As a beginner, I’m just about to head into the wonderful world of ornamentation in a more serious way. I just want to get some insite before I head too far down the track.
What fingering do I use for cuts. Some seem to suggest that for D, E F# and G you use the third finger of the top hand and for A and B you use the first finger of the top hand.
In the Grey Larsen book which I’m getting into now, he says use the finger one up from the lowest hole covered. Eg, for bottow D cut with second finger of the bottom hand and E cut with the first finger of the bottom hand etc. He believes that the first option above gives too sluggish response.
I’m seeking guidance as to which way people think I should learn
As he says that the issues are a bit different for flute and whistle I have posted this question on both forums, as the responses may go different paths.
Second, this is unfortunately one of those toxic topics that seems to create a lot of heat and not much light. People will argue passionately for one way or the other … their way … and in the end you’ll be just as much in the dark. Most people probably do it the first way. Some people do it the second way (Grey Larsen’s way). Some people (like me) do both, depending on the tune. If your cuts sound like cuts and your rolls like rolls, no one will question your fingers. The timing is much more important than which finger you’re using.
Third, think of it logically. Of the 8 notes on the whistle (D E F# G A B C C#), the C and C# can’t be cut normally. Of the remaining 6 notes (D E F# G A B), both the first way and the second way are identical for 3 of those notes, F# A and B. That leaves only 3 notes D E and G to worry about. So try both ways for those 3 notes, and voilà, you’ve got it.
You can also try B1 for cutting D, and T1 for cutting G. And you might use a different finger for cutting a note individually, and cutting that same note within a roll. I sometimes do. All those options are available.
I like Larsen’s book. But this is one of those areas where I think he does a disservice to beginners by more or less implying that the way that most people execute cuts and rolls is somehow “wrong”. It’s not. And it’s only 3 notes.
Thanks MTGuru. I did a search first but got so many responses on cut and fingers I couldn’t find the valuable things in there. I’ll check out the links you have suggested.
I cut the notes as Grey Larsen teaches it, and I’m happy with it. Anyways, in a first instance, I used to cut with the L1 and L3 fingers and it sounded fine too.
Do whatever you like it, as MTGuru said!
Not sure where this fits in the grand scheme of things, but it seems to me that to play with anything resembling a modern whistle style, you really need to be able to cut with T1, T2, T3, and B2. At least, I’m a fairly conservative whistle player, and I know several ornaments for which only knowing how to cut with T1 and T3 would be pretty awkward. For instance, on a D cran I would normally cut with T1, T3, and B2; on a double-cut G roll I’d cut with T1 and T2.
But then, when I was learning, nobody I knew used either style described in the first post of this thread. I can certainly imagine using Grey’s system, though it strikes me as overkill. How do people who cut with only T1 and T3 handle crans and double-cut rolls?
Chose the method that you can best play that keeps rhythm of the tune as the cut and pats are used to divide notes. You shouldn’t be able to hear the cut/pat notes.
I can do best when the work is divided between the hands. At least I can play a bit faster that way. It took a long time for me to get the B roll.
I’m no expert either, but I do find that using the third hole to cut the bell note tends to make your cut a bit sluggish (this differs from whistle to whistle, though) if your cuts aren’t fast enough; for some reason the cut-note (is that a correct word?) seems to go on a little bit after you put down your fingers if you’re not fast enough.
Once you get used to it, and your cuts get faster it works fine though; but I’ll have to agree with MTGuru; both ways are fine, as long as your timing is right.
