I got myself a Shaw high E today, for no other reason than that I needed an E whistle for a song I’m working on and the Shaw was the most reasonably priced one (in fact, it was the only semi-cheapie E I could find). Now, I have played a number of whistles pitched lower than D, but never a higher pitched one. And boy, now I understand why people tend to go for lower whistles. My ears hurt! Also, I would probably not even be able to play a high G considering an E whistle is this small!
It’s a really nice whistle though. It’s very responsive and has a nice breathy tone, but like its similarly conical all-tin cousin the Clarke original it requires tons of air. Maybe I shouldn’t really be playing Shaws, but I have an WhOA itch that needs to be scratched.
And yes, this is a completely pointless thread really. Just sharing my discoveries as a newbie whistler
I had a go on a high G once, my chubby fingers even held tight together couldn’t cover the holes It was physically impossible for me to play that whistle.
Perhaps a whistle for anyone under the age of ten?
The trick to playing this sized whistle is to completely change the grip. For the top/left hand, curl your fingers and use the tips of your fingers (not the pads). Don’t attempt to support the whistle with your thumb. Instead, rest the tube on the skin fold between your thumb and index finger. In this manner it’s still possible to play top-hand rolls and such without fatigue and a neighboring finger getting in the way. Bottom hand grip was mostly the same for me.
Controlling intonation and preventing eventual deafness is another story.
Acctually, two of my favourite whistle players- Mary Bergin and Gavin Whelan seem to love Eb for solo work. Don’t know why, maybe they find Eb more lively than D, like many flute players do. Now that’s another story.
May I suggest the “flatten the airway” tweak. Descriptions to be found on the main site. I’ve used it to great effect on my Shaw and Clarke whistles.
Lycka till!
Also, you can get a lovely smell from the whistle if you dip the wood plug in
whisky
A high F whistle is good for a lot of early music tunes, that are often pitched in D minor or G minor. Examples are Parson’s Farewell, Childgrove, and Glory of the North (all from Playford). There are also some B flat strathspeys & reels that fall within the F whistle register (try Kerr’s Merry melodies).
The Gen high F can sound a bit shrill, but my homemade copper high F (made from a bit of standard water pipe left over from a friend’s bathroom renovation) has a mellower tone, and a bonus is that the E natural is not sharp, as the Gen’s is. So now I use the copper F most of the time.
‘Hebden Hop’, an original tune written to follow ‘Glory of the North’, can be found in Ramble Through West Yorkshire, a slow travel book which contains whistle-friendly tunes, and which can be purchased from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s website.
The Gen G is too cramped even for my modest-sized hands. I’ll have to try that modified grip.
I do like the Gen Fs and the Eb - especially the fabled ridge-fippled Ebs. Susato also do whistle up at that altitude, but I prefer the sound of the Gens. Just can’t get on with the Susato timbre - it seems to have a nasal edge that I only hear when I play them. I don’t hear it so much when others play them, and other people don’t seem to hear it when I play them. Maybe it’s a proximity thing. Generation high whistles, however, sound great in a painful kind of way.
It was physically impossible for me to play that whistle.
