i have been playing for a couple of weeks and today whillst trying to learn the G scale i came across this page on Chiff and Fipple, great for learning the different scales of the whistle
Dunno that I’d call it brilliant when it’s both inaccurate in places, a decade out-of-date and presumably just ‘archived’ there…
To give some examples from a quick look, the fingering chart for the second bottom scale is missing a note, those ‘minor’ scales are really Aeolian mode (aka natural minor) and the list of who makes what is now pretty well just a historical snapshot!
Hey, come on! Have some respect for the growth (not just numbers) that has taken place here.
Kaizersoza, I am sure that page has helped quite a few people. Perhaps it has helped for no other reason than to bring whistlers together at this cyber-place.
For sure I do (lots of respect!), but you could also blame that very respectable growth for the quantity of outdated old stuff still kicking around with Dale himself answering a similar bit of ‘dredging’ last year with:
Let me point out, to my shame, that the C&F whistle pages are very much out-of-date and are there for archival reasons. (I continue to fantasize that volunteers will help me update them one day.)
So think (before the ‘Oppressor’ condemns me to goodness knows what) it’s only fair to warn a ‘newbie’ discovering a ‘brilliant’ page that doesn’t look quite so great to me that some of it may need treating with caution… that’s all! I’d be the first to acknowledge that C&F is a wonderful resource (Dale’s wonderful resource!) with vibrant and knowledgeable community, but current activity’s all in the forum and FB with some unchecked and potentially misleading older pages still lurking elsewhere.
My point is this. A 20 watt bulb can be “brilliant” to a man who has been living in darkness. But it is not to a man who lives in the full light of the sun.
If some flame has been illuminated within Kaizersoza by that page, then it is brilliant, isn’t it? The bulb came on and he exclaimed, “Now I see!”.
Oh, I’d throw you into the pit, but for the fact that you’re pretty much exactly right. I regret that so much of the old C&F website is out-of-date. I’ve made a number of attempts over the last few years to gather a group of volunteers to divide up the main pages and enter into a process to bring them up-to-date, but, I’ve had to conclude at some point that it’s mostly going to be an archive. I just don’t have the time to do it alone.
What I really would like to do, minimally, is bring the 3 what-whistles-are-available pages back in an updated form. Maybe this year.
We have a pit? Oh cool, how useful. Why didn’t I know about this? Do we have a pendulum, too?
A 20 watt bulb puts out only around 150 lumens. I’d recommend a Maglite XL200 instead, which puts out 170 lumens and runs on AAA cells. Unlike the sun, which puts out 100,000 lumens and runs on bigger batteries.
For playing around with whistle keys and transpositions, you might also want to check out the Little Circle of Fifths designed by anniemcu and myself and few years ago. It lets you “dial up” the three main scale patterns for various combinations of keys and whistles.
It can answer questions such as: “My friend plays The Hobbit in the key of concert Eb on the zoobaphone. What whistle can I use to play along using G fingering?”
Well, the timing for all of this talk may be perfect for me.
I have been only playing high D whistles in this maiden year of my indoctrination. I have been cautiously* considering getting a hold of a B (Flat?) whistle, but I’ve wondered - and am ashamed to ask due to my limited knowledge of this stuff - if I would have to find music only in that key? (I’m thinking yes, I would)
I’m not in any rush, I clearly have enough to learn as it is!
Not at all. If you’re playing music written in D on a D whistle, to anyone’s ear, you’re playing in D. Take that same music but switch to a Bb whistle and to anyone’s ear you’re playing in Bb. Having a variety of whistle keys is useful if you’re going to be playing with other instruments (guitars, zouk, etc.) and especially if you’re playing with a vocalist that wants to sing a piece in a particular key.
In this single thread we found a new member, had an argument between a few veterans, some insightful (sucking up just a little) interjection and commentary by the founder of C&F and a couple of light hearted messages from a forum moderator to balance things out.
And in the 14th message we got to the heart of the OP’s comment. Just pick a whistle up and play. If you want to play with someone else, find out what key they’re playing and pick up a whistle in that key. Isn’t that what this is all about?
ha ha i am really loving this forum, forgive my ignorance and my inability at playing the whistle, i can’t help laughing that i have found a nugget and also started a torrid debate, like i have mentioned in other posts i am so new to the whistle and the theory that any advice is good advice, and i thought the webpage explained all the different keys…you guys kill me lmao, really made me laugh out loud, now(as i wipe a tear from my eye) can anyone suggest an up to date page similar to this, where i can actually learn something, thanx in advance guys
love this forum loads now
An argument? Nah, that’s a bit strong… and (assuming you’re talking about my contribution) I’m no veteran of these boards myself yet!
You can still learn from the one you’ve found. Just treat those minor scales with caution (especially the one given as A minor for D whistle) and don’t choose your inexpensive high E solely from that table!