Professional Model Pennywhistle
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:55 pm
Q: The Tuning Slide; are there special considerations?
The slide is handy for tuning, especially if the instrument is a little cold; however, the slide can do only so much. Other pennywhistles don’t have a tuning slide, and we’ve heard of some people buying our whistle and sliding it all the way in (2.5 mm too far). When played this way, it will be sharp overall AND the scale will be distorted: C# will appear sharp in relation to D. This happens because the note C# comes from a short tube and D comes from a long tube; 2.5 mm is a greater proportion of the C# length than the D length, with a resulting distortion of the musical scale. This issue is more critical on the small instruments such as the Professional Model Pennywhistle.
Standard pullout is 2.5 mm (or 0.100”, just less than 1/8”). At this point, the Professional Model Pennywhistle, warmed with the breath, will play a good musical scale at A=440. From one brand of whistle to the next, the scale will be just a little different. If you’re used to another brand, spend a little time playing ours, and you’ll soon be blowing it in tune (we designed ours to be in tune when blown with modest and equal pressure). In another blowing style, notes are played near the point of breaking, and unfortunately, we can’t make an instrument that plays a good scale when played both ways. If we want the pennywhistle to be heard above the rest of the band, we always use a microphone.
Walt Sweet, Designer, Sweetheart Flute Co. , 9 Feb '04
The slide is handy for tuning, especially if the instrument is a little cold; however, the slide can do only so much. Other pennywhistles don’t have a tuning slide, and we’ve heard of some people buying our whistle and sliding it all the way in (2.5 mm too far). When played this way, it will be sharp overall AND the scale will be distorted: C# will appear sharp in relation to D. This happens because the note C# comes from a short tube and D comes from a long tube; 2.5 mm is a greater proportion of the C# length than the D length, with a resulting distortion of the musical scale. This issue is more critical on the small instruments such as the Professional Model Pennywhistle.
Standard pullout is 2.5 mm (or 0.100”, just less than 1/8”). At this point, the Professional Model Pennywhistle, warmed with the breath, will play a good musical scale at A=440. From one brand of whistle to the next, the scale will be just a little different. If you’re used to another brand, spend a little time playing ours, and you’ll soon be blowing it in tune (we designed ours to be in tune when blown with modest and equal pressure). In another blowing style, notes are played near the point of breaking, and unfortunately, we can’t make an instrument that plays a good scale when played both ways. If we want the pennywhistle to be heard above the rest of the band, we always use a microphone.
Walt Sweet, Designer, Sweetheart Flute Co. , 9 Feb '04
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