What (other) key whistle is best for Scottish tunes?

Linnhe · Post by **Linnhe** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 7:55 am

I have Ds (many, lurking in drawers and down the back of the settee) but I am really looking for an excuse to buy a new, lower and more mellow whistle that will add to the number of tunes I can play without transposing (I have very little knowledge of music theory and suchlike).

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 8:00 am

Wouldn't an A/Bb set be appropriate, and in tune with most pipes?

Else low F (or E...), to get the pipe scale + the tone below "pipe A"?

Linnhe · Post by **Linnhe** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 11:40 am

Thank you for that Zubivka. I saw Claire Mann playing an F whistle at a concert last night and I was entranced by the sound, so that might be the way to start.

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 11:54 am

Did I recently read of Alba releasing with no much bells (but whistles) a new Q1 in low F?

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 1:32 pm

>What (other) key whistle is best for Scottish tunes?

Hi Linnhe,

whistles in the keys of A and G in addition to your D would
cover most of the keys of tunes in Scottish fiddle collections.
Have a pint for me in my old local - 'The Halfway House',
Fleshmarket Close. Heck - have one for yourself when you're at it!

Cheers,

Colin

Steven · Post by **Steven** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:38 pm

The problem with Scottish music (from a whistler's perspective, anyway) is that it doesn't use just a couple of keys like most Irish music does. Lots of different tunes will use lots of different keys, all up and down the ranges of sharps and flats. Terribly inconvenient. I think the best thing for you to do is identify a bunch of tunes you'd like to be able to play on the whistle and see what keys they're in, then make your whistle-buying decisions from that (remembering that a single whistle can play easily in two different major keys, so a G whistle also plays easily in C). Of course, you also have to take into account the range of the tune, which might not fit the range of the whistles that can play in that key, since most whistles are limited to roughly 2 octaves. Those tune will be more challenging for you.

The one major benefit from this, of course, is that you have a great excuse for feeding your WhOA! At least until you get a full range of keys.

Steven

JoeKrepps · Post by **JoeKrepps** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 4:05 pm

Wow! This is weird! I was just wondering how to approach the subject of getting a whistle that's not a D, but what to get? "Timing is everything!"

A whistle in G is very tempting. I seem to be bumping into songs that are in C but there aren't many high notes in those songs so why not get whistle that's lower than a D but not barely below a D? (Well, aside from WhOA, of course!)

Here's a question while we're talking about changing...uh, I mean "adding" whistles of different keys to one's arsenal. Is it very difficult to acclimate oneself to switching keys? I've been playing nothing but a D (recently adding a Low D) since I restarted learning the whistle 5 months ago. Is it a bugger to learn the different fingerings OR is it a case where you learn by ear which notes "a" whistle plays and adjust your fingering that way? (I realize there are finger charts for every key but it _appears_ that whistling _seems_ to rely heavily on 'learning by ear'.)

Shameless endorsement: I just got an Overton "Low C multi-whistle case" from the NICE people in Germany. What a _great_ bag!!! It's well worth it!

Over 'n out,
Joe

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 8:43 pm

I play with shuttlepipes(A) and GHBs(Bb) on occasion. Those are two whistles that I also like to play alone- nice low tone without the stretch of the low D.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 9:24 pm

Lawrence · Post by **Lawrence** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 10:05 pm

JoeKrepps wrote: Is it a bugger to learn the different fingerings OR is it a case where you learn by ear which notes "a" whistle plays and adjust your fingering that way? (I realize there are finger charts for every key but it _appears_ that whistling _seems_ to rely heavily on 'learning by ear'.)

I'm really new here, but I am under the impression that if you learn a tune on a D whistle (for example), that the fingering remains the same if you play it on a whistle of a different key, say an A.

Yes? No? Sometimes?

Linnhe · Post by **Linnhe** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 7:25 am

Thanks all for your responses. I've been offered a Bb by a piper pal of mine, so I shall give that a go.

I hesitate to ask but, should my latent WhOA kick in, would any of you care to recommend a high end Bb or Bb/A set?

PS: Colin - I go past that establishment every day - I'm sure I can make the time to slip in at some point and raise a glass for you!

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 7:47 am

Linnhe wrote:I hesitate to ask but, should my latent WhOA kick in, would any of you care to recommend a high end Bb or Bb/A set?

The question is so open you'll a truckload of answers for sure.

My advice will be: buy in UK, or European if not.
This way, you get closer contact/response from the maker, no duties hassle. Easy try-before-buy, and direct contacts through the trad music fairs.

Now, disregarding all the above

but certainly not in the "high-end" price sense see http://www.thinweasel.com/ with his A/Bb Water Weasel set.

Or a shop like http://www.whistleanddrum.com/

for the same http://www.whistleanddrum.com/Glenn%20S ... istle.html

At $115 for the whole set, with a flawless reputation, IMHO can't beat it.
Then you'll see if you really want a high end, and in which precise key, whether metal or wood...

Finally, don't miss St-Chartier Droned Instruments Festival, July 2004. It's a big pipers' get-together, with some of the best whistlemakers in Europe letting you try before you buy.

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:30 am

For playing with Scottish bagpipes, I prefer a whistle pitched a fourth above the key of the pipes. So, for playing with GHB, I would use an Eb, for smallpipes in A (or shuttlepipes), a D whistle and so on. Actually, I prefer not to play with Highland pipes at all. There are two reasons for choosing an Eb for Highland pipes. One is that the pipe scale lies nicely in the middle of the whistle and does not use either very low notes or very high ones as you would be forced to do with a Bb whistle. The other is that an Eb will be more easily heard than a Bb when playing with pipes. I have played most often with smallpipes in A and a D whistle works well with those pipes.

Steve

fancypiper · Post by **fancypiper** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:31 am

All the GHBs I have heard here in the USA are just sharp of B flat, so I need a B flat and (I use this more as it has the flatted 7th using G fingering) an E flat whistle with a few mm taken off the top of the barrels of each.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 9:04 am

Linnhe wrote:
I hesitate to ask but, should my latent WhOA kick in, would any of you care to recommend a high end Bb or Bb/A set?

Just sticking to A/Bb combos, a Sindt will give you the best bang for buck IMO. If you want something better, or at least pricier, it's hard to go past an Abell.

That said, if you are prepared to fork out for an Abell combo, you might prefer to buy separate A and Bb whistles. It really depends on what sound you want. For an overtone rich sound, I like Overton and Copeland. For a comparatively pure sound, I like Burke.