Whistle exercices

Whistle
1

Hello,

I am new to the whistle world and I am already concerned with finger speed and how to improve it.

Can anyone give me advice on how to improve my speed and coordination (except by keeping playing of course)? Any special exercise I can practice?

Thank you.

Pascal.

2

You can find some proposals in this topics:

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=44436&highlight=speed
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=43693&highlight=speed

Cheers Silvano

3

Playing is the best exercise. You might try taking a difficult passage from a tune you like and playing it very slowly. Keep repeating it, playing it a bit faster each time.

4

Otherwise, there is http://www.greylarsen.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=55&osCsid=10839b7b884256f41e182748c0807bcc

Patrick.

5

Brewerpaul is exactly correct. This is the best method. By practicing

very slowly, we eliminate mistakes, build up a solid technique, which in

turn, goes into our muscle memory. Using this method encourages the

best results. As my bagpipe instructor Ian McClellan told me years ago,

“Practice SLOWLY and OFTEN”

-James

A Stor Mo Chroi

6

You might want to try taking an intermidiate piece and disecting it into very small, managable segments. Then get the segments down and build speed with them. Some tunes have difficult ‘A’ and ‘B’ parts and it isn’t enough (at least for me) to learn ‘A’ first…then ‘B’. I like to break them up into ‘A1’, ‘A2’, ‘A3’, ‘A4’ etc…then tie them together when I have them all down well.

7

also just playing scales will help, going from lowest to highest note, first slowly then start going faster as it becomes easier.

8

Play a lot!

9

Other than the sage advice given above, the only exercise I’ve ever been advised to do and have done at times are rolls up and down the scale in both octaves.

Philo

10

Thank you for all your interesting advices.
I actually found two related topics on this forum I’ve never been through (thank you for pointing them out also).

If I would sum up the situation :

  1. start playing slowly, then increase the speed once a tune is “mastered” at a given speed;
  2. isolate and do specific work on especially difficult passages;
  3. watch out for too long training sessions (not longer than 20 minutes or so);
  4. watch out for excessive finger pressure and relax;
  5. and of course practice on a regular basis.

I will keep them in mind and watch for additionnal advices… and hopefully my own improvements :wink:

Thanks again.

Pascal.

11

Pascal - looking quickly at your list, just two points. First, there are no laws and while practicing more than 20 minutes at a shot may bring diminishing returns, you may at times just get into a really enjoyable groove for a good deal longer - do that when you feel like it too. Second, I would strongly suggest using on occasion a metronome - this will both help you know your progress and will help you to hold the tunes together properly at whatever speeds you’ve attained at any given point.

Have fun.

Philo

12

Scales – major and minor.

Rhythm – quarter notes, 8th notes, 16th notes, triplets, octave jumps, … mix it up.

Metronome.

13

Play with a chromatic tuner. It gives you some truth and honesty about your intonation.

14

I have heard people talk about the importance of relaxation in playing fast. Make sure you aren’t squeezing the whistle. Cover the holes with the minimum pressing down possible. If the note doesn’t sound right, don’t press harder. Reposition your finger. Constantly be checking yourself for relaxation of your body. It’s easy to tense up without even knowing it and that can apparently slow down your fingers as well as lead to other problems. No expert here, just passing on what I have read.

15

Not just major and minor! If anything, major and dorian for Irish music. But I’d say practice scale runs, arpeggios, pedal notes (gAfAeA, that kinda thing) for every key and mode on the whistle. Or at least major, minor, dorian, and mixolydian.