Tuesday I tried out for the praise band at our church and was accepted.
In the group there is an electric drummer, guitar, electric key board,professional piano player that switched to auto harp when I played,
and three regular vocals. The auto harp player and I alternated playing measures. I only played in one song at the two services and we received a lot of positive feed back. ‘‘Beautiful music’’ was said several times.
I have noticed that some of you are also playing in praise bands.
Perhaps you could give us some tips on whistles playing with other instruments?
What kind of tips do you need?
My tip: make sure you are in tune.
Tuneable whistles are a must especially if you’re playing with something hard to tune like a piano.
It helps to have an outsider listen to the whole group and give feedback as far as relative volume of all instruments.
In addition to tuning the instruments themselves, the players have to tune themselves to each other. Practice some nice long unisons on a variety of notes.
I second the tuning and getting outside feedback. It is especially useful to have the person listen for balance. Many whistles sound waaaaay different from a distance than they do a couple inches from your ear. If you can’t get or don’t trust feedback, someone here said once that if you can still hear yourself in the lower octave and you can hear the rest of the group in the higher octave, the whistle is the right volume.
A lot of times people think that something as “simple” as a whistle must be very easy to play, and I find it helps if you let them try to play. 
so why are some whistles not tune-able? I’ve never worked this out.
cheers M.
Some of us play in contexts in which the other instruments can always tune to us: fiddles, guitars, mandolins etc. Some of us also play a lot in strict A=440 contexts. Electric keyboards won’t be out. If a concertina is out, then it’s probably not in tune with itself and that is for the concertina player to fix.
I have both tunable and fixed but my fixed whistles get just as much work as the tunables.
If you have a whistle with a plastic top you can make it tunable by simply popping the whistle top into a pot of just-boiled water (don’t put it into boiling water on the stove!) and leave it in for a SECOND. Take it out and with a kitchen towel, twist until the top comes off. If it doesn’t work the first time, try again but DON’T leave the whistle in there for very long or it will melt the fipple. Clean off any residue and put the top back on - now you have a tunable whistle.
Whistles like this just have the tops glued on so they don’t fall off during transport, purchase, etc.
Whistles like Clark will not be tunable because they are all one piece.
Kate Dowling
Sounds like you’re already listening pretty carefully for what sounds best. It’s a good idea to alternate with other instruments, not to feel you have to be playing every verse or every instant.
You may want to try some longer held tones as harmony or some countermelody or descant parts on some of the music. With a lot of the music played in church, you don’t always have to be the melody.
Jennie
Thank you Jennie.
They changed the key for me so I could play in high D, and the whistle is new to them also. Is there key that is used more with a whistle than others for praise music?
I think some hymns would do better than others with a whistle added to the drum,guitar,piano,electric keyboard and auto harp. Any suggestions?
They keys depend on whether folks are singing along. If there are singers, you want to be in a key that is comfortable for voices. Also, just as some keys are easier for certain whistles, there may be keys which are easier and others which are near impossible for the players in your group. Ask them.
You could eventually consider a whistle in another key which could make you more flexible. D whistles comfortably handle the keys of D and G and their related minors (b minor and e minor).
Jennie
My wife and I play duets (classical guitar and Chapman Stick) at church, and tuning is not a problem, we can use electronic tuners. When I have to play (guitar or Stick) with the church’s piano, though, there are always tuning issues. The piano is a very good instrument, but overly sensitive to humidity. It can be as much as 10 or 15 cents flat.
The one general suggestion I can give, in tuning to a wayward church piano is…make sure you tune your instrument to the range in which people will be singing. This is an issue for guitars and bass guitars more so than whistles. For example, if the piano is closer to being in tune below middle C, but is running more flat between middle C and an octave above middle C, tune to the range in which people will be singing, even if that puts you a little sharp to the bass side of the piano.
Just my observation,
Lost
For those of you who don’t know what a classical guitar and Chapman Stick sound like together, a short excerpt:
http://members.ifmcs.net/rjgoos/Public/Music/Homemade/n30.mp3
Is that for a wayward piano in a church, or a piano in a wayward church?
Is that for a wayward piano in a church, or a piano in a wayward church?
very cute.
Argh, some of the old (and new!) uprights really go out of whack in some small churches. Not in tune with themselves, much less any other instruments. Lovely sound together with a whistle or flute when they are in tune, tho.
A neighbor lady told me once, “I don’t like organized religion!!!”
I said to her, “What…you prefer disorganized religion?”
She had to admit that organized religion was probably a better thing than disorganized religion.
Sad to say, it is a wayward piano. I don’t know if there is such a thing as a wayward Lutheran church…we tend to be pretty stuck in our ways (too much so, I guess).
Lost
By “tuning” a whistle you will alter the proportional placement of the holes and the length of the bore. Tuning will adjust the bell note but will actually mess up the internal tuning of the whistle. Also, pitch can be affected fairly easily by breath pressure on most whistles, so it often makes more sense to learn to blow the whistle into tune.
Hi Tommy, welcome to praise band playing…
I have found church bands very different (I have been in 4 and seen many) You will probably need to just find your niche. It takes time to figure out what works and what does not. Of course it helps if your leader has a clear picture of where he wants to go. Most times, I have had to just feel my way around. It helps a lot to have a spouse that gives good critisism after each time. I have been somewhat surprised at my wifes comments. things that i thought I hashed, were not even noticed and other times - hey, you should have just shut up at that point!
You said that you only played along for one song. I find that I want to be involved, particularly if you are up front and standing around feeling spare. I have found some ways to participate that may be a help for you as well as a few tips.
- Take up a second instrument (something quite different to whistle if you can) It gives you an option to add an extra something.
- Do both low and hi whistles and sometimes even on the same song.
- Sing when not playing, even if you have no mic and are not so hot at it. You learn the tunes that way too.
- Learn some intro’s and fills by heart to some of your more often sung tunes, but do not play them every time - it loses the impact.
- Listen to some christian praise bands that have whistle eg. Robin Mark, Vineyard (hungry) etc.
- When playing your high D, try playing it in the upper octave/register. In many bands, your mid range is very well covered and if you go in there, it adds mud…so try higher up.
- You will probably be competing for space with your auto harpist as you have said - I compete with a mouth organist. Sometimes it is either or and you need to get a good relationship going and be clear when will the one play and the other sit out. Stop the resentment before it starts by communicating well.
A low whistle may need amplifying. I find that a pic up mic taped to my low D works well as i can move around without bothering to aim. It helps the sound guy to get a better mix too. Placement of the mic is important to stop the breath sound. - Don’t be shy to extend your playing to keys other than D. Your D will work fine with G and E minor and B minor. It will also work with A but may take a bit of work to miss out those wrong notes. I have found that a C whistle is helpful with a few of our songs as is my Bb. Have a look at your repertoir and check out what keys are the most common. You may want to let the whoa kick in for a bit - but lust is a dangerous thing particularly in church so watch out!
- My last tip is just plain common sense - enjoy yourself praising and worshiping your God. Do not play to people while up front but to Him - it takes the pressure off.
I hope you fit right in with your group quickly and give me a shout any time for any help or advise.
Ian
Don’t you mean A minor and E minor?
Redwolf
This practice is probably fine as long as both instruments are of consenting age.
all the tips so far have been great…
Look for ways to ADD to the music, not just adding noise. If possible, play harmony notes, but most importantly avoid playing the note the singers are doing (unless you are positive you are both absolutely in tune with each other). Add runs when there is a whole note in the music - but not so much that you are loosing the overall original mood. Know at least the triad notes of every chord so you can do harmonies from that (or when the melody goes to a note you don’t have on a diatonic instrument).
If you are miked, make sure you are also mixed well. Agree with having someone you trust out in the congregation listening. Know what type of mike you are using, and how close you need to be to it.
Move around in the group. Playing in front of the bass amp is probably NOT a good idea. Find where you can hear yourself.
I played mountain dulcimer, whistle, and bodhran with our contemporay group for 10 years (electric piano, couple of guitars, bass guitar and singers). I’d say the MOST important part of that is a good sound system and someone who knows what they are doing on the mixer. Without that - it sounds like a muddy mess. Which is part of the reason I am no longer playing!!
Missy