What key, please?

[DrPhill]

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

[benhall.1]

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

[DrPhill]

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.

[benhall.1]

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.

[DrPhill]

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

Thanks Ben. I value your help.

[Polara Pat]

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

Also, did Mr Gumby retract his Eb suggestion?

[Mr.Gumby]

did Mr Gumby retract his Eb suggestion?

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

[DrPhill]

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.

[DrPhill]

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.

[Polara Pat]

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

[ecadre]

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.

[Celticexile]

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!

[pancelticpiper]

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.