Chiff and Fipple Forums

I don't need Irish, or Celtic for that matter...I love all folky music. But I don't think I can meld with Ray Charles! Thanks for the clip, PanCeltPiper.

I heard a hammered dulcimer player (Dana Hamilton who made my 13/14 HD) play Soldiers Joy in D, then adjust it up to Em which is ridiculously easy on the dulcimer. I will try to find a good waltz to do this with. I have The Waltz Book and Waltz Book II. My journey begins.

Let's call in Jackie?

We used to do this one after he introduced it to us: The New Land

pancelticpiper wrote:What specifically does it do? If you play from Bottom D up the scale to B in the 2nd octave which notes are off, are they sharp or flat?

Taking beginner's error into account, I can't guarantee how reliable these readings are. They were done with a tuner app on my phone. The problem is that while watching the app, it's hard not to try to correct the pitch by blowing it into tune. This is an Oak in the key of C.

Maddie wrote: these readings...were done with a tuner app on my phone.

Thanks, that's very clear.

First, I'll translate everything for D whistles because that's how the notes are usually reckoned regardless of a whistle's key.

It's very good news, because it appears that the Bottom D to Middle D octave spread is good, which can be the trickiest thing for a maker to get right.

In ordinary D terms you have

D 0
E +20
F# -15
G 0
A 0
B 0
cnat ?
c# 0
d 0
e -25
f# -35
g 0
a 0
b ?

Having the Major 3rd (F# on a D whistle) 15 cents flat is right in line with Just Intonation and would be the preferred location for many, if not most, trad players.

That aside, you only have one problem note, E, the note emitting from Hole 6. I can't see how it can be that sharp in the low octave and that flat in the 2nd octave. Can you check to make sure?

A somewhat sharp Low E is fairly common in Irish whistles and flutes, but I cant' imagine how it can have a 45 cent pitch differential between the octaves when its neighbours D and F# have pretty close octaves.

More common is for E to be a hair sharp in the low octave and in tune in the 2nd octave, even on whistles which are otherwise well in tune. Conversely E can be in tune in the low octave and a hair flat in the 2nd octave, all else being good.

That aside, you only have one problem note, a sharp E, the note emitting from Hole 6.

I would put some tape on Hole 6 to bring that note down to the pitch of the rest of the whistle scale.

Note that Maddie gives her first octave D (relative E) as flat in one and sharp in the other octave. More of a blowing issue than one that can be taped over, perhaps.

[fixed typo]

sorry typo fixed.

Yes it's very strange to have a note far sharper than the rest in one octave and far flatter than the rest in the other, with everything else being normal. Don't think I've ever seen it happen.

(On whistles or flutes...uilleann chanters can do some every strange things.)

[Thread revival. - Mod]

Wanderer wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:27 am 2. What are your whistle-related goals for 2020?
Learn tunes. Play in lots of sessions.

This post aged poorly.

Mr.Gumby wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:37 am Let's call in Jackie?

We used to do this one after he introduced it to us: The New Land

Lovely tune, but is it perky?

If you want a lively minor waltz (I'm told it fits into the valse java category), may I shamelessly suggest this composition of mine, in Bm, played here by Winifred Horan et al. (She changed the order of parts and doubled them, and played the third part only once, but I don't mind. )