Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hello,

I was wondering if anybody could direct me to a fingering chart for a Bb tin/penny whistle?

I am a novice, and am not sure if the different whistles (C, D, Eb, Bb, etc.) are actually tuned to play in different keys, or if they are just named after the lowest note playable on the respective whistle (or both)?

I found a fingering guide for a Tin Whistle in D and a Fife in Bb and D at:

http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/tinwhistle/tw_bas_1.html

but I have no idea if this would be appropriate for my Bb whistle.

If anybody could help me sort this out, I'd sure appreciate it!

Thank you,

Mike

I think you need to read this article. http://www.chiffandfipple.com/whistlekeys.html

(The chart you want is about half way down.)

Amazing what you can find on the main page of C&F!

This will give you a better understanding of how whistle keys work, but
if you just want the chart, try this link.

http://www.thewhistleshop.com/misc/fingering.htm

Dale has accumulated a lot of good stuff oner the years, ain't he!

In case the link was too much information.

Bb XXX XXX
C XXX XXO
D XXX XOO
Eb XXX OOO
F XXO OOO
G XOO OOO
A OOO OOO
Bb OXX XXX
C XXX XXO
D XXX XOO
Eb XXX OOO
F XXO OOO
G XOO OOO
A OOO OOO
Bb OXX OOO

Thank you --

Ok, please bear with me..

To me that says, a Bb tin whistle is capable of playing the Bb major scale, the Eb major scale, and the C minor scale.

What about the other accidentals that do not appear in those scales (E, F#, B, etc. etc.)? Is it possible to approximate those notes on the Bb instrument?

I think I am grasping the concept of a particular whistle for a particular scale(s), but is it possible to produce a chromatic scale on a Bb whistle, or would you just use a different whistle for tunes in different keys?

Many thanks,

Mike

Normally you use a different whistle. You can play any note by half-holing -- Loretto Reid even has a tune where she plays a note halfway between F# and G. But most people don't bother, except for the odd note here and there.

Mike, on a Bb there might be a cross fingering for Ab...OXO XXX is somewhat common in the bottom octave. (OXO OOO for 2nd)
(On a "D" whistle this would be a "C" natural...)

Other than that it is half holing...

Hi Mike, as pointed out above the Bb Whistle Plays a Bb major and an Eb major scale starting on XXXOOO with the cross-fingered Ab OXXXOX (that's the fingering I use but other fingerings work too).
These two major scales have "relative minors" which use the same notes but start two notes below the major Key note, so for Bb it's G minor and for Eb it's C minor.
A lot of traditional music is what’s called "Modal" in that the starting note of the scale is neither the major nor the minor. One, which is very common, is called the "Mixolidian" which starts on Bb but has an Ab instead of A.
Another characteristic of trad tunes is that they may not use all 7 notes of the scale but only 5 (Pentatonic) 6 (Hexatonic).
All this allows changes of feel and tonal centre with only one "accidental" the Ab.

John S