“When re-tuning by filing holes, is it better to start at the top or bottom end for filing, or does it not matter?”
I’ve been waiting for the answer to this question.
It’s a bit ambiguous, though.
Martin’s question could be taken to mean, when filing an individual hole, do you start at the top of the hole (which would move the top of the hole up as well as enlarge the hole, the bottom of the hole (which would leave the top of the hole where it is), or do you file equally around the original center point of the hole?
The question could also be taken to mean, do you start with the hole closest to the bottom of the whistle? (I believe the answer is yes, you start at the bottom of the whistle and work your way up, but if there are other ways to go about it, please tell.)
Well, definately start at the hole closest to the end. The holes above it have no impact whatsoever on its tone, but as you move up the whistle, the 2 or 3 holes below it will affect its tone, so you want them done already.
The smaller the hole, the higher up the whistle it should be, making a hole larger should move it down farther (for the same pitch) So it stands to reason that if you start on the bottom edge of the hole, making it larger and moving its center lower, you may actually make no change at all.
I would suggest making your changes to the top edge of the hole, this will make the hole larger while moving its center up, raising pitch.
Of course, you may have more subtle control starting on the bottom, considering some degree of change is canceled out due to the above mentioned mechanics.
Someone with more experience may be able to speak more on this.
Enlarging holes in a whistle is tricky. A larger hole will make the note louder. It will, if filed at the top, raise the pitch of the hole (goes sharper) which may or may not be desirable. I suggest always checking the pitch of each hole before you touch it with a file. If it’s right, then any enlargement should take place only at bottom and sides. Remember, you can file it sharper, but if you go too far, you can’t go back without lots of mechanical repairs which may ruin the whistle in other ways.
Another consideration - enlarging holes, especially in the top three - can adversely affect the ability to crossfinger certain notes.
Frankly, if you’re making the whistle yourself, it’s better to use flutomat to calculate the positions of the holes first, based on diameters that you assign, that are reasonable for the key of the whistle.
I hope this is some help. If you need more information, please feel free to contact me by email.
Bill Whedon “serpent”
Serpent Music
Sorry my question was ambiguous! Reading it back, oh, the looseness of the English language!
I assumed we were filing holes to put the whistle in tune, so I was intending only a little gentle filing at the tops of the holes. I didnn’t realise the lower (open) holes affect tone, so that’s useful. Naturally, I would need to move the haed until all the notes are either in tune or flat, before starting any filing.
I presume whistle holes are normally circular only as a matter of tradition and ease of drilling, and having one or two slightly oval wouldn’t matter much. Square and triangular holes I will leave for another thread.
[ This Message was edited by: Martin Milner on 2003-02-06 08:19 ]
Enlarging any fingerhole…at the top, bottom, or all the way around…raises the pitch and volume on either cylindrical or conical bores…metal or wooden. If you are filing at all, your purpose would have to be to raise the pitch of that note. So, it seems you’d want to file the top edge since that area naturally raises the pitch anyway.
By filing the lower edge of the hole, you couldn’t lower the pitch before raising it from enlargening the hole, so filing the lower edge would be counter-productive.
When filing, watch out for the upper octave. You may raise the pitch in the lower octave to perfection (for your embouchure) but find the upper has gone sharp. Always experiment on a cheap whistle first to get your bearings!!
