Any suggestions.
I find it easier to pick up a tune ‘on the fly’ using whistle. I think it is partly the ‘fixed’ tuning. It might also be a bit of the whistle not ‘standing out’ so much. I have seen some players who seem to able to do this fine on flute.
Is it that they have a reference pitch in their head for any note and can hit it straight off?
Also I sometimes blow a note on whistle to find the route note of the key.
We’re all different, aren’t we? I find it easier to pick up tunes on the fly on my flute! Whistle is so darn loud compared to flute, which you can modulate volume easily, and I just psychologically hear things more naturally on flute compared to whistle. However, that might be because I have primarily played flute since 1998 or so and consider myself more of a dabbler on whistle since then (although I started on whistle in the late 80s).
What’s your whistle/flute history?
Eric
Hi Eric,
Pretty much the same number of years for both flute and whistle. 40 years or a little more on both.
I wonder if if I should progress on my ability to play the flute quieter , keeping it in pitch.
Regarding the louder instrument. For the whistle yes it does tend to stand out on second octave not so much on the first octave. Often the tunes startup around the first octave making it easier to hide away for a little bit. Possible to play 2nd octave on 1st octave while checking things out, or just not play them.
It could difficulty of telling am I blowing flute off pitch or is it the tune in a different key. Does not happen for whistle.
People who can tell what a guitarist or someone similar is playing have an advantage but I’m sure that’s not how some people seem to be proficient at this particular skill.
Practicing to play flute quietly yet in tune did wonders for me a few years back. Someone on the board recommended it…possibly Dave Migoya.
Then again, it may be that whistle just works better for you. You’re definitely right that the first octave is very quiet and so easily lost when learning a new tune on the fly. I’ll be curious what others chime in with!
I’d just like to say for clarification. I am only talking about checking the pitch. Given I am playing the whistle I will get that straight away but not always for the flute.
This is interesting. I don’t feel a difference between the two for getting the pitch, but I definitely feel more comfortable in general learning a new tune on whistle. I figure it’s because I started off with fipple flutes, so for me the ergonomics are second nature, whereas even now flute takes a little more thought.
While whistles are technically easier, I find flute easier for picking up the tune.
Yeah, the whistle might play the same note an octave higher, but my fingers on the flute are better able to find tune because they are playing the same pitch my ears are hearing.