I once again tonight fell over Spancil Hill, this time by Christy Moore.. Only no w realising how sad the tune really is - and I have a thing for playing sad tunes, for some reason.
But the only sheet music for the tune I have been able to find, is written for a C-whistle - and since I only own a D-whistle, I logically had some trouble playing it.
So i searched for about thirty more minutes, still not finding anything I could use, so I thought of simply rearranging the sheet music that I already had.
But how is that done? - Do I simply take every note and re-write them a wholetone higher?
you may not have to at all.
Depends on how the original music is written.
That it is written for a C-instrument can be a couple things, especially since it is a whistle/flute.
In our musical nomenclature, we typically will always call the note with all fingers down (6 toneholes covered, that is…not accounting for keys or anything) as the note D…no matter is we are on the Bb flute or the D whistle.
However, in reality as we know, that note may be fingered as D…but the sound is Bb or D (using the example above…but let’s say D or C whistles…would be D or C sounds on the D fingering)
So…
if the music is written for the C whistle…and is written in the KEY OF C…(no sharps/flats),…then the note C would be fingered with all 6 fingers down…the note D would be 5 fingers and so forth…
I doubt that’s the case. Most whistle/flute music is written with the tonic D in mind, we use a different instrument and instant transposition.
If the MUSIC is in the key of C…that’s a different matter. You’d still finger it in the normal manner as a D whistle and get the Key of C.
If you played that music on a C whistle and fingered it as a D whistle is fingered…then you’re actually playing it in the key of B-flat
So…what to do?
You can play the tune AS WRITTEN in the Key of C…on a C-whistle…by fingering the music note C as the fingered note D (on a D whistle…since that’s the fingering that would produce the sound of C)…and finger the note for D as E, etc, etc…
OR
Raise the tonic of the MUSIC in C to D…by a whole tone…and finger as written…
but then you are playing the tune in D, not the C.
Wanna have it in C sounds?
Transcribe the music (if it’s written in C) to the key of D (up a whole tone)…THEN use a C whistle…finger as you would a D whistle…and now you’re playing it in C
It ain’t that complicated…trust me…
just takes practice.
my big musical skill is getting a group of people who may or may not be using the same music to play in the same key. i am the only person in the group who does not have formal musical training. the musical instruments are electric keyboards, guitar, whislte, harmonica, and if we’re really lucky, flute and clarinet.
here is a website that offers FREE click and drag music writing and with one click of a button, will also transpose to any key that you choose. www.finalemusic.com. i use to have to handwrite a lot of stuff. those days are over. they also have a software program that costs money that can scan a piece of sheet music and let you transpose and do other stuff to that music.
Just do what you suggested in the beginning, raising everything a whole step. That will be fine.
Seriously, guys, what the heck could “written for C whistle so I can’t play it on my D” possibly mean other than it was written in the key of C? If the problem was “I can play it on my D whistle but I can’t play along with some recording” it would have been a completely different question…
Slight digression - but if you have a tune in ABC format, you can import it into Harmony Assistant (great software - no commercial interest), change the key and it will transpose the entire piece at a drop of a hat!
It’s worth having a go. The first few times it is hard, but once you get to know where the notes are, it becomes quite easy - and you never ever have to worry about finding the sheet music again.
PS Just to add to what you said about transposing - yes, push every note up a whole tone, and I guess it is obvious, but just to note that the b’s will go to c# and the e’s to f#. If you write it with a D key signature (which you would do of course), this all takes care of itself automatically.
But there is indeed something that does just what you want. As part of the abc2midi package (found here ABC Plus, you get this little tool called abc2abc. You just tell it how many semitones you want to transpose, and it does it all for you.
