I’ve managed to go to a flute workshop and
also take a lesson–this in St. Louis, the
city that Irish flute teachers forgot.
As a consequnce I’ve learned that
the best way to cut a note, eg. a low D,
is to use either the ring finger or the middle
finger of my left hand. Makes a better
‘chirp.’
But the way I was taught cutting on
the whistle was to cut low D by using
the middle finger of my right hand.
‘Cut the hole above the note you’re
playing.’
Well, I can’t see why what works better on
the flute doesn’t also work better on the
whistle.
Personal opnion from an advanced beginner…cut with the finger that will give you the best, crispest sound without interfering with the phrase. May be left forefinger, right ring…whatever works for that tune.
To me the question is the same as how should I play a C#… no fingers, ring of right hand, all three of right hand…depends on what comes before and what comes after and which fingering interfers least and gives the best sound (trade off sometimes).
In my abysmal ignorance, I didn’t know that it was standard on the whistle to ‘Cut the hole above the note you’re playing.’ I thought it was more like ‘Whenever possible, cut with a hole above the note you’re playing (not necessarily the next higher hole).’
OK, I think it’s best to cut on the highest hole
above the note you’re playing consistent with
the whistle’s responding. This is harder in the
second octave, but if the cut is shallow and fast
it will come to work.
Low D, cut
xoxxxx
Low E cut
oxxxxo
Or low D cut
xxoxxx
This sounds considerably better than
low D
xxxxox
Also I’m thinking that rolls might well
be played this way, too.
So rolling the low E one
cuts at the top hole of the whistle.
What doesn’t work so well, I think,
is cutting the hole immediately above the note one
plays. Generally there should be two or
more closed holes below the hole cut–
except as one gets into the left hand
notes.
Opinions?
This is an interesting subject for me as I am preparing to teach a whistle class this week and am cross referencing what I do with what is considered “proper”
Personally, I like to cut notes with my index fingers of either hand. I like the way it sounds, feels and the ease with which I do it. I do cut with other notes and fingers, but these are my “favorites”.
When learning the bagpipes, one of the first things you learn is to cut your notes with a “G” grace note. On the pipes, the G note is the top finger. This is I think the most common Grace note on the pipes though they use many different holes to cut their notes. AND It is not a question of using the note above the one being played, it can be ANY note above the one being played. As I do on the pipes, I often separate 3 notes in a row by cutting with DIFFERENT fingers rather than the same one. A cran is played this way, but I do it on many different notes not just the Low E or D.
For me, I think the most important thing in playing the whistle is not that you can do it exactly like this person, or that, but that you develope your own unique and beautiful style. It is important to learn from other people, but how you interpret that information and how you blend it with what you know, is what makes you unique and a great whistle player.
While teaching my students the “common” whistle techniques, I hope I also instil upon them a certain rebelious nature that new things, ideas and techniques are born from.
It’s just that I did it the other way on the whistle for
five years and this definitely sounds better,
which is why flute teachers teach it..
Rather wished I’d been told it
at the beginning. didn’t even know
it was an option.