Getting from high notes to bell note on low air req. whistle

[Folk312]

I need advise to improve my playing.

On high D whistles that need very little air in the bell note I have a hard time coming down from notes above first octave A or B to the D note.
In faster tunes I overblow it just a bit. You know that magic place between first octave and second octave D where no sound is produced at all? That's what I get until I reduce the pressure enough to get a tone.

The way I learned to play the whistle is to blow lots of air through the whistle so that you get a full sound, and to push the whistle. This works well to get the right sound and play in tune. It's reducing the airflow fast enough that is causing me problems.

Anybody else had problems with this. Have you found a solution that works for you?

[Blaydo]

The way I learned to play the whistle is to blow lots of air through the whistle so that you get a full sound, and to push the whistle. This works well to get the right sound and play in tune. It's reducing the airflow fast enough that is causing me problems.

With practice you should be able to reduce the pressure quicker. Maybe you're pushing the air too much on the higher notes which creates a bigger drop down to the bell note. I'm just going by what you're saying about you "blowing lots of air", but it's hard to tell without hearing you play. Maybe you just need a better balance of air flow between the octaves, try relaxing on the higher notes, don't force the air through. If that's not the problem then you just need more practice at dropping the pressure quicker.

[straycat82]

Without hearing you play, and after reading your description above I'd say it's possible you're uneccessarily overblowing everything but that it's only painfully obvious to you on the bell note. You do want to achieve a good tone on the whistle, yes, but this doesn't necessarily mean you need to "blow lots of air through the whistle." Every whistle is going to be different in this respect and you need to learn to play each whistle as it wants to be played. If you prefer to blow a little harder or move more air through the whistle then you'll need to find yourself a whistle that suits such a style.

The answer to your question is practice. Listen to what sounds you are making and adjust accordingly. Through repetition you will facilitate muscle memory and will begin to make progress.

[MTGuru]

You know that magic place between first octave and second octave D where no sound is produced at all?

Try this as an exercise:

Play a 2nd octave D on your whistle, all fingers down (not vented). Then drop to the bell note D by reducing the breath, no tonguing. Then push back up to 2nd octave D by pushing the breath, no tonguing. In other words, play dDd (high-low-high) completely legato.

Do it slowly, until you are sure you can control the breaks consistently.

Now reverse it, and do the same with DdD (low-high-low).

Now put the two patterns together, and gradually increase the speed until you can play it at close to a normal jig tempo, completely legato: dDd DdD etc. Voilà ... You should never have the problem again.

Mind, you should do this with each whistle you normally play, because every whistle may respond differently. This is an example of why beginning whistlers shouldn't jump around from whistle to whistle. Pick one that you like, and stick with it for weeks or months until you are thoroughly familiar with its response.

[brewerpaul]

To carry Guru's idea further, try practicing other intervals repeatedly with the low D note eg
GDG DGD
ADA DAD
BDB DBD
and some up into the next octave too:
eDe DeD
gDg Dgd etc.

Each interval drop will feel a little different and require a slightly different breath pressure change.
Make sure your whistle windway is free of all condensed breath, which can play havoc with the low notes-- high notes often have enough wind velocity to automatically clear the windway.

[walrii]

Whistles also respond to embouchure; not as much as a flute but the shape of your mouth and lips changes the tone. For high notes, your mouth cavity should be small, with you lips pursed (my grandma used to call this "prissy mouth"). For the low notes, drop your jaw to get a large mouth cavity. What you are shooting for on the high notes is moving a smaller volume of air at higher speed thru the whistle; on the low notes you are looking to move a large volume of air slowly thru the whistle. You aren't blowing harder or softer so much as you are blowing faster or slower. Search this forum for "embouchure" and you'll get several long threads discussing this technique.

[wyodeb]

Mind, you should do this with each whistle you normally play, because every whistle may respond differently. This is an example of why beginning whistlers shouldn't jump around from whistle to whistle. Pick one that you like, and stick with it for weeks or months until you are thoroughly familiar with its response.

I'm finding this to be good advice. I've been concentrating on one whistle the past few weeks. I'm having much better results than when I was playing several different whistles. YMMV

Deb