There have been discussions on this topic before but I have only recently started to experiment.
I have taped my pair of Clarke Original whistles together, blocked off the top 3 holes of the right hand whistle and then play the two as one.
Challenging to say the least as the breath requirement is massive but the sound is quite unique. Has anyone else tried this and what are the best tunes to play. Presumably those in the Key of G as the underlying drone note is G? Are there any other combinations of whistles or blocked holes that might work?
They seem increasingly popular with NA flutes. See for instance these, which look like a “double Aulos” (except the Antique instrument had reeds) or even a triple one http://www.highspirits.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&cat=18[img]http://www.highspirits.com/128.jpg[/img]
Note the right hand drone has three holes covered in the picture with leather strap stoppers. These straps just work, it’s amazing…
For a Major tune, say in G, you can try and drone in unisson (same G’), octave (second G’’ or G one octave lower), or of course a perfect fifth above (D) or lower (C) for a start.
For Minor modes you may want more interesting effects…
Some NA “drones” have one hole, so you can use your left pinky to make it sound either in unisson (D) or a fifth above (A). Nothing wrong with trying the latter to be in G, so you could accomodate both D major and G major tunes.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10183&item=3910267436&rd=1
Also most NA “drones” have a convenient double embouchure, so it’s easy to alternately cover one or the other of the blowholes: the permanent droning can easily get boring. Sometimes I play the melody first on the melody flute alone, then sparingly bring in the drone.
I have a Erik the Flutemaker “Double whistle” (two Susatos bound together with a joint fipple) and I love it, except for the fact that after about a year, the whistles went out of tune with each other and are non-tuneable. So I jerry-rigged another set with a couple of LBW’s that I had made tuneable–you just use black electrical tape to bind them together and cover the holes–but the double mouthpiece is a challege. You tend to drool a lot.
However, the sound is fantastic. I find that the stuff that works best on these are medieval or Renaissance tunes, and Christmas Carols. Things that are very simple, and yes, it does sound better if you play in the key of G (if your drone is G-note–top three holes covered–rather than an D-drone, which is all holes covered).
It’s fun to experiment by playing both sides at once, or switch between them. So if you have any extra doubles (two Gen D’s) laying around, make 'em into a double whistle for the day. The electrical tape comes right off when you’re done!
![http://www.highspirits.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&cat=18[img]http://www.highspirits.com/128.jpg](http://www.highspirits.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&cat=18%5Bimg%5Dhttp://www.highspirits.com/128.jpg){kind=link}