Whistle Tuning info needed

Whistle
1

Since being new to the whistle I find that it is hard to get a perfect pitch, especially with C natural. Can whistles be perfectly tuned? I have played flute all my life and am I comparing them too much? Thanks Cindy

2

This is a constant subject here at CF. Because of the acoustics of cylindrical whistles, it is difficult to get an accurate C natural with cross fingering. This leads to the heated debate: Do I add a C nat thumbhole? or switch to a conical/tapered bore? The opinions are Legion!

Try different fingerings, like

  1. ODX OOO
  2. OXX DOO
  3. OXX OXX
  4. DOO OOO
    I Find #4 the easiest.

(“D” is half hole)
P.S. (Thanks Cindy?) Please don’t call me Cindy in front of the other guys! :laughing:

3

Different whistles will give better results with different fingerings for C natural. Some whistle designers take care to provide a good cross-fingered C natural and some do not. I’ll add some more common fingerings to those Thomas gave.

  1. OXX OOO
  2. OXX XOO
  3. OXX XOX

But, as Thomas indicated, the half holed fingering DOO OOO works on all whistles and that is the one you can depend on. I was thinking about fiddle players as I read this and then noted your handle, violinmystr. On the violin you have to hear each of your notes and adjust your intonation with your finger position as you play. On the whistle you do the same thing to some extent with breath control. The C natural is the one commonly used note on the whistle where you have to practice your finger position. After a short while it becomes second nature just as it does on the fiddle

Feadoggie

4

Yeah, I always have trouble with the C nat. on the whistle but never on the violin. Half holing for me is a pain, especially when doing a 16th note passage with the C nat. right there in the middle.

It was mentioned that one way to get around the C nat. alternatives is to use a tapered bore. So I then ask, if tuning is much better when using a taper bore, why are there so few taper bore whistles out there. It appears to me that the majority of whistles are straight bore.

5

It’s quite simple really. It’s a lot trickier to make a tapered bore than a straight one where you basically can cut a length of pipe and make holes in it… :smiley:

6

Oh, the Easy button :laughing:

7

Practice, practice, practice! It gets easier in time. Besides in the case you described, if you don’t get the note spot on, no one will notice. The C natural will go by so quickly that you won’t notice it. At least my old ears won’t notice.

The tapered bore may help get octaves more in tune but it isn’t any better at providing a good C natural than a cylindrical bore.

If you really have to have a clean and strong C natural, drill an extra hole for your thumb.

Feadoggie

8

See what I mean Cindy? Everyone has a different opinion on the C natural. Welcome to “The Great Debate”…

(note: Another reason the conical bore is unpopular…they sound like Recorders [Yikes! :astonished: ])