I have the hardest time with tuning! Both trying to get in tune and staying in tune. I had a gig last night and I have a few different whistles to use since the singer has a lower voice and the usual high D won’t cut it. I really struggled last night with tuning and I’m getting tired of it!
What is the best way to tune a whistle? For me it’s not a tuner cause I used one last night and it was off. I checked the tuner against the fiddle and it was spot on so the tuner isn’t off, just me. Any help/tips/tricks?
Thanks!
(Brian, if you’re reading this, how did you do it???)
Make sure you are blowing into the tuner at the volume and force you’ll be playing (blowing softly makes you sound flatter), and try tuning in the second rather than the first octave. As a last resort you can take up the concertina.
I kept the above in mind as I was tuning and I thought I had done so. I didn’t think of tuning in the second octave. Thanks for that. And no, I don’t believe I’ll take up the concertina.
Heya Tiff! Great to “see” you here on the boards. Bloom’s got it pretty well nailed. I’m not sure which singer it was, or which whistle you were using but tuning to the second octave is something I’ve done for years. If you’re gonna be off tune, and others are gonna hear it - it’s usually in the second octave I’ve found.
And remember - whistles are something like pipes - you can never tune to a tuner - even if everyone else is. (Like George) You’ve got to do your best to hear where the singer/guitarist/fiddler/piper is going and see if you can match that. It’s tough sometimes - doubly so I’ve found with aluminum whistles I’ve owned.
Hey Brian! Thanks for the input. Mary is the singer I’m referring to. She does have a lower voice for Irish music, I think, and you should see/hear some of the ridiculous switches I have to make. You know how they work. I never use a tuner for whistles and flute but I’m finding out I’m a tuning moron and I’m getting frustrated.
Is there a specific note in the second octave it’s best to tune to?
“Pitch Bending” is a property of most whistles. The types with deep voicing windows and short labium ramps tend to be more stable in pitch with changes in breath pressure.
Metal whistles can change pitch from the heat of a players breath. This can change quickly if the instrument is made of thin metal, allowing it to heat and cool quickly.
You could try to change the ramp angle and depth with some blue-tack putty or give your whistle some backpressure by reducing the diameter of the bore end hole with the same putty.
The whistles I’m having the most trouble with are Sindts. The tubes are pretty thin and there’s pretty much no back pressure to them. At least I think so, I’m not quite clear on the whole back pressure thing. I don’t think I have the know-how to make any adjustments, even with blue-tack.
Ah yes. Mary can sing in some odd keys. I found when playing against her vocals, I actually had to tend to tune slightly flat of where I “felt” things should be. And even though they’re electronic, when two or more musicians are using those electronic tuners (George, Krista etc.) they will still very likely NOT be in tune with each other. There’s something to be said for tuning one instrument to the tuner (probably his 12 strings as they’re the most work in that regard) and then letting everyone else get in the ballpark with a tuner, but really fine tuning it all in by ear.
That can be difficult when you’ve got a gig that’s hard to hear yourself (like EVERY STINKIN ONE right Tiff?!) and the band leader is not in the sweetest of moods, and you have no real time for a proper sound check - tuning opportunity. It’s tough, but I can offer this - you probably hear a lot more of the “out of tune” notes than the audience ever does.
I’m sure most of the audience can hear that I’m out of tune. On top of that, Nina never tunes her flute. I think she just has a mark where she thinks it’s in tune and moves the head joint to that spot each time. Well, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t think she gets the temperature change thing. So by the end of the gig we’re usually all out of tune and I can’t get anywhere near where I should be cause no one is together. Very maddening. On top of that, the sound guy didn’t really know what he was doing and all I could hear was Mary. Oy!
Welcome to the band life! Having played with you Tiff, I know it is NOT your ear. You know how to play well in tune. Nothing much to be done for it sadly - just be glad it’s not a concertina that you can’t tune. LOL They’d be lost entirely!
I never use a tuner for whistles and flute but I’m finding out I’m a tuning moron and I’m getting frustrated.