Just a question: has anyone made a really, REALLY low whistle? I’m thinking of something very long, probably mitered, made out of PVC drain pipe, and with holes so big you’d need garden gloves with rubber disks glued on them to play. Or, I suppose it could be keyed.
C’mon, I’m serious! What’s the lowest whistle you’ve seen/heard? Most importantly did it make that HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! sound?
No, really, I’m serious. How come no one takes me seriously? Is it because I talk to myself? I don’t think so, do you? Well, I don’t know, maybe…
Rod, do you realize that the original saxophone made by M. Saxe was a bass? He initially didn’t even consider the higher keys.
I believe on page 1 of the current board there’s a link to a pic of a subcontrabass recorder. I just don’t know how one of those can be played – My wife has difficulty getting much more than 1.5 octaves out of a bass or a full 2 out of a tenor, although I know our Dr. Busman can. (Hey, Paul, how many more whistles you gotta sell before getting one of Adri’s subcontrabasses? When you do, tell me, because my wife’s REALLY interested in trying one.)
Look at those keys! I especially like the right pinky keys.
I’m going to guess, you can get away with a square contrabass recorder because the air velocity is slow enough, whereas with a square whistle in existing keys, the air velocity is much higher, so the air in the corners of a square bore whistle would remain relatively still, creating an effective bore that’s smaller than the actual bore.
I’m currently designing a Low-Low-D that will be fully chromatic. The new one has a folded mouthpiece kind of like a bass flute (or also Paetzold Recorder) has only it uses a fipple.
a bit OT, I think. Anyway, I looked up and saw that Colin makes Low B whistle. I think the range is almost in the field of ‘Bass’ but I was wondering if anyone can possibly play (with their bare hands, of course, without the help of keys, crystal people etc.) the Low B ? Has anyone tried one of those? I can manage a C chanter on a set of pipes, so I guess I can handle (well, with difficulty) the Low C’s he makes… not sure about the one one key lower than that, however, I’d love to be able to play a Low B whistle.
I’ve made A below Low-C and it’s playable. I’ve made a few of them with staggered hole and where the bottom tonehole of each hand is rotatable so that you can adjust it to your reach. With this and a little extra stretch it works.
Dan, that’s the most intimidating looking whistle I’ve ever laid eyes on!
I’m guessing from the looks of the bottom end, that you stand this whistle on the floor to play it… any chance of getting you to record a tune on it?
Alba make a Low Bb, which is (obviously) lower than Low B.
I have medium sized hands, with fingers approx the same size as
my palm length. Using pipers grip the Low Bb was a slight stretch when I first got it.
Now it’s not, but it is on the limit of what I could play without keys.
Also, with the Low Bb, I find that I have to have a break every say 5 tunes, and fast reels are … not as fast.
This is because of hand size, somebody with bigger hands would manage it better.
I like things that are simple, with nothing to wear out/break/bend etc,
which is partly why I like whistles and flutes.
Thanks for all the great answers! I wish I had the time, tools, and talent to roll my own foghorn whistle. However, I just noticed on the Overton page, they list prices for whistles as low as “Bass G.” Okay, it’s not as low as the Burke Bass D, but what amazes me is that it’s listed as orderable! I’d love to hear that one…
Okay, it’s not as low as the Burke Bass D, but what amazes me is that it’s listed as orderable! I’d love to hear that one… 