finger spacing on soprano D

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 7:33 am

This is getting too weird. I came home from work and found my husband stretched out on the couch, playing the whistle. I need to do whatever is possible to encourage this bizarre spousal behavior.

His complaint is that the upper two fingers on the right hand are too close together for comfort. He has broad fingers, and they press together when he plays D and E. He's using a Soodlum now, and has considered going to a C or Bflat because of this. Part of me thinks this is a perfectly logical solution, and as he will probably never play outside the house, any key will do, right?

But another part of me would really like to play D duets with him, and encourage him to consider playing publicly. Is there a D with wider finger spacing than normal?

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 7:59 am

A quick eyeballing of some of my soprano D's indicates that my Thin Weasels have a bigger 1-2 hole spread than the others. Perhaps a Water Weasel D is an option?

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 8:05 am

clarification: its the two top fingers on his right hand

top of whistle xxxXXx
these two

Geez it was tough showing this! Forgive all the edits, folks!
_________________
Tyghress
...And I go on, pursuing through the hours,
Another tiger, the one not found in verse.
Jorge Luis Borges

[ This Message was edited by: tyghress on 2001-11-28 09:08 ]

[ This Message was edited by: tyghress on 2001-11-28 09:08 ]

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[ This Message was edited by: tyghress on 2001-11-28 09:10 ]

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avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 8:08 am

What about a low G? He could still play in D then.

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 8:15 am

I should also mention that the clarke also has a fairly wide strech between 1-2 but then holes 4-5 are very close, which he would also find uncomfortable I'm guessing. Many whistles are like this (close 4-5) so you may have a tough time finding something with good spacing between all fingers.

Really the solution here is obvious: In order to accomodate your husband, you will now have to buy more whistles!

A nice pair of C's....and Bb's.....and perhaps even A's and G's...are now in order. This is the perfect excu.....reason to buy more whistles. Why buy him one D, when you can now justify buy yourself a couple of new lower pitched whistles, one of which he can use from time to time.

I see no problem here. Hee hee

Loren B.
Author of the bestseller: "Rationaliztion Made Easy."

StevieJ · Post by **StevieJ** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 8:18 am

What about trading in your husband for a slim-fingered model?

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 8:21 am

Oops, sorry I misread your post then. Still, the Thin Weasel also has a longer 4-5 stretch than my other soprano D's, so it's likely the Water Weasel would as well. The second half of my last post still applies however

Loren

Ron Rowe · Post by **Ron Rowe** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 10:09 am

perhaps a low d for your hubby? Then you could get some really nice duets

Whoa Jim · Post by **Whoa Jim** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 10:18 am

Water Weasel wins this one.As you can tell by my username I am long on samples .but short on capability. The WW is a great whistle with a good 4-5 stretch. Probably beats the trade-in suggestion.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 10:50 am

Maybe you might get both of you
a Bflat, or whatever, and play
duets on them.

Also Maybe he'll get used to the D.

[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2001-11-28 11:51 ]

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 11:12 am

I'm compiling a list of suggestions. No one has offered to pare down his fingers yet. Or do the whistler's equivalent of foot binding.

Water Weasel, hmmmm?

colomon · Post by **colomon** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 11:50 am

Wow, I never noticed that before. The Water Weasel D does indeed have a bigger 4-5 stretch than any of my other D whistles.

Still, while the WW is a much better whistle, I note that the stretch on my Susato D is nearly as large...

ThorntonRose · Post by **ThorntonRose** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 11:55 am

Get a him an A (for A & D), a G (for G & C), and low D. You can get a set from Dixon for a very reasonable price.

Poppin' Fresh · Post by **Poppin' Fresh** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 5:27 pm

In my experience, I find that the diamater of the whistle actually has more effect on its playability than the spacing of the holes (on high whistles, anyway). Everyone has their preference, but I'd suggest letting him try a thicker whistle like a Susato- it may work for him.