing firmly over the holes.
However, this resulted in a small area of the fleshy part of the finger pad
actually extending through the hole to the inside of the whistle tube and could be seen as a small bump when viewed with the tube against a light source.
These “bumps” were obviously affecting the air flow through the whistle, particularly in the upper octave when the airflow is faster as a result of blowing harder.
Solution…don’t press so hard.
Happy New Year to all.
Yes, whistle death grip (pressing too hard) is never a good idea, regardless of any other problems. Use moderate pressure with relaxed hands, and you’ll play with more dexterity and less fatigue.
You don’t say what kind of whistle you have, but it’s hard to imagine that the tiny protrusion of finger pads into the holes would flatten the tuning by a semitone! The protrusion is very small compared to the diameter of the whistle bore. I just tried to reproduce what you describe on my Overton low D, and pressing as hard as possible has no noticeable effect whatsoever on pitch, checked on a digital tuner.
Are you sure that finger pressure is the cause of your problem?
A couple of guesses. Most low whistes take a lot of air in the 2nd octave, more than you might expect if this is your first wind instrument. And insufficient breath pressure could easily flatten a note by a semitone. Breath control is a typical challenge for any beginning whistle player.
Also, it’s possible that your right hand position caused you not to remove your fingers completely from the lower holes, even if you think you were doing so. Try watching yourself play in a mirror, and check that you’re lifting your fingers clear of the instrument.
Another thing: It sounds like you’re using standard grip on the right hand, with the tips covering the holes. That’s fine if you really have very large hands. But most low whistlers prefer to use piper’s grip on the right hand as a more secure and comfortable position, given the wide hole spacing. With piper’s grip, the less fleshy second finger joints cover the holes, so there’s basically no protrusion. Do a search in this whistle forum on “piper’s grip”, and you’ll turn up some discussions. Also, there’s a good how-to description here, with other tips on low whistle playing:
Yes it would be nice to know what make of whistle.
But when you say the “high octave” are you meaning the 2nd register or the 3rd register? Irish whistles were not designed to play in the 3rd register (which many wind players would call the “high” as opposed to the “middle” and “low”). Now some whistles will produce fairly in-tune 3rd register notes but keep in mind that traditional Irish wind technique does not use that register.
If you’re talking the 2nd register, I’ve sure noticed that each low D (and each whistle in general) has its own approach to the tuning of the octaves.
Generation whistles, which for a long time were the only D whistles available, are notorious for their flat 2nd register and generations (!) of whistle players got used to blowing these flat high notes into tune.
In contrast, some new whistles (like Burke and Susato) have relatively sharpish 2nd registers and you have to get used to blowing the low register strongly and easing off on the 2nd register.
I do have a Kerry low D which has an irredeemingly flat 2nd register.
Hi MT and thanks for the comments, all noted with interest.
My whistle is a Dixon (ali tube with ABS mouthpiece).
I have tried (really tried!) various blow pressures but they all produce the same result as previously described. Blowing a flat second octave E, F#, or G and then slightly easing the finger pressure brings out the true pitch,
a strange effect but in my case this seems to be the answer.
I have much to learn and it does appear to be something of a “black art” in some areas.
However, I enjoy the instrument, and that’s the object of the excercise.
