Today I managed to fumble my way through a faltering version of the “Friendly Giant” theme tune (yes yes, I know it has a real name, but I can’t be bothered to look it up right now, as I should be sleeping anyway instead of posting!) I wouldn’t wish it on anyone to have had to listen (I was home alone thankfully) but it pleased me immensely to make some noises that were somewhat recognizable. (I only said “somewhat”.)
My question (and yes… there is a question forthcoming) is this:
I don’t have perfect pitch (that’s not the question), but I do have a pretty good ear (that’s not the question either), and I’m a bit concerned about the fact that the notes aren’t in tune with respect to each other. Is this something that improves with practice (learning to “bend” the pitches with breath control), or is it just a matter of fact that not all whistles are created equal and this one might need tweaking, or a slightly less picky player? (that’s the question) It’s a Generation D. I’m tempted to try tweaking it according to the instructions here at C&F, but I don’t want to trash the poor little thing… I’ve been drooling over Jerry’s pre-tweaked whistle on eBay… mmmmmmm yummy… have to wait for payday though…
OH no, Moxie … It’s already started. I can see you are already comtemplating which whistle you need next. In the past 2 years I have found all whistles are NOT created equal. I have a Generation D that plays in pitch with my Dixon D and my Hoover D – my Sweetone(s) have a decent sound - but only in tune with each other, usually, and so it goes with most of the others. I think the Sweetones are easy to learn on, cheap, and keep the notes in fairly close perspective. The more you play, the better the tones will get.
You could be playing it in the wrong key. Try starting on a different note, but using the same intervals between notes. That way the half-steps in the tune will fall in different places, so the “sour notes” will occur at different points in the tune. For at least one starting note, it should all work out and sound right – as long as the tune sticks to a standard major or minor scale, which almost all simple tunes do.
Does that make sense?
Tweaking won’t improve the tuning, just the sound and playability.
Something else to keep in mind: most inexpensive whistles are (slightly) tunable if you loosen the head. You can’t usually make them sharper, but you can flatten the pitch a little.
Haven’t checked the tuning on my Sweetone Ds (they seem to be in tune with themselves at least) but my Meg C (the “cheaper” Sweetone) was really improved by moving the head back a little. (Honesty compels me to admit this took it from “very bad” to “just acceptable”, but it DID help).
Among the low-end whistles, I believe both Oak and Feadog have a reputation for being well-in-tune with themselves. The Oak is one of my favorite whistles, but needs more careful breath control than most. The Feadog sound isn’t my favorite (personal taste - nothing wrong with the whistles) but they play well.
Dixon and Susato both make widely-available inexpensive tunables, with real tuning slides. (Though there have been some complaints about Dixons not being well-in-tune with themselves, Tony Dixon has a reputation for making things right for you. Susatos are well-in-tune, but a lot of folks have issue with the sound - too loud, or too “recorderish” for their taste.)
Serpent’s Polly whistles are inexpensive, tunable, and very well in tune with themselves, too (like Susatos, people tend to either love 'em or hate 'em, though the sound is very traditional, like a louder Clarke. I really like mine, and have more on order, but they do take a slightly different embouchure than most whistles - until you figure this out, it seems like they need a lot more air than is really necessary.)
Enough choices? (Remember, the most expensive I’ve listed - Dixons, Susatos, and Serpent Pollys - are only around $25)
Except that I don’t think this really addresses the question, unless I misunderstand something. Moving the head would lower all of the notes by approximately the same pitch. (It’s not exact, but I wouldn’t think the difference would be that noticable.)
Moxie’s original question seems to relate more to internal in-tune-ness (is that a word?) I wouldn’t think that moving the head would have much impact on that. Of course, I freely admit to being a rank amateur WRT the whistle (with emphasis on the ‘rank’ part - my playing stinks). I’m speaking more from the general physics of sound production, rather than from an intimate knowledge of the whistle.
I would agree with you in theory, but this sort of adjustment on a Meg C brought the cross-fingered “C natural” (edit: yes, I know it’s really Bb!) into tune (or less out of it). And if you already have the whistle, and you’re tweeking it anyway, the tuning adjustment comes free.
(I’ll admit to spending most of my own playing time at home on my Serpents or a Syn D - all of which are pretty well in tune)
Hey Moxie I figure you are playing it in G on your D Gen. Go ahead and do the loosening of the head tweak and the sticky tack thing. Can`t realy hert the whistle with those two tweaks. Once you do that it will be much easier to play just about any tune on it. I find the Gen D to be pretty good as far as being in tune with itself. It is usualy a breath control thing and those two tweaks work wounders. Hang in there. That was one of the first tunes I ever learned also and it is realy fun to play and gives you a lot of practice at controling the octive jump and cross fingering. Course I love Gens also.
I’ve seen the fingerhole locations given as percentages of distance from the windway opening, and moving the head will change the proportion of distance for each. (As an extreme example, if you could double the 4.5" distance to the first hole, you wouldn’t be doubling the 8.75" distance to the sixth hole.)
At any rate, moving the head on my Dixon fixed a problem with the C# and d being way out of synch, but the F# is still pretty sharp compared with the E. Fortunately, I have a pretty bad ear, and as long as I don’t turn on my electronic tuner, I hardly even notice it, whereas the C#-d transition was unbearable.
