Has anyone made a whistle from 1/2 inch copper plumbing? I just made one and I’m having a problem with the upper octave D being very sharp. Everything else is in pretty good tune.
I needed to make a C whistle for a concert coming up in a large room, and I used a Susato headpiece because I can’t afford $35 for a new Susato C.
I interpolated (averaged) the measurements between my D and Bb Susatos, and made a copper body that fits the fipple/head joint.
Any suggestions on how to flatten the upper D when the rest of the notes are in tune? Undercutting? Opening up the uppermost hole so it’s sharper?Seems to me it would be the C# (highest tone hole) that’s causing the problem, since everything else is closed when high D is played. Make sense, anyone?
Opening the C# hole should work, but it will throw our C# sharp. You coud try blowing more gently, but I doubt you would want to do that in a fast tune.
I did drop the jaw, and it helped, but in a real world concert situation, I will not be able to adjust that quickly. The concert’s in one week. So what I decied to do was rewrite the harp part in Bb so I could just play my existubg Bb Susato,
but I’m still interested in suggestions,
undercutting-- is that above inside or below inside the tone hole? There’s not much chimney effect to work with, as on the pipes. It’s an “M” (thin) type copper tube.
Yeah, I’ve got a lot to learn. i don’t plan on doing this this professionally (as a whistle maker). I’d just like to figure out why everything 'cept the octave D came out almost perfectly in tune.
Undercutting is the term for beveling the inside of the hole, or say the bottom of the hole. It is done mostly on the side of the hole towards the fipple to bring a flat note up. With a sharp note there is not much you can do.
Fill the hole with an epoxy and then redrill the hole lower.
I will solder the hole shut, and then redrill. Do you think that may orkd (Orkney) as well.? (Work-- aye-- firewater!)
Hello!
Hook Na Hey,
as we Comaches say.
Perhaps your mistake is trying to play OXX XXX rather than XXX XXX. I assume too that you are talking about the middle D? If you get that in tune on a straight bore whistle, then the top D will be sharp and the bottom D slightly flat. I’d only worry about redrilling holes if those particular notes were out, it’s the length of the whistle you need to worry about when tuning the D’s.
Ooooohhh! Sorry, I didn’t read the initial entry closely enough! Stupid me… if the 2nd D is too sharp on a C whistle, the hole is too large. An in-tune low D indicates hole upper edge placement is okay, but if the 2nd D is sharp, you drilled the hole too large. Make another body with the upper edge of the D hole in the same place, just drill a smaller hole. Try placing a piece of tape over the far edge of the hole on the body you have and see…this may be the answer to your question. Placing tape over the far edge of the hole decreases hole size without affecting upper hole edge placement.
Duh…
Dave
I assumed it was a D whistle because of the reference to the C# hole being the uppermost hole open when D is played. Perhaps some clarification would be helpful. It probably doesn’t help either that the fundamental note of any whistle can be refered to as the ‘D’.
I AM making a C whistle, but when I described a high “D” I meant it in a transposing sense, as in the ssecond octave “C” on the C whistle. The octave up from the lowest tone is what is sharp. About 50 cents. Quite noticeable.
The fingering I am talking about is OXX XXX, not XXX XXX, but it does not make any difference anyway. TINwhistles/SYNwhistles; SYNonymy’s comments will be considered strongly, along with everyone else’s too.
I thank you all for your efforts to help out. It turned out to be a great whistle, except for the sharp octave. So I rewrote the arrangement in Bb instead.
I can’t figure it out. I may try shortening the entire whistle to see if that helps. It is more toward a B than a C anyway. Although when I flared the end it was sharper and stands on end.
When you try again, I’d suggest that you determine the length of the whistle using that middle ‘D’ as the datum. Concentrate your tuning then on the octave that has that note in the middle of the range, ie G to G’. The top and bottom will be out slightly as long as you use a parallel bore, but having the middle in tune seems to be the best compromise.