What do you do when playing music that has written notes that are lower that D?
Do you:
I know this is a dumb question, but I’m a newbe.
Thanks,
Dwight
I usually bump the note up an octave. Usually. You can also simulate the low d on your whistle by burping out the low note at the appropriat time.
At the risk of revealing how slim my grasp on theory is, I would still guess that your question can be understood in two ways:
Question 1. What do you do if you have, for example, some sheet music for a tune you like and a distressing number of the notes are below the d on the staff paper? If you want to play it badly enough, I guess you would transpose it up as many steps as necessary and/or to a key that does not result in an inordinate amount of ‘accidentals’. There was a recent cite on the Board here, which I am still wading through. I do not remember the thread, and this is an admittedly blatant and un-attributed re-posting of the valuable link:
http://www.geocities.com/novairishsession/modes/modes.htm
Question 2. You want to play along with a tune you have on CD, but there are a few notes that are definitely below the ‘d’ on your ‘d’ whistle, for example, but most of the tune ‘sounds right.’ A good example of this would be the Andy McGann fiddle rendition of The Reel of Mullinavat, an accurate transcription of which would show two ‘b’ notes that are the b’s below low D on staff paper, i.e., the D on your whistle when all the holes are closed. We simply played those two b’s as the first octave b on the whistle and that was that. I would not guess that this tactic would work if there were more than a spattering of such ‘below the belt’ notes. However, it sounded OK when playing along with the recording, which I think counts for something.
Tom D.[/b]
I think it depends on what the note is, and what the implied chord structure is. If it’s an C# and you think it’s a leading tone back to D, then maybe just play an E, then back to the D. A lot of times though it’s easy to do as V.B said and just jump up an octave. Maybe throw in a Cran., (an ornament that just sort of fills in time and space, not really of a definite pitches). Really, just experiment around a bit and see if you can come up with something that sounds reasonable, you’ll figure it out as you go along.
Yo’ Monster!
I’ve heard there were (and, maybe, still are) guys in the old west who carried around Tubas with them, which they would whip out for those times when the notes went lower than their whistles would play. There is some evidence that the quickness of hand required for such a maneuver led some of them quite naturally into the better paying realm of the quick draw artist and gunslinger. Is there any truth to that?
Speaking of Tuba players: What is the difference between a Tuba player that gets run over and a rattle snake that has suffered the same fate?
Tom D.
One of them makes a decidedly more pleasant thud ? 
Nay Tom,
Tis not so. There was a time when all the tuba playing whistlers considered careers as gunslingers they wisely decided it was better to sling hash ( and therefore opened many waffle houses,) and later they branched out into laundro-mats and speed metal bands. Some became philosophers, others psychiatrists, and a few started religions that were based on Pythagorean whistle and euphonium harmonies, it wasn’t easy for Pythagoras and the pioneers since the euphonium and the whistle hadn’t been invented yet, but they worked hard, and soon after, everyone became used to being paid on Friday.
As for the flattened rattlers and tubists, we have a team of scientists with air pumps working to re-inflate said individuals, a full report, along with an update of the Kyoto protocol will be submitted to the supreme court justices along with a refurbished 1972 AMF deluxe “pigskin” basketball in red, white and blue colors, in October of 05, when my current credit card expires the truth will be revealed. Don’t worry, everything is under control!!
Thanks for the tips. It’s not as hard as I had feared.
Dwight
Dwight - another option (especially if you are not the only instrument playing) is to add a “harmony” note instead of the intended note. For instance, if the note you need is the A below the whistle cut-off, you could play an E (you could also play a C#, but would probably be too high). The best way to figure this out is to know the three notes (the first, third, and fifth) that go into a chord, using the note you “needed” as the root note (first) and the one you play as harmony either the third or fifth.
ANSWER:
The Rattlesnake was on his way to a gig.
Let’s get back to that “below the belt” note. Wouldn’t that sound an octave too low? And the tone stinks, besides.
If the key signature is in D (##) try an A whistle.
In G (#) a G whistle.
Silkstone has a PVC G+A whistleset. Makes sense.
Don’t get it. What octave too low?
What? I don’t get it, what kind of gig would a rattlesnake have?
Uh, and what kind of notes do we produce below the belt?
If it’s just an occasional note below D, often some note above D can be substituted without too much disruption of the melody flow. Likely candidates would be notes in the corresponding guitar chord if the music has them.
Just for the sake of accuracy and safety, I’m taping a low D whistle to my high d whistle when I play from now on.
At the session I go to, we call those notes below the bell note a chance to take a breath. If there are a lot of them(and I still want to play the tune), I use an A whistle.
I discovered a way to play sort of a C# below low D,if you have a whistle like a Waltons,or other cylindrical whistle with not too much distance between the lowest hole and the end. If you cover all the tone holes,and then reach down with your pinkie,and cover the bell note hole about halfway,you get sort of a C#.It’s hard to do fast,but I’ve used it on “The Castel of Dromore” and such.
Sorry if you know about this already.
Best,
-Kelly