Newbie experiences - Getting control of the high notes?

[Jleo Fipple]

The second octave is a challenge, I'm sitting between two veritable hard places, keeping practice going and dealing with this mountain for me anyways i.e. the high note. High "D" is walk in the park but please tell me that High G, (gimme a sec till I grab my Ever so quiet less company annoying Clarke high D whistle) and "High A" "High B" are head wreckin' I've sorta picked up from MTGuru confirmation needed that you can do a low octave rehearsal of the melody to familiarise yourself with the tune then apply the high octave when calm times arrive. Still I find the octave work frustrating and hard work. Newbies please share your experiences

[Angel Shadowsong]

.... MTGuru confirmation needed that you can do a low octave rehearsal of the melody to familiarise yourself with the tune then apply the high octave when calm times arrive. Still I find the octave work frustrating and hard work. Newbies please share your experiences

Hi John,

Can I clarify do you mean octave shifting like instead of playing original 1st octave notes you play the 2nd octave,
which also translate to instead of playing the original 2nd octave notes you play the 3rd octave notes?

The 3rd octave is somewhat non-existent to many whistles that I have tried. It is but a shriek sound on any different breath velocity and control configuration, and combination.

On third octave I can manage to play D-E-F# (being sharp by 10-30 cents) and G-A-B-C are not soooo good.

[Mikethebook]

Hi John,
I consider myself a newbie still. For a start I wouldn't worry too much about high notes. They will come in time. I found G difficult to start with, A & B impossible but gradually you find a way to play them. Now I can play third octave E without too much difficulty. Anything beyond is unnecessary and dangerous to your hearing. But here's the thing. If you want to practice scales (always useful) get used to making you mouth cavity and the gap between your lips as small as possible without tensing the mouth. It is possible to constrict the lips such that you are only through part of the windway. Doing this the notes are much quieter in the higher second octave. It might be good to practice high notes with earplugs to begin with so you are not afraid of blasting air through the whistle. It takes courage even when the result is not too loud.
I also practice argeggios which I find helpful for reaching the higher notes. Start with D - D FsharpADFsharpA . . .D (maybe), and G - DGBDGB . . . D (maybe).

Hope this helps.

[German Whistler]

no problems with this here
first i was surprised how much i had to blow on seome whistles but once i found out how much, it was easy

but playing a melodie and not just a few tones, than it was easy to come out of breath first, but even this was no porblem after a little practise

of course some whistles need just a little bit of air even in the second octave but some realy want a lot of air, they are very different in this, dont u have a sweettone? it needs just a little bit of air, i would say

[Katharine]

It'll come with time. Really. Was once the time when I cringed anywhere above 2nd-octave F# or so, avoided any tunes that used anything higher, etc.

Then one day, I couldn't remember what the big deal was...

(These days, I cringe a bit when it comes to 2nd-octave C/3rd-octave D, but what I find is that if I just go for it, it's fine. It's when I'm timid and try not to blow too hard that it tends to not work out so well...)

[maki]

Basically what Mikethebook said~Practice enough and it gets easier.
For some whistles it helpful to tounge the top notes to start them, particularly a and b.
Some whistles have an easier and sweeter second octave, but the price is often a weakened bottom and bell note. TANSTAFFL- There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

I forget now how long it took me to get comfortable with the entire second octave.
Probly 3-4 months of playing everyday.
And take it from me, acquiring a small pile of whistles will not buy you what only pratice brings.

Stay with it and don't get fustrated. Improvement may seem glacial but it does come.

[Mr Ed]

Can I clarify do you mean octave shifting like instead of playing original 1st octave notes you play the 2nd octave,
which also translate to instead of playing the original 2nd octave notes you play the 3rd octave notes?

No, instead of playing the 2nd octave notes they would be dropped to the first octave.

I had the same struggle with the 2nd octave G through B, Jleo Fipple. Those notes really have to be committed to, and I was trying to play them gently. It won't happen, at least not with the Waltons D I have. It took mostly a change in attitude to really get those notes to belt out and sound good. What I did was play scales and just nail those notes like I didn't have neighbors. They won't sound so head wreckin' after a while. As others have mentioned, tonguing helps until you get to know the sweet spot for those notes on your whistle.

[ytliek]

And take it from me, acquiring a small pile of whistles will not buy you what only pratice brings.

A lot of wisdom there, and a whole lot more daily "practice with breath control" helped the higher notes here. Everyone seems to want quick answers, shortcuts, and the answer is "practice" will get ya there. Its slow going for me. Keep whistling

[StevieJ]

In teaching whistle to beginners I have found that very often people are afraid of the high notes. You can't make the top of the second octave, esp. high A and B, sound clear and confident if you're shy about making a lot of noise. You just have to go for it, and never mind the neighbours!

A good way to help learners get over their reluctance with the high notes is to have them learn a slow tune that makes a lot of use of high A and B - and have them play it solo for their classmates.

[Lars Larry Mór Mott]

.... MTGuru confirmation needed that you can do a low octave rehearsal of the melody to familiarise yourself with the tune then apply the high octave when calm times arrive. Still I find the octave work frustrating and hard work. Newbies please share your experiences

The 3rd octave is somewhat non-existent to many whistles that I have tried. It is but a shriek sound on any different breath velocity and control configuration, and combination.

On third octave I can manage to play D-E-F# (being sharp by 10-30 cents) and G-A-B-C are not soooo good.

I don't get why you'd want to play up in the third octave unless you're training a border collie? I don't think i have ever played, or heard for that matter any tune going above high/second octave C# (I am sure someone will write a list of tunes now..)
Sometimes late at night when playing i play everything in the first octave only, but that is just concern for the neighbours, not because i can't get a full second octave

[Mikethebook]

Mr_Blackwood, I tend to agree with you that third octave notes are seldom required . . . and on a high whistle very unpleasant to be around; on a low whistle it's not quite as bad. I have as yet to master Davy Spillane's opening low whistle solo on Riverdance which reaches third octave E and that's as high as I've heard anyone go. It's quite doable on my low D Goldie . . . but I wouldn't go near that on a high D. No, thank you.

[kmarty]

You can't make the top of the second octave, esp. high A and B, sound clear and confident if you're shy about making a lot of noise.

That exactly I had first two, three months .
When I bought my first whistle, I was surprised how noisy instrument it is.

[squidgirl]

In teaching whistle to beginners I have found that very often people are afraid of the high notes. You can't make the top of the second octave, esp. high A and B, sound clear and confident if you're shy about making a lot of noise. You just have to go for it, and never mind the neighbours!

Is it just my perception (or whistle-damaged hearing), or does one eventually get the control to make the high notes sound sweeter and less piercing? I definitely had to let go of self-consciousness and play more aggressively to get a reliable hold on the high notes, but now that I've gotten more comfortable up there in the stratosphere my high notes don't seem to sound as raucous as they used to.

Here's a completely different perspective on the question: When I was first getting a handle on the high notes, I tweaked a couple of whistles to make the whistle softer and the high notes easier to reach (and yes indeed, the latter tweak did make the low notes weaker). Toning down the shrill factor helped me get comfortable with making such a piercing, high-pitched sound. I live in shoddily built but gentrified, high-density urban housing, so I'm forever aware that the neighbors can hear me just exactly as well as I can hear them (so you have a hot new boyfriend, eh?)

[Mikethebook]

As I said with experience and awareness of embouchure, one can reduce the volume level of the high notes. I'm not totally confident of that ability yet to go for the really high notes with earplug protection but I have managed to play third octave E much quieter and comfortably than at first. It's not a question of backing off with the air because you can't do that and get the note but by restricting the air through a tiny hole made with the lips. For some reason I find D more difficult but it is, I'm sure, practice. I went out and bought a sound-level meter which I find very helpful for monitoring decibel levels and there are good web-sites that can tell you what levels you can cope with and for how long. Earplugs do help when venturing into the upper second octave and beyond until you gain more confidence.

[German Whistler]

seems like i am unusual
maybe i dont care for the neighbours, am very self confident or have really big lungs