Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi All I am seeking a bit of help with taps. I remain on whistle L Plates but I seem to have cuts relatively under control and in fact I sometimes find I have performed a cut or two without any pre-planning so they are coming along. Not so with taps which for me take a conscious effort so they come out stilted and you can imagine from there how my rolls sound.
Other than plain hard work is there some little trick to taps that I am missing? Am I alone in finding cuts much easier to perform than taps?
Thanks in advance for your help.

You might try raising the "tapping" finger a little before doing the tap. If you're trying to go from a "just off the tube" position, you're probably not getting enough leverage to get the bounce you need.

Pat

My fellow Mountaineer is bang on.

JTU, may I ask what instrument(s) you came to the whistle from?

Because I used to go around teaching whistle and Irish flute workshops, and people coming especially from Boehm flute had consistent problems getting their pats sounding right.

The reason is that people trained on orchestral instruments are accustomed to keeping their fingers (when not in contact with the instrument) in the standard "guide positions" which are rather close to the holes or keys.

Especially Boehm flutists, who usually keep their fingers in contact with the touches. Why? Because the last thing they want to do is have their fingers high above the keys and slap their fingers down on them, which makes "key noise" (considered an impropriety).

With open hole whistles and flutes key noise isn't a possibility, and in preparation for making a pat it's usual to raise the patting finger high off the instrument body. Why? Because the extra distance (2 or 3 inches is common) gives the patting finger the distance it needs to accelerate to the required speed to do a pat quickly enough to sound right.

Keep in mind that pats only sound "right" when

1) the patting finger perfectly seals the hole so that a clean lower note is heard, and

2) the pat has an extremely short duration.

A pat shouldn't sound like a note. It should sound like a near-instantaneous separation between two notes. Yet the lower note created by the patting finger is clear- that's what gives a well-done pat its distinctive "pop" or "snap".

JTU wrote: I remain on whistle L Plates

BTW I've been playing whistle 40 years and don't know what that means.

pancelticpiper wrote:

JTU wrote: I remain on whistle L Plates

BTW I've been playing whistle 40 years and don't know what that means.

Richard that means I am still a learner. When you learn to drive in Australia you have to display L Plates on your car. I will have whistle L Plates for a long time.

As for your other question about what instrument I came from. The answer is none - I am a retiree who took up the whistle with no musical ability or background (I can’t even sing in tune in the shower) after going through a busy working and family life wishing I could play something.
Cheers

Mr.Gumby wrote:

Where can I get some "L" plates small enough to fit on my whistles? Or do I just wear the full-sized one on a chain around my neck?

I think a lot of us should be displaying them..,

Piper Joe

Ah... thanks!

No L plates here.

We do have cars that say STUDENT DRIVER in various places. These cars are used for driver training. The cars have brake pedals on the passenger side too, for the teacher to use in emergencies. Sometimes they have dual steering wheels.

You don't want to get stuck behind one. Here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9YCD7ONFHo