Jon Swayne Low D Whistle in boxwood

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 10:24 am

Even if you can lean into them and get good hard low D, they still don't sound like flutes overall, nor play like flutes. I play both families of instrument in various sizes because they all offer different tone colours and ways of utilising their respective strengths and weaknesses to achieve desired effects, to suit to one's own taste a particular piece of music, to satisfy one as a player.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:44 am

narrowdog wrote:
FascinatedWanderer wrote:I sort of don't understand the thing with low whistles... If the best thing about some of them is that you can lean into the low notes like with a flute, why not, you know... play a flute?
some of us can't

That's true, for physiological or other reasons. But anyway, a whistle that can be leaned into still sounds distinctively like a whistle, not a flute.

FWIW, the Swayne sounds recordery to me, too - in basic tone but not response, if I can make that distinction.

Nice playing, Jem ... though I want to think further about your twiddles and diddles.

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 12:48 pm

Twiddle me, twiddle me, twiddle me twee,
A piper can cran and so can me.....

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:12 pm

jemtheflute wrote:Twiddle me, twiddle me, twiddle me twee,
A piper can cran and so can me.....

The man can cran, indeed he can,
Of that I'm certain, very.
Your canny toot I thus salute
With fruit of the cran-berry.

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:33 pm

Just to add that dots for the set (staff notation only, sorry - I haven't got ABCs done, though there are doubtless versions out there in ABC, given the tunes are in CRE and O'Neills....) can now be viewed and downloaded (scan of my manuscript from the early 1980s) here or viewed in/downloaded from my Facebook "Music Dots" album.

megapop · Post by **megapop** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 3:40 pm

X: 1
T: The Black Stripper
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
|:GED D3|GEG c2e|dBG GAB|AGE E3|
GED D3|GEG c2e|dBG GAB|[1 AGF G3:|[2 AGF G2d||
gdB GBd|gdB c2e|dBG GAB|AGE E3|
gdB GBd|gdB c2e|dBG GAB|AGF G2d|
gdd gdd|gdB c2e|dBG GAB|AGE E3|
GED D3|GEG c2e|dBG GAB|AGF G3|]

X: 2
T: The Humours Of Castle Comer
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Edor
|:G/F/|EFE EFA|BcA B2c|ded dcB|ABA FED|
EFE EFA|BcB B2c|dcB AFD|E3 E2:|
|:e|eBe eBe|efg f2e|ded dcB|ABA FED|
eBe eBe|efg f2e|dcB AFD|E3 E2:|

X: 3
T: Apples In Winter
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Edor
|:d/c/|BEE dEE|BAG FEF|DED FDF|ABc ded|
BEE BAB|def gfe|fdB|AdF|FEE E2:|
|:B|efe edB|e/f/ge fdB|ded dAF|DFA def|
[1 efe edB|edde g2a|bgb afa|geee2:|
[2 edB def|gba gfe|fdB AdF|FEE E2|]

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 3:56 pm

Thanks, megapop, you're a star!

You could edit out the four hatch-marks in the penultimate bar of the middle tune, though - that scrubbed-out half bar in my manuscript was just that - a boo-boo! No need to represent it in the ABC!

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 5:19 pm

jemtheflute wrote:X:1
T:The Black Stripper

Might be better to call this The Maid at the Well or The Blackthorn Stick (An Maide Draighneán), or one of its other names.

Though, according to a very unreliable source, a black stripper is a mining implement ...

Post by **benhall.1** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:01 am

MTGuru wrote:
jemtheflute wrote:X:1
T:The Black Stripper
Might be better to call this The Maid at the Well or The Blackthorn Stick (An Maide Draighneán), or one of its other names.

Though, according to a very unreliable source, a black stripper is a mining implement ...

Yeah, you don't want to believe that ethical blend. Troublemaker.

It is true though. I imagine that, when that name was used for this tune, the phrase wasn't even ambiguous, and not controversial either.

megapop · Post by **megapop** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:24 am

jemtheflute wrote:You could edit out the four hatch-marks in the penultimate bar of the middle tune, though - that scrubbed-out half bar in my manuscript was just that - a boo-boo! No need to represent it in the ABC!

Well, I just wanted to transcribe it true to original... no, just a joke of course (sorry). The ABC-converter I use did ignore that, so I didn't think one would even realize.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:43 am

benhall.1 wrote:It is true though. I imagine that, when that name was used for this tune, the phrase wasn't even ambiguous, and not controversial either.

The Dusky Ecdysiast

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:43 am

benhall.1 wrote:It is true though. I imagine that, when that name was used for this tune, the phrase wasn't even ambiguous, and not controversial either.

The Dusky Ecdysiast

gariwerd · Post by **gariwerd** » Thu Nov 28, 2013 3:00 am

Hi Jem
Now that you have experienced this instrument for a bit over a year now is there anything else you would like to add about its characteristics and playing capabilities?
Cheers, John

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Thu Nov 28, 2013 8:54 am

gariwerd wrote:Hi Jem
Now that you have experienced this instrument for a bit over a year now is there anything else you would like to add about its characteristics and playing capabilities?
Cheers, John

Hi John,
Sorry I've been so slow responding to your e-mail - mad busy and having to prioritise...... Anyway, now you've posted here and I've found a minute, I'll answer here.

No, nothing much to add, really. I don't get to play it intensively, so it has only "played in" very gradually, though I do think it has developed somewhat/I am learning better how to get its best response. It has not fundamentally changed, though. I do enjoy playing it, always get it out at sessions and always play a few tunes on it. I only use my previous main low whistle as an alternative for specific reasons.

It still does very much what JS says in his blurb - optimised (and how!) for low register and therefore not easy or very sweet above A in 2nd 8ve. Character-wise it still sounds overall towards the recordery end of the whistle spectrum, but to my ears still definitely whistle, not recorder, and certainly not recorder in playing style potential.

I haven't checked upthread but think I may have mentioned playing mine comparatively with a friend's older grenadilla model: his has a narrower bore and, though stronger than your average low whistle at the bottom end, is less so than mine and quieter overall, but his plays much more readily in the upper 2nd and into the 3rd 8ve. I think my ideal would be something about halfway between the two, and when I can organise a visit to the West Country I plan to try to visit JS and talk to him about it it, to enquire whether he can adjust the voicing of mine in that direction. If not, I shall not be discontent, but I would appreciate somewhat greater flexibility from it including easier big interval jump response. As is, I don't find it especially conducive to slow air playing, which is one of the things I like to be able to do on a low whistle. But for playing faster tunes, especially in noisy company, it is quite superb.

I made a short audio clip at the session in Chester last night with me playing it. The company was one high whistle, 3 sets of pipes, an accordion (or 2?) a concertina and 2 or 3 guitars. Of course, I was by far the closest instrument to my mobile phone which I used to make the recording, so balance is not representative, but I think you can hear its agility and responsiveness and also that it does not get lost in the ensemble.

gariwerd · Post by **gariwerd** » Thu Nov 28, 2013 5:40 pm

Hi Jem
Thanks very much for the update. When I sent the email I realised later that I had forgot to put a 'subject' on it so it thought it had probably been filtered as junk and if put a message here others might be interested too.
The topic interested me because a little while ago I tried an older Swayne low D (1990s) blackwood which had had a recent re-set by Mitch Smith from Oz Whistles. I really liked it but of course this might now have significant differences from the new model.

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Jon Swayne Low D Whistle in boxwood

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