Most versatile non-d whistle

vaulter · Post by **vaulter** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 11:32 am

Okay I'll admit right up front I'm pretty music theorilly

challenged. I know with the D whistle I can play a lot of songs just using the norml a notes on the d scale witha cross fingered C natural thrown in. I really like the sound of the Bb whsitles and I play mostly just by myself for fun but if I got a Bb and wanted to play with other people that weren't playing in the key of Bb I would be really in trouble as in using the normal non cross fingered non-half holed notes? is there a good general purpose key somewhere in between sprano d and low d that has I guess you'd call it a more natural only scale like the d that only has two sharps the c and f. Not sure if I explained enough what I mean but we'll see .
thanks for any info

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 11:54 am

Yes you would be in trouble with most guitar-oriented folk musicians with a Bb unless they are playing in F or using capos. If you were playing with woodwinds, like sax etc. perhaps the Bb would serve you.

I recommend a C tunable as your next choice. You can play with folkies in C, F and A minor easily. D minor is somewhat popular as a key in ballads.

A flat key whistle would come after C for usability. Also, Low Gs are really good for song accompaniment, I have found

OutOfBreath · Post by **OutOfBreath** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 12:06 pm

Bb is very useful if you are doing non-trad stuff, especially hymns. You can also play F on a Bb. A low F is almost as versatile for that type of music. It all depends on what you expect to be playing. For IRT the most useful keys are probably D, Low G, Low A in that order followed by C, Bb, and Low F in no particular order.

Note that while you can play A and G tunes on a D whistle, having the low G and possibly a Low A let you play songs in D, G, and A where the lowest note drops below the bell note of a Soprano D whistle.

Please note that this is not based so much on my <HeavySelfDeprecatingSarcasm> extensive knowledge of IRT </HeavySelfDeprecatingSarcasm> as with a simple look at the "by key" indexes in my PDF of O'Neill's Music of Ireland" (1850 trad tunes).

Scott McCallister · Post by **Scott McCallister** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 12:18 pm

Try an A whistle. It is reasonably close to the Bb sound you like (actually as close as you can get) and it only adds another sharp bringing the total to 3. (F# C# & G#) This also allows you to play a D scale really easily. (It would start with the XXXOOO fingering) The G natural is played with the same "c" cross fingering on a D whistle.

I can recommend the Susato medium bore for this. I know Susatos get a lot of bad press around here for bing too loud and having a kind of recordery sound to them but the medium bores are much improved. They sound really pretty well, can be purchased tunable, have conical bores, (something often overlooked in Susatos I think) and they are relatively cheap for mid-pitch whistles. The Bb is even better than the A IMHO.

Best of Luck

Scott McCallister

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 12:43 pm

Bb? Depends if you're playing with Scots and/or Bretons, then you can "play along". Which you could do just as well with an F low whistle...

Otherwise, think of A and G. Both will harmonize with D tunes. Alto whistles rock. It's the most natural fingering for an adult's hand. Gets rid of the inherent shrillness of high (D, C) whistles, without the fingering challenge of low whistles.

Also, G is an "ergonomic" tone for fippled flutes generally. The favourite adults' recorders* are in F, i.e. like G whistles with a pig-nose F hole added down below. It's also the most common NA flute tuning (F#, G). It just works, probably some kind of a soft-spot relationship between our hands size, human voice, etc.

Btw, aren't there some A/G combo whistles around ? Offhand, I can think of Silkstone PVCs, but there must be others.

* an adult recorder is the same as a sop-oprah "school" recorder, except it's PG rated. A really sonographic instrument.

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 12:52 pm

Dixon makes A/G combos. The whistle AND flute head will fit both bodies.

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 1:12 pm

Zubivka wrote:Bb? Depends if you're playing with Scots and/or Bretons, then you can "play along". Which you could do just as well with an F low whistle...

Also Galician. I'm learning a Munhiera from a recording of Gaita tunes. It's in Bb. The tune is really simple but I'm having a time getting up to speed with those Spanish pipers.
Mike

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 2:01 pm

Really Bb? Not Gm?

g

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 3:53 pm

Low G or A

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 2:31 am

glauber wrote:Really Bb? Not Gm?

BbM, Gm... same thing, neh? The most versatile whistle here ends up to be a NA flute