anyone else out there get an aching bottom hand when playing low whistle? im a piper to trade and not sure if this is just a result of new muscle building or if i may just be over stretching?
any tips on hand exercises or technique?.. or a link to an old thread…
moran taing
It’s probably a tight grip, but also pay attention to hand placement.
I suspect one difference is a chanter is supported by a bag or a knee. Compared to a soprano whistle, a low whistle requires greater grip support when the top three holes are played. I’ve found that when a low whistle is supported with a neck strap or a makeshift stand, hand tension is significantly reduced thus allowing greater playing speed and endurance. Obviously we don’t normally play a whistle this way so some attention to judicious grip tension is needed.
I’m not a piper so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Yes, what m31 said. Though, if the OP is a piper in Glasgow, it might not be the uilleann pipes he plays.
With a good piper’s grip, a low whistle shouldn’t really require any more hand pressure or tension than a high whistle. But supporting the weight can be a problem if it feels like you’re going to drop the whistle without a tight grip.
Since I don’t play low D very often, I sometimes like to use a thumb strap. Another trick is to not hold the whistle vertically straight up and down, as you might with a smaller whistle, but angled up 30-45 degrees. This allows your thumbs to contribute more effectively to supporting the weight. Psychologically, the extra security you get helps your hands to relax to avoid a death grip.
True, could it be a drain pipe? 
thanks for your input guys.
i guess its not my technique or tight grip causing the problem. I actually had a tendon reconnected some time ago in my bottom hand and this causes a wee bit of tightness in my right hand. it has not been apparent on my highland or uilleann playing and i suppose it must just be the wider spacing on a low whistle that is causing this tightness to become apparent.
i was looking for other explanations other than this injury- but i suppose it boils down to this old and otherwise non problematic tendon issue
thanks again guys- more physio for me!!
A thumb rest might help. Before you commit to a permanent one you could try splitting a wine bottle cork longitudinally and temporarily holding it in position on the back of the whistle with rubber bands.
Hold the whistle and place the cork so that the lower end of it rests on your lower thumb. You’ll expend less energy gripping the whistle to hold it in place.
If you like the rest, go to a musical instrument repair shop and see if they have a saxophone thumb rest of an appropriate size. You can epoxy this in place.
(I just noticed that M31 and MT Guru have the same galaxy (Andromeda=m31) as an avatar.)
Hmmmmmmmmm… Not so sure about that Paul, I seem to see a whistle going through Guru’s galaxy. 
I started experimenting with bigger and bigger O-rings, and things kind of got out of hand … 
No, I saw that on Star Trek… it’s just a monster alien ship passing through…
Hmm, I hardly dare venture a serious reply at this point, but I’ll try, since I’ve been having a similar issue, only with my top hand/wrist on my new flute. 
OK, so holding it for hours a day in the beginning as I obsessed my way toward some semblance of lower octave embouchure was perhaps not the best of judgment, but it was my exciting new birthday present 
I had a similar but unsuccessful experience with attempting to hold a tenor recorder, where I was determined to tough it out and stretch/grow my hand to fit, but I ended up with such a sore hand that I had to stop playing at all for a while. So I’ve learned my lesson with holding the flute too long, and I’ve started scrupulously following my yoga-stretching rules with my problematical flute hand, and it seems to be going much better for me.
In a yoga, it’s fine for a stretch to extend beyond the comfort zone, but you want to stop as soon as there’s any sort of pain. There’s an intermediate area where there’s quite a bit of interesting sensation in the area being stretched, but it doesn’t actually hurt. If it twinges, zaps, or feels like poking a bruise – back off! If the negative sensation returns, I grudgingly admit that it time to quit for the day (phooey!).
A bit of science to keep in mind is that there aren’t really very many muscles in the hand to build. It’s all gristle and tendon, so the pain isn’t going to be that kind of healthy, good-workout muscle ache. Pain is more likely to be ripping and tearing of ligaments and tendons, which tends to cause lasting problems. That stuff which can be stretched, but best done so carefully and slowly.
I have also found that giving in to WhOA and inserting a new whistle into the equation helped break up my single-minded obsession with the flute… 
(in a smiley mood today…) 
The concept of “progressive resistance” is common knowledge in the exercise world.
Start easy, and gradually work your way up to MORE. (time, reps, resistance, or whistling!!!)
When one senses a strain setting in, it’s probably time to set the quest aside.
There’s tomorrow.
After awhile, what used to be difficult is now easy.
Easy does it.
Good luck.