Second Octave D Fingering

Whistle
1

Hi All,
New member here.
I’m wondering if there is a “correct” fingering for the second octave D on a high D whistle. I bought a new Bleazey High D a couple of months back (which is lovely, by the way) and the suggested fingering leaves the top finger off, ie:

oxx xxx

I’m self-taught, and learned it as:

xxx xxx

under a small amount of instruction from my parents (“just like a bottom D, but blow a bit harder”).
Is the top one “correct” and the other sloppy? Or is it just down to the individual instrument or player preference?

I have tried going from one to the other slowly, which produces a slight difference in pitch and quality, which is not noticeable in faster tunes but may be if the note is sustained. The difference is not as noticeable on my other, metal, whistles. I have tried switching to the other fingering, but it’s proving to be a real pig as I’ve been playing the other way for ~15 years.

Thanks a bunch :slight_smile:

2

Is the top one “correct” and the other sloppy?

It depends on the environment in which you find yourself I suppose: if you are going to enter a whistle competition, be prepared to get marked down for not venting. Otherwise you can do as you see fit. But. There’s something to be said for venting the second D there’s a ( perhaps marginally) better clarity when vented and, coming down from higher notes, there’s less chance of the note ‘breaking’ or squawking when vented.

I’d suggest to vent the note at the very least for longer notes and notes where you want a clear tone. But YMMV and the whistle police won’t come knocking if you decide otherwise.

3

I agree here with Gumby. On fast runs, if it’s awkward to vent, I don’t bother. But I pretty much always do it on sustained notes. On some whistles, the improvement in tone from venting is marginal, at best. At others, it’s very obvious.