Piper Grip vs. Normal

brownja · Post by **brownja** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 5:38 pm

Hello All,
Add me to the list of Dixon Low D Duo owners.
Here's my ?. I don't have huge hands, but can manage a normal grip, Is the piper grip better, or is it just an alternative. Wouldn't a normal grip ease switching between whistle and flute? The piper grip seems akward to me, if i use the middle of my first two fingers, the knuckle of the third is right over the hole, then i have to curve it to get the pad over the hole. Should I consider myslef lucky that i can use a normal grip or work on the piper grip?
Thanks,
jb

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: brownja on 2001-08-03 19:43 ]</font>

rebl_rn · Post by **rebl_rn** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 6:31 pm

Well, ultimately it is whatever is comfortable and works for you. There isn't a "right" or a "wrong" way to hold a whistle. You could hold it backwards as long as you can reach the holes and play up to speed. It seems in discussions on this board that most people find the piper grip easier for this. Most also say that hand fatigue is less with the piper grip, but that might not be an issue for you if you don't plan on playing for hours on end. Personally, I have pretty much always used a piper grip, on all my whistles, even before I knew what that was. It's just the way I started playing. I find the "normal" grip akward and uncomfortable. So find what works for you and go for it.

Beth

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: rebl_rn on 2001-08-03 21:13 ]</font>

Whistlepeg · Post by **Whistlepeg** » Fri Aug 03, 2001 9:18 pm

jb,
Whatever works for you is the way to go, but try both ways for a while. As I play tenor & bass recorders, I had no trouble using regular fingering on my low D whistle. But when I played for any length of time, and wanted to play ornaments up to speed, I found the pipers fingering better. Now I almost always use pipers fingering but it did take some getting-used-to. I had the same problem with the knuckle getting in the way as I too have long fingers. I kept trying different possitions til I found one that worked best. Good luck!
Sue

ErikT · Post by **ErikT** » Sat Aug 04, 2001 1:26 am

JB,

You may find that the piper's grip (or at least the shape of the fingers) is more conducive to learning the flute, so don't worry about the transistion.

Erik

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Sat Aug 04, 2001 9:12 am

I generally find that I have to use piper grip beyond low G; but also seem to naturally wind up there when I'm really trying for a fast popping kind of reel tempo.