Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi all, can anyone tell me what key is this fine tune in, and what whistle should I be playing it on?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GlweCUixao

Thanks in advance

Phill

It's in Bb, Phil. It fits absolutely perfectly on a Bb whistle.

benhall.1 wrote:It's in Bb, Phil. It fits absolutely perfectly on a Bb whistle.

Thanks Ben, does it require folding? My definition of 'fits perfectly' is slightly more restricted than yours due to my reluctance to fold. [I tried what you suggested for 'Diamonds and Rust' and could manage to fold an entire phrase but not an individual note.]

I have figured the melody for this tune (I think) starting (D notation) F# G A3 A e3 which requires no folding....

Is Bb a special key? I have whistles in Bb, C, D Eb, A which sounds like the key of Bb major to me.

DrPhill wrote:

benhall.1 wrote:It's in Bb, Phil. It fits absolutely perfectly on a Bb whistle.

Thanks Ben, does it require folding? My definition of 'fits perfectly' is slightly more restricted than yours due to my reluctance to fold. [I tried what you suggested for 'Diamonds and Rust' and could manage to fold an entire phrase but not an individual note.]

I have figured the melody for this tune (I think) starting (D notation) F# G A3 A e3 which requires no folding....

Is Bb a special key? I have whistles in Bb, C, D Eb, A which sounds like the key of Bb major to me.

No it doesn't require folding at all. Every note fits perfectly on a Bb whistle. The key for this tune is just plain, straightforward, B flat major. And, as I say, it fits, without folding, perfectly on a B flat whistle.

benhall.1 wrote:No it doesn't require folding at all. Every note fits perfectly on a Bb whistle.

Thanks Ben. I value your help.

I have to ask, what do you guys mean by folding?

Also, did Mr Gumby retract his Eb suggestion?

did Mr Gumby retract his Eb suggestion?

On second thought I decided the OP probably wasn't looking for an option involving half holing.

Polara Pat wrote:I have to ask, what do you guys mean by folding?

When you want to play a note off the bottom of the whistle and have to use the note an octave higher.

So when, for example, playing 'Diamonds and Rust' on a Bb whistle, the lowest note of the tune falls below the bell note and has to be folded up an octave. It is a reasonably standard fix, apparently, but one that my mind sometimes refuses to adopt.

Mr.Gumby wrote:

did Mr Gumby retract his Eb suggestion?

On second thought I decided the OP probably wasn't looking for an option involving half holing.

You thought right.... I can half-hole. Sometimes. But If I can pick a whistle where I do not need to I am happier.
I did not get time to thank you for your suggestion though, so thanks.

DrPhill wrote:

Polara Pat wrote:I have to ask, what do you guys mean by folding?

When you want to play a note off the bottom of the whistle and have to use the note an octave higher.

So when, for example, playing 'Diamonds and Rust' on a Bb whistle, the lowest note of the tune falls below the bell note and has to be folded up an octave. It is a reasonably standard fix, apparently, but one that my mind sometimes refuses to adopt.

That seems a bit confusing but I'll have to try and figure it out now. Thanks

Mr.Gumby wrote:

did Mr Gumby retract his Eb suggestion?

On second thought I decided the OP probably wasn't looking for an option involving half holing.

To be fair, it's clearly the key of the whistle actually being played on the track.

Probably was an Eb whistle on that track, but I've been blessed (cursed?) with a succession of singers requiring accompaniment in different keys. Great excuse for the occasional WHOAD attack, so I've just been playing along with that Luke Kelly/Dubliner track. As previous posts have informed, Bb a perfect match (albeit an octave lower, since I can't get it to behave in the third octave) and Eb with half-holing. That said it was easiest of all on my little F whistle (minor adjustment on that top note only). First time it had seen the light of day in over a year, and first time I've felt a whistle smile at the attention!

Though I usually prefer being in the mid-range of a whistle than down on the bottom end, for this tune I'd use the Bb, where it sits so well.

I just wouldn't feel comfortable screaming out those 3rd octave D's and all those high C's.

BTW the fiddle at the beginning sounds like it was recorded at a different base pitch than the guitar.