This is just a request for information. Three of my pals who have bought low Ds are all experiencing problems with the finger stretch. I (a fiddler) asked why they hadn't tried low Gs, which are smaller (?) and which would give a good range of keys (G, Em, D mixolydian, Am, A Dorian etc). Any reason why low Gs are less popular apart from the fact that whistlers would have to learn to do different things with the fingers?
Well, low G's give you good coverage of the keys with no sharps (C, Am, etc) and 1 sharp (G, Em, etc), and somewhat harder coverage of keys with 2 sharps (D, etc). So it's doesn't overlap with the keys used in Irish music as well as the low D. But it does have a nice sound. Plus, with a good low G you can play much faster than you'd be able to with the low D.
Many tunes cover the range of D on the third string of a fiddle to B on the first string. Of course some go below D and a few go above B but a whistle of flute having that range can play a lot of tunes. If you want to play a standard G tune on a G whistle, where do you locate the G equivalent to the G on the third fiddle string. If you use the low G you can't go down to D. If you use the 2nd octave G, there are plenty of notes below but going up to B will throw you into the third octave of the whistle. I don't play a low whistle so I don't know what that's like but playing up to the corresponding third octave note on a high D whistle would be pretty awful. You can change the octave of some of the notes, I guess, the way D whistles and flutes do when a tune goes below D. Anyway, maybe that's the problem with G whistles. Just a guess. Steve
Hi,
I'm a low whistler player ( i'm doesn't sure that it's the good word, sorry i'm a Breton from Brittany)
I'm love playing on my D and G low whistle. But the problem, in a session, you just can playing with other musicien in D or A low whistle. To make transposition, it's too hard on G.
I can play, just one time, with other musician, in a pub at Lorient with a Smallpipe player who's playing on a D small pipe.
Scottish tunes are good for G Whistle but for Irish tunes it's better the D and the A low whistle.
It's not the range of the keys the most important thing on a Low Whistle, but the range of the fingers....
Has anyone ever heard a low whistle that was actually in tune with the rest of the instruments in the session?
My experience with a few 'low whistlers' (is that a comment on their social standing in the session???) is that their instruments are about a semi tone off concert pitch.
Lovely! I love instrument jokes. A guy goes into a bar in Belfast with a package under his arm. The barman says, "What's that?"
"Five pounds of semtex" comes the reply. "Thank God for that," says the barman, "I thought it was a bodhran."
What's the difference between an onion and a low whistle?
Nobody cries when you cut up a low whistle.
actually breandan, you're right, of all the low whistles I've heard, the low register is never in pitch with the other instruments, except other low whistles. The high register sounds fine...
Okay, somebody has to come to the defense of the lowly low whistle, and it might as well be me (since I'm relatively new to the instrument and won't take it personally when you all scoff at my opinions .
The easy solution, of course, is a tuneable whistle, like my Tony Dixon Low D, which also has the advantage of being very quiet so no one can tell whether it's in tune or not! But actually it's easy to get into pitch...I usually tune it to match my lower octave A or G to a fixed pitch instrument, and then the lower and higher notes are fine.
I'm alos lucky to hear some terrific low whistle playing by our own Mick Cavanaugh of Butte Montana, and he's very careful about pitch. His Sindt low Bb holds its tuning over the entire range, and the same goes for several low D's Mick plays (not sure who the makers are). What I'm suggesting here is that a well-made whistle (preferably tunable) will allow you to play in tune, particularly if you take the time to figure out which note to base your pitch on when matching to the other players.
I have a Sindt high D, love it, and have a Sindt Bb and low A on order. The only Sindt Bb I've played was magic--every note spot on, even and easy to blow across the range, and the perfect prototypical sweet, chiffy whistle tone. I'll let you know how my Bb and A turn out.
I have a copeland low d and, since it's tunable, i generally don't have any problems being in tune. at least with the copeland low d, however, it requires subtle control of the air flow, particularly with the low register, to keep it in tune and otherwise not shank notes. this is at least as difficult to get accustomed to as the infamous finger stretch. if you play flute, you're likely to overblow and if whistle you're likely to be less used to supporting the tone with the diaphram. and if you play fiddle, like, you're just hosed from the get go... ;)
in any case, i love the instrument to death. i particularly like playing it in combination with a fiddle. with more instruments, however, the low whistle simply gets drowned out, which has it's advantages from time to time. So to those who are being subject to bad low whistle playing, i suggest you simply crank up the volume. (Uh, gee, come to think of it, sessions do seem to get quite loud when i bust out the low whistle...)
Chuckle, chortle, snort! Great jokes, even if I have heard them before, they still make me laugh!
Seriously, I have heard people play the low D in tune with others. It requires better breath control than many beginners have. On the low D, if you blow a bit harder, then the intonation will be a bit sharper. You can play in the low register just at that edge where the whistle is about to break into the upper octave.
It takes a lot of practice to be that sensitive. Otherwise, Hobby Lobby has a good variety of materials to make the curtains!
(That Conal is a very funny fellow.)
For people having finger-stretch problems, they need to at least know to play the low-D by covering the holes with the middle pads of the fingers, not the finger tips. This is the same
holding position for the uilleann pipes. If they look like they are trying to use their fnger tips, please stop them before they give themselves tendonitis.
I've been playing the low whistl for nearly two years - The stretch is difficult at first but I find it easier to cover the fingers using my finger tips - it's easier also to do accidentals - does it mater how you play an instrument so long as it sounds ok and you're comfortable.
Breathe control is the most important thing to keep.
People play whistle rather than flute because whistles are cheaper to get into and easier as something to start on - you can then progress to flute or pipes.
Low whistles is where having a handmade whistle makes even more difference than it does for the high whistle. I have a Howard low D and it's mostly ok, except for the tendency to squeal on the second octave E, but i tried a Burke low D once, and wow, what a difference, like a completely different instrument! Precise scale, no squealing, all notes in tune.
I've got low D and E chieftain whistles that I absolutely love. The aluminum is the variable in the tuning. When they get heated up they are in perfect tune! Play em cold and they are out of tune. A very interesting effect! Physics lesson anyone?
brent
Just maybe dull question about Low G. I have very small and short fingers for which I was warned that never can play Low D. (lol... when I see my hands ... I must agree But I love it's sound more than soprano whistle, so I start to thing that Low G should be way for me. But can't try as any distributor of any whistles is about thousand kilometrs far away. So I am curious about that, before I will order something from internet and specialy if Low whistles are not cheap at all. So I worry a bit.
If you have really small hands and a decent budget then I would recommend a Phil Bleazey low D whistle the hole spacing is very
small, the reach form E to D is only 37 mm and the hole size is very
similar to a high D whistle, I am considering a purchase myself , they
are hand crafted out of Boxwood, African blackwood, Mopane and
have great reveiws, phils website is www.bleazey.com
Low Whistles
Low Whistles
This is just a request for information. Three of my pals who have bought low Ds are all experiencing problems with the finger stretch. I (a fiddler) asked why they hadn't tried low Gs, which are smaller (?) and which would give a good range of keys (G, Em, D mixolydian, Am, A Dorian etc). Any reason why low Gs are less popular apart from the fact that whistlers would have to learn to do different things with the fingers?
# Posted on August 27th 2002 by lukegarry
Re: Low Whistles
Well, low G's give you good coverage of the keys with no sharps (C, Am, etc) and 1 sharp (G, Em, etc), and somewhat harder coverage of keys with 2 sharps (D, etc). So it's doesn't overlap with the keys used in Irish music as well as the low D. But it does have a nice sound. Plus, with a good low G you can play much faster than you'd be able to with the low D.
# Posted on August 27th 2002 by glauber
Re: Low Whistles
Many tunes cover the range of D on the third string of a fiddle to B on the first string. Of course some go below D and a few go above B but a whistle of flute having that range can play a lot of tunes. If you want to play a standard G tune on a G whistle, where do you locate the G equivalent to the G on the third fiddle string. If you use the low G you can't go down to D. If you use the 2nd octave G, there are plenty of notes below but going up to B will throw you into the third octave of the whistle. I don't play a low whistle so I don't know what that's like but playing up to the corresponding third octave note on a high D whistle would be pretty awful. You can change the octave of some of the notes, I guess, the way D whistles and flutes do when a tune goes below D. Anyway, maybe that's the problem with G whistles. Just a guess. Steve
# Posted on August 27th 2002 by SteveKendall
Re: Low Whistles
Hi,
I'm a low whistler player ( i'm doesn't sure that it's the good word, sorry i'm a Breton from Brittany)
I'm love playing on my D and G low whistle. But the problem, in a session, you just can playing with other musicien in D or A low whistle. To make transposition, it's too hard on G.
I can play, just one time, with other musician, in a pub at Lorient with a Smallpipe player who's playing on a D small pipe.
Scottish tunes are good for G Whistle but for Irish tunes it's better the D and the A low whistle.
It's not the range of the keys the most important thing on a Low Whistle, but the range of the fingers....
# Posted on August 27th 2002 by Mandolman
Re: Low Whistles
Has anyone ever heard a low whistle that was actually in tune with the rest of the instruments in the session?
My experience with a few 'low whistlers' (is that a comment on their social standing in the session???) is that their instruments are about a semi tone off concert pitch.
My advice? - Get a flute!
# Posted on August 29th 2002 by breandan
Re: Low Whistles
Conal Ó'Gráda says that low whistles are good for two things: making whale noises, and hanging curtains.
Zina
# Posted on August 29th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: Low Whistles
Lovely! I love instrument jokes. A guy goes into a bar in Belfast with a package under his arm. The barman says, "What's that?"
"Five pounds of semtex" comes the reply. "Thank God for that," says the barman, "I thought it was a bodhran."
What's the difference between an onion and a low whistle?
Nobody cries when you cut up a low whistle.
# Posted on August 29th 2002 by lukegarry
Re: Low Whistles
actually breandan, you're right, of all the low whistles I've heard, the low register is never in pitch with the other instruments, except other low whistles. The high register sounds fine...
# Posted on August 29th 2002 by no longer exists
Re: Low Whistles
Okay, somebody has to come to the defense of the lowly low whistle, and it might as well be me (since I'm relatively new to the instrument and won't take it personally when you all scoff at my opinions
.
The easy solution, of course, is a tuneable whistle, like my Tony Dixon Low D, which also has the advantage of being very quiet so no one can tell whether it's in tune or not! But actually it's easy to get into pitch...I usually tune it to match my lower octave A or G to a fixed pitch instrument, and then the lower and higher notes are fine.
I'm alos lucky to hear some terrific low whistle playing by our own Mick Cavanaugh of Butte Montana, and he's very careful about pitch. His Sindt low Bb holds its tuning over the entire range, and the same goes for several low D's Mick plays (not sure who the makers are). What I'm suggesting here is that a well-made whistle (preferably tunable) will allow you to play in tune, particularly if you take the time to figure out which note to base your pitch on when matching to the other players.
I have a Sindt high D, love it, and have a Sindt Bb and low A on order. The only Sindt Bb I've played was magic--every note spot on, even and easy to blow across the range, and the perfect prototypical sweet, chiffy whistle tone. I'll let you know how my Bb and A turn out.
# Posted on August 29th 2002 by Will CPT
Re: Low Whistles
I have a copeland low d and, since it's tunable, i generally don't have any problems being in tune. at least with the copeland low d, however, it requires subtle control of the air flow, particularly with the low register, to keep it in tune and otherwise not shank notes. this is at least as difficult to get accustomed to as the infamous finger stretch. if you play flute, you're likely to overblow and if whistle you're likely to be less used to supporting the tone with the diaphram. and if you play fiddle, like, you're just hosed from the get go... ;)
in any case, i love the instrument to death. i particularly like playing it in combination with a fiddle. with more instruments, however, the low whistle simply gets drowned out, which has it's advantages from time to time. So to those who are being subject to bad low whistle playing, i suggest you simply crank up the volume. (Uh, gee, come to think of it, sessions do seem to get quite loud when i bust out the low whistle...)
# Posted on August 29th 2002 by Brendan
Re: instrument jokes
Q. The uilleann pipes are the only instrument declared safe by the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) Why???
A. They have seat belts and an air bag.
Ha Ha
# Posted on August 29th 2002 by no longer exists
Re: Low Whistles
Chuckle, chortle, snort! Great jokes, even if I have heard them before, they still make me laugh!
Seriously, I have heard people play the low D in tune with others. It requires better breath control than many beginners have. On the low D, if you blow a bit harder, then the intonation will be a bit sharper. You can play in the low register just at that edge where the whistle is about to break into the upper octave.
It takes a lot of practice to be that sensitive. Otherwise, Hobby Lobby has a good variety of materials to make the curtains!
(That Conal is a very funny fellow.)
For people having finger-stretch problems, they need to at least know to play the low-D by covering the holes with the middle pads of the fingers, not the finger tips. This is the same
holding position for the uilleann pipes. If they look like they are trying to use their fnger tips, please stop them before they give themselves tendonitis.
-Dirk
# Posted on August 29th 2002 by dirk
Re: Low Whistles
I've been playing the low whistl for nearly two years - The stretch is difficult at first but I find it easier to cover the fingers using my finger tips - it's easier also to do accidentals - does it mater how you play an instrument so long as it sounds ok and you're comfortable.
Breathe control is the most important thing to keep.
People play whistle rather than flute because whistles are cheaper to get into and easier as something to start on - you can then progress to flute or pipes.
# Posted on August 30th 2002 by Nutty Nessie
Re: Low Whistles
Low whistles is where having a handmade whistle makes even more difference than it does for the high whistle. I have a Howard low D and it's mostly ok, except for the tendency to squeal on the second octave E, but i tried a Burke low D once, and wow, what a difference, like a completely different instrument! Precise scale, no squealing, all notes in tune.
# Posted on August 30th 2002 by glauber
Re: Low Whistles
I've got low D and E chieftain whistles that I absolutely love. The aluminum is the variable in the tuning. When they get heated up they are in perfect tune! Play em cold and they are out of tune. A very interesting effect! Physics lesson anyone?
brent
# Posted on August 30th 2002 by bknjholl
Re: Low Whistles
Just maybe dull question about Low G. I have very small and short fingers for which I was warned that never can play Low D. (lol... when I see my hands ... I must agree
But I love it's sound more than soprano whistle, so I start to thing that Low G should be way for me. But can't try as any distributor of any whistles is about thousand kilometrs far away. So I am curious about that, before I will order something from internet and specialy if Low whistles are not cheap at all. So I worry a bit.
# Posted on July 28th 2004 by maffet
Re: Low Whistles
If you have really small hands and a decent budget then I would recommend a Phil Bleazey low D whistle the hole spacing is very
small, the reach form E to D is only 37 mm and the hole size is very
similar to a high D whistle, I am considering a purchase myself , they
are hand crafted out of Boxwood, African blackwood, Mopane and
have great reveiws, phils website is www.bleazey.com
# Posted on May 14th 2005 by m.anthony