What instrument is being played here?

Whistle
1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUn6sZ8qTXg

it says “recorder” in the info, but it seems to be a six hole instrument (although I can’t see the back).
i just saw a Sweetheart whistle for sale that looked similar (though smaller, it was a high D).
also, it says the song is in C (i didn’t check to confirm this yet), so is that probably a G whistle/recorder?
i appreciate your input.

2

There is a seventh (pinkie) hole that is offset.

3

“Ganassi recorder in F made by Monika Musch” - (from second page of comments on the YouTube video)

4

Those are Ganassi-style wide bore renaissance alto/treble recorders in F. The bottom pinkie hole is difficult to see because it’s offset to the side and is a split, double hole.

These also seem to be low-pitched at A415, sounding in effect a semitone lower than A440 concert pitch. So this C Major setting sounds like B Major.

[ Ah, I crossed posts with youze guys. ]

5

We recently had some discussion about these here https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/dont-hit-me-but/74144/11

Feadoggie

6

Here is a gif of a similar instrument without the brass band at the slide.

http://www.historicalwoodwinds.be/images/instruments/ganassi_alto_g_tap_2.gif

7

thanks guys! i know it’s blasphemy to post recorder links here.
i’ll check my mail for anthrax this week.

8

I have lots of Baroque recorders, but no Renaissance ones. From what I’ve heard of them, though, their sound sounds more whistle like than the Baroque ones, maybe due to the straight bore. Might be useful for trad tunes with lots of accidentals.. I’m just sayin’

9

Yes, they could be useful… just sayin’. These are Ganassi recorders so they do not have the simiple cylindrical bore of earlier instruments. There is a bit of narrowing of the bore at the upper end and then a flared bell back-bored at the bottom. Ganassi style recorders will usually play 2.5+ octaves well. The basic Ganassi design was popularized by the late Fred Morgan and adpoted by other makers. Still it’s not nearly as complex as the Baroque designs as we know them. Here’s a Ganassi bore profile from a web page by recorder maker Stephan Blezinger. You could probably start making reamers from these measurements.

Feadoggie

10

Susato makes a Renaissance recorder that sounds very whistle like. I don’t think everybody here plays ITrad.

Ron

11

I have the Susato ren sopranino (in f) it does sound whistle like, since is the Dublin whistle with a recorder holed body. It’s straight bore so it doesn’t play like a Ganassi style. I also have the D/C/Bb whistle set that uses the same head joint and they sound almost identical.

I also have a Ganassi style soprano by Von Huene - that’s a different critter completely, like the one in the video. It has a large bore and large undercut holes that are friendly to some whistle style ornaments (baroque recorders are generally… not). It’s also honking loud.

12

Hi Gary, welcome.

That’s interesting. Can you elaborate? Which ornaments, and why?

13

Thanks.

In the broadest sense baroque recorders don’t chiff and bark the way whistles do. They aren’t designed to and the music they historically play doesn’t want it. Taps turn into lower mordents; cuts tend to break into an upper note and don’t return to the main note so easily; on anything smaller than a tenor the finger holes are too small for a slide - and the double drilled two lower holes are even smaller. Obviously a really good player can make it do those things anyway. Or they can do something physically different that gets the same effect - you can do finger vibrato, but if you do it like a whistle frequently either nothing will happen or you will break to a cross fingered note.

Marion Verbruggen plays in a very liquid ornamented style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhBAxmHdf9w
but it’s very different from how a whistle player would play.

Actually I just put a Susato D whistle and a Stanseby Jr. side by side and the top three hole sizes aren’t that different. They feel different though. The Ganassi’s are enough larger that you can see it across the room. This may be a technique thing - the baroque recorder calls for a more pulsed finger action on the fingertips, the whistle appreciates something closer to a flat finger chanter technique (which I’m very much still trying to master). The Ganassi (even the soprano) has holes too big to use just finger tips.

garyr

14

Ah, thanks Gary. I was prepared to argue with you, but those are all very reasonable comments. :thumbsup: