I started out with a normal flute grip when I first began playing the low whistle. Mainly because I found it to work out pretty nice and I didn’t feel that much strain on my fingers. Now I’m kind of using a half pipers grip. I’m playing with pipers grip on my right hand and a normal flute grip on the left one. As in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5IhqvXtWI8
This feels rather good but for some ornaments and for vibrato control I prefer using piper’s grip on my left hand as well. The problem is just that I’m putting a lot more strain on my thumb when using piper’s grip. I don’t know why, but no matter what I do I end up with an over-extended thumb when I’m halfway through a song. It’s not only because I’m not relaxing my hands enough. If I want I can play rather well without keeping my left thumb at the whistle at all. But as soon as I add the left thumb I put way to much strain on it.
It works pretty well with my MK low f but on my larger chieftain low d my left thumb is beginning to hurt quite fast.
I was wondering if you guys maybe could spend a couple of minutes of your precious time to take some pictures and show me your grip from behind (thumbs visible) so I could understand what I might be doing wrong?
You might be asking for a lot there. Few of us have a hands free video camera mounted in our belly buttons. It’s hard enough to hold onto the whistle and play it. Now you want us to also hold a camera, compose a shot and keep it focused on the back side of the whistle while we play?
No pictures or videos from me.
In concept it is an easy fix. Really. But the details of the fix will differ for many of use based on our differences physically. We come in all shapes and sizes. The basic fix is that you should find a grip that does not build up any stress in our hands, your wrists, your shoulders, your neck, etc.. It’s about playing relaxed. It’s about not concentrating on the “hold” but on the music. Do not over-think the grip. It’s about making it second nature and getting it out of mind so you can just play.
From your video I would suggest that you loose the upper hand “flute” grip. In my mind there is no logical or ergonomic reason to employ that grip on a vertical flute. As I have said before, that famous Irish whistle player Shaquille O’Neal could play his low C with a fingertip grip. The rest of use mere mortals have to find another way.
I play with my fingers flat, including the thumbs. I also keep the wrists fairly straight and relaxed as well (depends on the particular whistle). I play the flute that way too. It is not unlike gripping a great big juicy burger in two hands to bring it up to the mouth - maybe more like a Philly cheesesteak in a long bun. This guy has developed a decent grip.
Can’t see where your left thumb is, but the main difference I can see from what I’d do is your L1 (and to a lesser extent L2) standing right on its tip. I play low whistles with LH pads (not tips) and piper’s grip RH (never comfortable with full piper’s grip LH), but always with the thumb above L1 and not between L1 and L2 where I’d have it on a transverse flute. Which is also why I like a C nat thumb hole on transverse flute but not on vertical instruments (where my natural L thumb position is where it falls for recorder, smallpipe and border pipe thumb holes).
I’m in the same boat. My first instrument, back 40 years ago, was the Highland Pipes, on which I’ve always used the ordinary piper’s grip on the low hand (that is, used the middle-joint pads of my index, middle, and ring fingers) but used the end-joint pads on the upper hand. I transferred that ‘grip’ to the uilleann pipes and Low Whistle. (You can see my Highland ‘grip’ in my avatar.)
But recently I’ve noticed upper-hand strain coming from that end-joint-pad grip when playing Low Whistle, and I’ve been working on learning the upper-hand pipers’ grip. It’s still a work-in-progress, and I have good sessions when I can seal the top three holes fine, and sessions when I have leaks. (It’s always the top hole that I don’t seal right.)
And using ‘normal’ upperhand grip is really a strain on my big Low C. (The top three holes are very far apart.)
And just as you say I’ve been experimenting with the top-hand thumb position.
It’s cool that you mention playing with the thumb off, because that’s precisely what I do with Highland pipe students who hold the chanter in a ‘death grip’ of tense strained hands: I put tape over the thumb-hole and have them play the chanter with both thumbs off. You can’t have strain if you can’t grip, and you can’t grip without opposable thumbs. This allows the tyro to experience what playing with relaxed hands feels like.
Just yesterday I had a longish Low Whistle session (switching between Dixon, Reyburn, and MK) and I was experimenting with the thumb position. One thing I do, and I’ve noticed other pipers do when playing whistle, is to take the thumb off whenever playing Middle D (the Back D of the uilleann pipes). It’s a pipers’ habit but it helps keep the hand from getting, or at least from staying, tense.
I tried putting the thumb more to the side of the whistle to reduce the gripping.
It’s more than just the thumb for me, because I’m constantly tinkering with the position of the whole upper hand including the wrist angle. Still it’s never as natural and comfortable as my old tried-and-true lower-hand grip.
Thanks for your comments and advice guys! And yeah, I apologize for expecting everyone to have a bellymount for their cameras
@Feadoggie Yeah I of course agree with you that what’s most important is enjoying the music and not the grip. Though I feel that employing a slightly different type of grip sometimes have a good influence on your playing. And you’re probably right about that there “is no logical or ergonomic reason to employ that grip on a vertical flute”. I think it looks rather silly but strangely I find it quite comfortable even when playing for a longer time. Though I guess that in 20 years I might not find it as comfortable as I do now
I’ll see if I will be able to combine your tips to something that feels good for me. I’ll probably try to experiment some with thumb positions first and see if I can at least straighten out my grip a bit.
