I first got a Susato vsb high D and I think I got a bit used to it now while trying to blow the second octave B. But I have to tongue it every time. As for the rest in the second octave range, I don’t really have a problem. I also got a Feadog D so I tried on it and second octave A and B sound awful. I can still make the A but as for the B, basically it is just a nightmare. Can anyone share some tips on the breathing control or any skills etc so that I can practice and make the B work? Apparently, “blow harder” doesn’t really do the trick. Also, is Feadog supposed to sound unclean for a newbie? One last question is can is there a second octave for C too on a high D whistle?? Thanks! 
I’m in the process of trying to play the high second octave notes an a Goldie Low D. I think it is a question of practice, and that it will come eventually but I’ve come to realise that embouchure is important and that while you need to blow hard you also need to close down you lips so that the hole through which you’re blowing is very small. This speeds up air anyway and lowers the volume and potential shrillness of the high notes. Just keep at it and practice scales. I find I reach A & B much more easily when played in the context of a scale. You should be able to reach C & the third D on a high whistle but make sure you practice keeping your lips close together so that the notes don’t deafen you. Hope this helps.
On many whistles, that high B needs the tonguing. Experiment and see how subtle you can get it-- it usually doesn’t need much.
But I really don’t think it should, and can always get two octaves + just slurring on my own Susato -S- (can’t be harder on -V-) and Feadog. So I’d say in this case it’s probably more just about experience and control (not necessarily blowing harder or softer, but rather hitting it consistently/instinctively/automatically ‘right’).
Practice is going to sort things out.
Thanks yall! I was trying a few different ways as suggested. I must say that every time I tongue, I succeed every second octave note. But it’s not necessary for every note. Also, I have to tongue very fast. However, after I tongue if I put my tongue flat, having the tip of my tongue against the back of my lower teeth, the note remains without going back to a lower note.
On the other hand, I am wondering if I must tongue all the time for the second octave B? It sounds blunt while playing a song. Or the tonging will become smoother as the time goes by with lots of practice?
Thanks again
trissytrizzy
No. In time the tonguing should become more choice (can be very effective) than requirement (but you shouldn’t have to).
Right, you do not want to tongue every high note while playing a song. Some whistles do have a smoother breath pressure curve than others. Your Susato VSB is a good whistle. The Feadog whistles can be a little more sensitive. Regardless of the whistle, control of the second octave will become more assured as you play more, as Maki suggests. It just takes some time to get accustomed to what breath pressure is required for each note and that varies from whistle to whistle. But before long, you won’t even have to think about it. Playing is the key. Play, play, and play some more.
The Feadog sound is a bit gritty. Some like it and some don’t. But I would not condem it to being “unclean”. Some find it to be more of a traditional sound.
Here’s a fingering chart of what should be possible on a whistle. What you can get out of a particular whistle will vary. So you have to try to find which fingering works best (or at all) on your whistles.
Feadoggie
Thanks again and particularly Feadoggie, you have given me a detailed answer and exactly just what I wanted to know! Love the chart too!
I wouldn’t have known the “unclean” sound is more of a traditional sound as lots of good players I’ve listened to use other brands. But I read a comparison and it states that Feadog has a more traditional sound compares with Clarke etc.
After reading the finger chat, I’m confused why for the second octave that E and one of the fingerings of B are the same??
They’re both harmonics of the fundamental (first octave) E.
Peter, you might want to expand on the topic of harmonics (please?). I’m not sure many whistlers know how to play them. Flute players seem to use them quite a bit more.
Feadoggie
Yes, please!
Well, let’s take my Feadog and (in line with trissytrizzy’s question about the E and the B) start from the first-octave E XXXXXO, which is the fundamental E and also confusingly but correctly the first harmonic. Overblow it to the octave and you get the second harmonic (often naturally but incorrectly called the first). Overblow again to the twelfth and you get a B (third harmonic), then to the double octave for another E (fourth harmonic), where tonguing and/or venting XXOXXO certainly helps to get a clean start on this particular whistle. Next harmonic (the fifth) of XXXXXO after that should be G#, but it’s actually another B (sixth harmonic) on my Feadog and that’s as far as I can push that one.
More usefully, perhaps, some standard vented fingerings (eg OXXXXX for second-octave D) are actually vented harmonics (something that becomes more and more useful as you get into the third octave) and other unvented harmonics (try XXXXXX, XXXXXO, XXXXOO and XXXOOO for top-of-the-second-octave A, B, C# and D) can also be useful for tone colour and/or tuning purposes. To which I might just add that I’ve also found various whistles to require any of OXXOOO, OXXXXX, XXXXXX or ‘leaking’ (rather than fully vented) variants to produce their best (as in cleanest and/or most accurate) two-octave Ds.
I’d like to hear Peter elucidate on the harmonics issue as well.
To the OP, it might help to think of the higher notes, not in terms of blowing harder, but with a narrower emboucher and a faster stream of air. Kind of like puckering up your lips. While you do blow harder, you are not moving more air, you’re just moving it faster. For example, it often takes a greater volume of air to play low notes on low whistles than high notes IMHO.
But as others have noted, practice will bring it around. You may have to tongue it in the beginning but it will likely come around naturally if you keep at it.
ecohawk
Apparently Peter types faster than I…
Welcome to the Whistle Forum. I needed that lesson too.
Ok, Peter, I’ll go look into that one. From a whistle design perspective I have always thought of the vented second octave d as a primary pitch, the half-wave length of the bell note and not as a harmonic. I’ve thought the overblown second D (XXX XXX) as the harmonic. I’m confused - not a surprise there.
By the way some players use the harmonic tones to great and dramatic effect on the whistle. I was somewhat gobsmacked the first time I heard James McNally do it in the middle of a tune, Had to add it to my set of party tricks. And some whistles make it easy to hit them (flutes are still easier IMO).
Feadoggie
We had quite a discussion/argument about this a while back with some incorrect usage of numbers (ie first instead of second etc.) from myself among others, but I remain 100% certain that OXXXXX D and its XXXXXX equivalent are both the same harmonic!
Peter, sorry I deleted my question below. I’ll cut and paste it back in. I thought I’d just look into it a bit. And I am not being argumentative here. Thanks for the reference to the previous thread. I do remember it. I do realize that both tones are the same harmonic of the fundamental tone. My confusion/questioning has more to do with the role that the vented hole plays in the production of the note as opposed to the note generated when all the holes are closed. I understand the harmonic tones in terms of division of the fundamental wave. I’m wondering more about the vented note being the result of a shortened pipe as opposed to the expression of the same pitch as an overblown note in a longer tube. There are harmonics and then there are harmonics, so to speak.
Feadoggie