Hittin' the heights?

[osage59]

I'm sure a lot of this boils down to practice, practice, practice - but does anyone have any insight/tips on hitting the higher octave notes? (Esp. B,A,G,F)

When will the shredding end?

[Peter Duggan]

Which higher octave (second or third) on what sort of whistle, and why have you listed them in descending order with the F (natural?) at the end?

[Peter Duggan]

Assuming second octave on standard D whistle, the notes you've listed are not particularly high, so perhaps...

1. You're trying too hard?
2. You're not trying hard enough?
3. You've got the wrong whistle?

But more info might help establish which!

Cheers
P

[mutepointe]

I don't know what other folks do but I play songs that have these notes in the songs. That way, I'm playing them naturally and not just as a part of scales. No one wants to hear me hit the notes when I'm playing scales but folks do want to hear me play them right in a song.

I recently just nailed the high notes in a song that I learned right before church that I was sight-transposing on a flute that I hadn't played in way too long a time. It felt good.

[MTGuru]

I play songs that have these notes in the songs.

Assuming you mean the second octave (which is the pending question).

IIRC, John Corigliano's Pied Piper Suite calls for up to 3rd octave G. But usually the D or E is as high as most dare, especially on a high whistle.

[Denny]

have you tried squinting?


breath control

[mutepointe]

I'm sure a lot of this boils down to practice, practice, practice - but does anyone have any insight/tips on hitting the higher octave notes? (Esp. B,A,G,F)

When will the shredding end?

I am going to assume that the OP meant the second octave. If the OP meant the lowest octave, I would doubt that this would be referred to as the HIGHER OCTAVE unless they know some secret to reaching a lower octave. If the OP was referring to the third octave, that person:
1. would have referred to this as the HIGHEST OCTAVE
2. indeed must be truly talented in a peculiar way if they're fiddling around clear into the third octave and thinking it's the second octave because somehow they missed the finding the first octave.

[MTGuru]

Mute, have a nice cuppa tea.

There should be nothing special about playing the 2nd octave range of notes the OP mentioned - F(#),G,A,B - especially F# and G, unless there's something wrong with the whistle. Just blow, harder and focused. So it's odd to see the question asked.

The 3rd octave notes require cross fingerings, so they're often asked about as problematic. But the range doesn't make sense, since A and B wouldn't normally be played, and the others rarely.

Hence Peter's question, and my puzzlement. Best to wait for clarification from Osage, I'd say.

[Peter Duggan]

I am going to assume that the OP meant the second octave.

Still seems likely, but hittin' the heights at F(#) and G? And shredding?

(Edit: simultaneous post with MTGuru, but letting it stand!)

[brewerpaul]

First of all, what whistle are you using? Some are a lot easier on the high notes than others.

The high notes need a nice rapid air velocity instantaneously to start "speaking" cleanly. Just breathing normally into the whistle may not be enough. This is where a bit of tonguing can be a help. Instead of starting the note with a sort of huff of air, silently say the letter "T" to release a little burst of air to get the note started. You don't want it to sound like a sharply articulated, staccato note. With practice you can use this to get the high notes started nicely and still not have the tonguing sound very obvious.

[voggy_dog]

I'm sure a lot of this boils down to practice, practice, practice - but does anyone have any insight/tips on hitting the higher octave notes? (Esp. B,A,G,F)

When will the shredding end?

Are you working with a low whistle or high whistle? What make and model? Shouldn't be too much of an issue either way, although some Low D's are a little finicky on the 2nd octave high notes (although G and F are usually safe, from my experience). My Chieftain and Ethnicwind low whistles are persnickity (spell check) with the upper part of the second octave, though my Dixon is easy as pie all the way up. I haven't had a problem with these notes on any high whistles.

Sometimes, covering the two lower holes (D &E) while trying for the B, A, or C# makes them a bit easier to hit.

A newbie question for MTGuru: Folding down?

[Denny]

down be da opposite o'up....

folding up is when ya raise the notes that go off the end of your whistle... like C# below D
folding down is when ya lower the notes that go off the top of yer range

origami for folk

[DrPhill]

I'm sure a lot of this boils down to practice, practice, practice - but does anyone have any insight/tips on hitting the higher octave notes? (Esp. B,A,G,F)

When will the shredding end?

I had a similar sounding problem when I started. Partly it was the whistle - a Chieftain that took a lot of air. I am sure it was/is a fine whistle and that I could probably manage it now but back then it made my mistakes sound so loud and painful. The pain undermined my confidence, and sapped my will to persevere. My problems started from second octave E initially, but I remember being pleased each time I managed to creep another note up the scale. On my favoured whistles I can manage a reasonable c' and c#' and sometimes a d' but I do not need these often. My guess, from the limited information and assuming my experience was typical, is a lack of confidence holding back practice that would develop competence. A quiet whistle, or a muted one might help build the confidence that the top end can be musical.

First of all, what whistle are you using? Some are a lot easier on the high notes than others.

Oak, Elfsong, plastic Dixie whistle and a Bluebird, is my guess. I have no experience with the first three but the bluebird should be a doddle: maybe a little confidence is needed (I am still not completely comfortable up at b and c' on mine).

HTH

[Peter Duggan]

I am sure it was/is a fine whistle and that I could probably manage it now

Think you might still find it difficult because some of the smaller Chieftains have 'missing' notes (eg no top C# 'all fingers off') with standard fingerings and require various tricks to get them. But IMHO any normal whistle should really be capable of two octaves clean without undue terrors and I'd be very cautious about recommending one that wasn't!

[LimuHead]

Disclaimer: I didn't read the previous posts.

Although the notes in the upper register of fipple flutes will always be harsher than the lower octaves' notes, it is possible to tame them. Here's what work's for me:

The SHAPE of the air stream makes more of a difference than the VOLUME of air. Experiment with the shape of your tongue in the upper register. Make your tongue form a narrower channel in the upper registers. Don't use breath force to play the note, just the shape of the tongue.

The idea is to use the SHAPE of the air stream to speak the note, NOT EXTRA AIR BLOWING FORCE!

It is important to experiment and practice, practice, practice.

Hope this helps.
Aldon

edited to add: With practice it IS possible to tame a Susato D in the 3rd octave. Not to brag too much, but I've done it..