Has anybody played one of these things?
I’d love to know what they’re like.
Doc
me too, so back to the top this little thread goes…
People have discussed this before:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=5746&forum=1
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=5663&forum=1
(search under Overton and chromatic)
-Brett
But, the discussions listed above do not relate to Doc’s question–those repliers had not tried one…I believe Doc is asking because maybe by now someone has tried one and can give some kind of practical review. Colin does mention that the note missing can be obtained through cross fingering. But, what is it like to finger this whistle in general–how do the thumbs operate as both tone hole stoppers and part of the grip that keeps the whistle from hitting the floor…etc.
Cheers,
Lisa
Thanks Brett I did do the search before posting and Lisa is correct they didn’t answer my questions 
Doc
Guess you’ll just have to buy one and find out.
Loren
Well, I’m thinking very seriously of doing just that. Bb hole rather than C I think, Cs are much easier to half hole and (sometimes) to cross finger.
On 2002-11-20 01:57, Wombat wrote:
Well, I’m thinking very seriously of doing just that. Bb hole rather than C I think, Cs are much easier to half hole and (sometimes) to cross finger.
To play harmonic minor D on the D whistle ?
Anyway, you seem right ; also, the Bb hole would give a better position to your thumb, wouldn’t it ?
On 2002-11-20 04:20, Zubivka wrote:
On 2002-11-20 01:57, Wombat wrote:
Well, I’m thinking very seriously of doing just that. Bb hole rather than C I think, Cs are much easier to half hole and (sometimes) to cross finger.To play harmonic minor D on the D whistle ?
Anyway, you seem right ; also, the Bb hole would give a better position to your thumb, wouldn’t it ?
I’d like to be able to play in as many keys as I can manage. For slowish tunes that don’t range over much more than an octave, that should be possible for any key on that instrument. I suspect that in practice it will turn out to be more like an anglo concertina. In theory you can play in any key on a three row anglo and really good players actually can do so. In practice, you can play in maybe six or so major keys with reasonable comfort. If I could get that many, maybe a near-chromatic 10 hole Eb would give me all the others. (Niall Valleley does that sort of thing with concertinas.) I’d still turn to diatonic whistles when I didn’t need the accidentals to come out bang in tune though. What appeals a lot also is the possibility of playing unusual modes, maybe klezmer. Hmmm, I think I feel an order coming on.
I think an Eb would be too small for a ten-hole. Where would you put all your fingers?
I agree that a diatonic would probably beat the pants off a chromatic on anything fast but can you imagine the blues you could crank out? Wow!
I’ve got one ordered. I’ll let you know and maybe post something on CLips & Snips when it arrives and I get the thing tamed.
Doc
On 2002-11-19 17:33, Loren wrote:
Guess you’ll just have to buy one and find out.Loren
Loren, as our approved tester, why don’t you??? 
~Larry
[ This Message was edited by: madguy on 2002-11-21 11:25 ]
Colin tells me my D is ready (has been for a while, I just held off on shipping waiting for the C) and the C will be ready to ship in the next week or two. I’ll post a review shortly after they arrive.
BTW on a D whistle, the left thumbhole between the first and second holes produce the C natural. (This is my choice for non-whistle reasons). Placing it between the second and third produces the B flat. Someone had said that the B flat is more natural position but for me it is a bit of a stretch in the D, more so in a C. (Before I asked Colin to ply his artistry to the instrument, I modified my own Generation D, and Water Weasels in D and C).
Bruce
On 2002-11-20 08:30, Doc Jones wrote:
I think an Eb would be too small for a ten-hole. Where would you put all your fingers?I agree that a diatonic would probably beat the pants off a chromatic on anything fast but can you imagine the blues you could crank out? Wow!
I’ve got one ordered. I’ll let you know and maybe post something on CLips & Snips when it arrives and I get the thing tamed.
Doc
You’re right about the Eb. It would have to be Db. As for the blues, how could I possibly have left that off my list after going on about chromaticism in the blues recently? I won’t be far behind Doc. There’s just this little matter of the house I’m trying to buy at the moment.
BTW, I was thinking of asking Colin about a C rather than a D. My reason is that I might get more really good usable keys to play in than with the D and, when I wanted to play in C, I wouldn’t have to start with a cross-fingered or half-holed note.
Keep us posted Doc, and I’ll do the same.
Um … a 10-holed chromatic whistle is called a recorder.
On 2002-12-18 19:12, Hepzibah wrote:
Um … a 10-holed chromatic whistle is called a recorder.
Recorder players will love to learn this… What are the the 9th and 10th hole ? The tiny ones for half-holing ?
Or the top and bottom ? :roll:
The extra 4 holes are “normal” size, depending on where they are placed (as with the first 6 which vary greatly). On mine (the D), the thumbs are for C nat and F nat, the left (upper) pinky for G#, the right for D#. It’s the B flat which is cross-fingered.
Here’s a picture which was in a previous thread -
http://www.overton.de/GRAFIK/SOP-10.JPG
Bruce
I played one all too briefly at
the whistle shop (thom’s private
collection)–the top thumb-
hole puts the thumb in a less
than natural position, but whether
that really matters would
take more experience than I had.
On 2002-12-19 00:04, jim stone wrote:
I played one all too briefly at
the whistle shop (thom’s private
collection)–the top thumb-
hole puts the thumb in a less
than natural position, but whether
that really matters would
take more experience than I had.
Jim, I do not know which whistle you played but it certainly was not a 10-hole-D made by myself. I have only made 2 and the only one sent out so far is on it’s way to BruceW. You may have tried a Modal as Thom has one of these, but that also does not make sense as it has no “top” thumb hole. I have made two 9-holed-whistles which have two thumb holes but I know who they went to and both were in Europe.
Hopefully the 10-holed D and C should be with Bruce soon before Christmas.
Colin
Hi Colin, this was
a year or more ago.
The whistle was alloy,
a high D, and it had
lots of holes, including
a high thumb hole.
I couldn’t do much with
it in the very short time
I had my mits on it.
Maybe Thom can say what
it was. Does anybody else
make such whistles? Best, Jim
If my memory is deceiving me
(I think I have a bad memory,
but I can’t remember, really)
I’ve multiplied holes, and it
merely had a top thumb hole
to cope with the C natural…
[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2002-12-20 10:43 ]