Sorry if this has been posted before, but I got kind of curious about the Overton modal whistle… It is a soprano C or D (comes in both) whistle that kan play, in case of the D version; the C below D and an F natural. It has two extra keys for dong this. It costs 20 euro above the ‘normal’ soprano whistle (145 euros).
So my question is: does it play as well as an ordinary whistle, then? I mean, with these extra holes and all; isn’t it possible that it would get instabilities of some kind somewhere…? It has a thumb hole on the flip side, for instance… hmm-hmmm…
I’ve never played one of these whistles, but I do play a Burke brass D and C, both with thumb holes on the back for the C natural and Bb, respectively. My experience is that there is no instability whatsover, and in fact the thumb hole allows for an unbelievably true pitch for the C nat’l as well as possibilities for ornamentation that are much more difficult with ordinary fingering for the C nat’l. I also have a Copeland G with a thumb hole for the F natural and feel exactly the same way about that whistle. For what it’s worth, even though only tangentially related…
Yes these whistles have been discussed before. Why not try using the search feature before asking a question? Enter “Overton modal whistle” in the search box, select “Search for ALL terms” and away you go.
Here are a couple of threads to get you started - there are others too.
In summary, they’re fine. You need to get used to the thumbhole placement (a little lower than where most people naturally put their thumb). But I think that, to get the most out of the instrument’s extra possibilities, you’ll need to do some serious practice to get used to the fingering (and thumbing) and to work out for yourself what can be done with them.
Luckily they work just fine as an ordinary D, too. Good for loud sessions. Warm them up before playing, and then keep them warm every now and again by blowing hard through the mouthpiece with a finger covering the window. Colin recommends doing this before and after every tune you play.
