whistle advice for piper

Whistle
1

Hello,

I’m new to the whistle but have played the bagpipes for 30+ years. I have a Clarke original D and McCullough’s tutor. I’ve read a lot of the threads on this forum and have learned a lot from everyone’s opinions. I have a couple of questions…

1- The main hurdle I have to clear is to get past the stage of mentally processing a note into “whistle fingering” as I sight read. (The ornamentation and general finger dexterity aren’t an issue.)

I assume anyone going from proficiency on one instrument to learning another with different fingering (flute, sax, recorder, pipes, whistle, etc.) has had the same problem. If you can identify with this, how long did it take you to get to the point that your reading/fingering was second nature on the new instrument?

2- Because I’m used to playing something that sets the gold standard for maximum human tolerance level for “backpressure”, would whistles on the “higher backpressure” end of the scale be more comfortable to play and/or easier for me to blow steadily, etc.? Sometimes I feel the fact that I have to “hold back” so much (especially on the lowest couple of notes of the lower register) that it makes it more difficult to blow steadily. If so, what makers do you think fit the bill?


3- How much wider is the fingering on a low D than on a pipe chanter?


Thanks,
John

2

hey

  1. i started on whistle and then took the uilleann pipes along, just practice the new fingering, play slower than you would play on the pipes, it will come naturally eventually… probably very different for each player and each instrument …

  2. you will need to get used to blowing the whistle… i belive that in order to play the whistle proper youll need know how to blow all kinds of different backpressures then choose your liking. i dont play the pipes with blowing through my mouth so i dont know if it will be the same in the high backpressure whistles, i assume it will still be very different.
    i have an Overton low d wich has loads of backpressure and its a delight to play, if u can get one you will have a beautiful whistle and you could find out more about whistles backpressure.

3.depends on ur pipe and depends on the whistle… its wider than a D chanter of uilleann pipes but still not that wide, probably like the D flute…

i know im not much of help but just felt like answering…

welcome and good luck

which pipes are u playing??


eran.

3

I play a set of silver and ivory Robertsons from 1951.

I should be getting a set of Kinnear smallpipes in the next few weeks as well!!! :smiley:

The low D Overton had drawn my interest, so I think I may give it a try.

Thanks,
John