Wendy
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You're right, it IS confusing! 05-Nov-2017 13:23:21
| CorrsClub Time: 25-Apr-2024 14:43:43 |
Thinking about whistle keys does my head in too.
I haven't played an F whistle before (soprano or alto), but I think it would have been harder to play a melody at that brisk pace on the alto F. For those lower whistles, you either need bigger fingers and handspan, or you have to use pipers' fingering (covering the holes with the pads of your fingers) which is a whole other technique to learn. I have an alto G, which would be a tiny bit easier to play than the alto F, but even then, it's still difficult to play fast melodies. And it took me a while to get my hand strength/flexibility up so that my fingers could reach the bottom notes. But, I have smallish hands after all. The tone would probably sound darker too.
Also, those lower whistles take a LOT more air to play - especially if you're flipping up to the higher octave, which requires even more air/pressure.
As for the soprano F - I'm guessing the tone would be more shrill, but I haven't played a whistle higher than a D so I'm not sure! The finger spacing would also be closer together.
Sometimes I wonder why Andrea doesn't play more expensive whistles, actually! She tends to stick to the ones which look/sound a bit cheaper. It's possible that she just likes the rougher sound.
Onto transposition.
""if we used the same method to name whistles that we do to name orchestra instruments [such as B-flat clarinet], every whistle would be a "C" instrument - because when you play a C, it comes out as a C!" [In other words, tin whistles are not transposing instruments.]"
It is true that when I play my "C" fingering on the clarinet, the actual note (concert pitch) is a B-flat.
I don't think that next half of the sentence is correct.
If I play the "C" fingering on a D whistle, the actual note is still a C. So, maybe that's what the website was trying to get at. According to classical Western theory, a D whistle should technically be called a C whistle...but we aren't dealing with an instrument that has come out of Western classical music. If I were to play the "C" fingering on other keys of whistles, the actual note heard would be different. So I'm not sure why the website says they'd all be called "C" whistles.
You also wrote, "So if you have a D whistle, then all fingers down produces a D, whereas on a C whistle, all fingers down produces a C. Is that correct?"
Yes, this is correct.
You've nailed it on the head when you wrote "I'd just dispense with written music altogether and just play by ear!". That's what I do!
If I'm playing the Bflat whistle, for example, I still think of the fingering in the same way as I would a D whistle - that all holes covered is a D fingering. I just don't think about what note I'm actually playing - that would just confuse me.
If you were scoring a written composition, you'd probably have to consult with a whistle player and work out how to transpose the sheet music to suit them.
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