Playing an Ab on a D Whistle

Whistle
1

I was playing Lully Thou Tiny Child in A minor on a D whistle recently and needed an Ab or a G#. I found one I didn’t know existed, I haven’t been playing too many years. It is like this

X
X
O
X
X
X

If you know the song, it is the third note of the song, on the word Thou.
Does anyone else use this note often, it takes a bit of internal tuning to get iot just right because it plays a little sharp.
Let me know if you guys use this much.

Tim

2

I know you didn’t ask for more fingerings but I thought this page (linked from the Chiff & Fipple Main Webite) may be of interest to you.

http://www.stainedglass.org/other_pages/tinwhistle/whistle_main.html

3

I leave the bottom three fingers off and half-hole the note…I use this a lot. The design of your whistle makes a difference here.

4

I only just found a tune that needed the G sharp. The White Cockade in Ralph Sweet’s collection “The Fifer’s Delight.” The cross-fingered method sounds weak and wrong on both my Susato and my Sweetone. Half-holing works really well, though. Not as fast as I hope it will one day be, but it sure was neat to find another note on my whistle that I didn’t think I could play before.

-Patrick

5

The note also is useful on Greensleeves
in the same key ( 'What Child is This?).
Some whistles
one can crossfinger; often one must
half hole.

6

I like to use cross fingering for the lower octave and half holing for the upper octave - that gets the best tone and intonation for me. If I’m not caring about tone/intonation because it’s a fast passage), I usually half-hole - after a little work, it became easier.