Playing high D whistle, I’ve never felt the need for a thumb rest or additional way to support the whistle, However, lately I’ve mostly been playing my big bore Bb from Roy McManus and it can be tricky to keep a good hold on it. Does anyone have suggestions for adding a thumb rest for support? I wondered if maybe one of the Susato low whistle thumb rests might work, but don’t have one handy. I could post the dimensions of the whistle (circumference). If I knew which one/size might work, I’d order one. I’m also not sure if there are other instrument thumb rest / support devices on the market I might be able to adapt.
I tried a couple of different commercial thumb rests without much success.
Now my low D whistles all have a fat O-ring above the bottom two holes. Surprisingly, it does not get in the way of fingering and it gives just enough extra support. I doubt this would work for something heaver than aluminum bodies.
I’ve been using clarinet thumb rests, and some heavy duty double stick tape.
The thumb rest are readily available at music shops/ebay. The double stick tape does need to be replaced every six months or so, but it only takes a couple of minutes to accomplish.
You can also buy rubber pads to fit the thumb rests if you want maximum comfort.
I have both brass and aluminum low whistles…works a treat.
I’ve done something sort of like the O ring. I have used a silicone wedding ring. I get a fairly big size depending on the whistle. They stretch on and don’t mar the whistle and give you just enough of a bump to defeat gravity.
