I have found my fingertips are not as sensitive as they once were … which was not a big deal until taking up the pennywhistle.
Too many blows with the hammer or resting on hot manifolds has taken its toll. My hands and fingers are also pretty fair sized and I cannot “feel” the smaller tone holes, especially the #4 (right index finger).
I’ve actually made my own pennywhistles in C and D so modifying/making new tubes is not an issue for me. Some thoughts I had:
1 - Larger holes, but moved south where needed.
2 - Build up around the hole, kind of like the “F” and “J” key on the keyboard. I know this tends to flatten the note, so maybe the hole will need to be drilled larger.
Looking for input. Option is always there to experiment, but I’m looking to cut a little time and spend it playing rather than building for a while. Building has been fun, though!
try playing infront of a mirror, and watching where your fingers should go, eveuntullay it will be muscle memory and they will know where to go without having to feel the hole, at least I think that might work
I have some nerve damage in my fingers. I find that larger sound holes that are chamfered help considerably. In addition, I found that Overton offers scalloped sound holes that help. If that is of interest, you might email Brigitte or Colin Goldie at Oveton Whistles. Good luck, Cyril.
In his excellent whistle building instructions, Guido Gonzato shows how to groove the finger holes to improve the feel. If you are using PVC or similar plastic for your whistles, I think this would help a lot.
Or you could just buy a whistle from Guido. Very reasonable prices and the construction is top notch. (Pun intended.)
Puns are great … there is something very “left brain” about them.
I do like Quido’s flutes and refer to them frequently while planning/designing my next whistles as my “WHOA” involves building as well as playing. See, 1 hobby and 2 places to pine away your time. It’s almost a bargain!
My whistles are copper (type M) so there is not as much wall to work with as on PVC. That said, I can chamfer the finger holes BEFORE making the last tuning pass so there would be some additional feel.
I feel the need for some quality time with the drillpress coming on later today.
