Why does Eb sound sooo cool?

[E = Fb]

I know Dale is not fond of the key of C. My un-favorite key is Bb, but I love to pick up an Eb whistle for almost any tune. I knew the Generation Eb was responsive. But recently I modified a D whistle to Eb, and it's every bit as responsive, and the sound is so great. My guitar-strumming buddy put the capo on and played a couple of tunes with me, and it worked without any effort.

[Loren]

I dunno, but Eb whistles sure are cool! Love my Abell Eb. Don't have any others at the moment.

Actually, I have a theory, but haven't taken measurements to prove it: I think many makers use D size tube diameter for their Eb whistles, which makes for a stronger bell note and more volume (proportionally). Just guessing though.

Actually, I like flat keys in general, including Bb.

Loren

[Azalin]

Same for me, when I play at home I just love the Eb. I think Eb is the ultimate whistle key for what a whistle should souund like: cheerfulness. It's a "happy" key I'd say, and tunes seem so much fun when played in that key. Maybe it's also because an Eb would be a little easier to play and require a little less air than a D?

[chas]

You're all insane. Or maybe I am. (When everybody else appears crazy, it's probably me.) Eb is the single key that I really dislike (I'm not crazy about F either). It sounds like a sharp version of D. E, OTOH, is the most wonderful key -- there's something cherubic about it. Can you imagine Brahms's first trio in Eflat???

So why do you call yourself E instead of Eflat?

[Ridseard]

Eb is the single key that I really dislike (I'm not crazy about F either). It sounds like a sharp version of D.

I really like Eb. D sounds like a flat version of Eb.

[Wombat]

I can think of three reasons (other than Loren's.)
1. Tempered tuning involves compromises that work out differently for different keys and give each a different 'feel.' Maybe you are just fond of how things worked out in Eb. (This assumes that your whistles are all perfectly in tune, though, to explain the difference.)
2. Your Eb whistles are better, or suit you better, than your other whistles.
3. When musicians want to get lift through a cheap trick rather than a clever arrangement, they often change up a semitone mid tune. They might start in, say, D and then go up to Eb at the point where they want the lift. This trick tends to fool the audience into thinking there has been an increase in intensity. If you always played your Eb whistles straight after your D whistles you might experience this effect. The problem with this explanation is that you should get a similar effect when you move up to E and F from Eb. Do you?

Three possible explanations, then. Only the first is likely to stand up to close examination.

[brewerpaul]

Eb whistles seem to me to sound just a tad brighter than their half step lower cousins. Seems that the same breath pressure applied to a slightly shorter air column just gets a bit more volume and maybe some extra overtones out there. I've been tinkering with making some Eb and C whistles using my current body tube and head joint design ( with the gracious help of Glenn Schultz and Thomas Hastay). Conversely, the C's are more subdued and flutelike than the Ds. More tweaking of the voicing may adjust this a bit, but making one head and diameter do all three is a bit of a balancing act. Still, Abell and others do it very nicely.
On a related side note, the famed violinist and composer Paganini was also a rare showman-- in today's world he probably would have been a rock star. When he played the solo part of one of his concertos, he used to tune his violin up a tone and then adjust the fingering accordingly. He got the necessary notes that way, but it made his fiddle stand out from the rest of the orchestra.

[chas]

On a related side note, the famed violinist and composer Paganini was also a rare showman-- in today's world he probably would have been a rock star. When he played the solo part of one of his concertos, he used to tune his violin up a tone and then adjust the fingering accordingly. He got the necessary notes that way, but it made his fiddle stand out from the rest of the orchestra.

He also used to break strings "accidentally". So he'd be playing a piece that was difficult enough for normal professional violinists, then break a string, then another, and finally he'd finish the piece playing on only one string.

Anyone else have any good Paganini stories?

[lixnaw]

having a craving for a particular key might have to do with your singing pitch, your voice might be in Eb

[Easily_Deluded_Fool]

having a craving for a particular key might have to do with your singing pitch, your voice might be in Eb

My singing voice is just plain b

[BrassBlower]

When he played the solo part of one of his concertos, he used to tune his violin up a tone and then adjust the fingering accordingly. He got the necessary notes that way, but it made his fiddle stand out from the rest of the orchestra.

This kind of goes against the grain of us Celtic guitarists, because we usually tune down.

[brad maloney]

Eb is a good thing, it's got a bright sound. Although they are rare I love Eb sessions. Which brings me to the old pun....

Why where they called De Dannan, they should have been called Eb Dannan.

(You can't keep Frankie Gavin out of Eb & good for him!)

[lixnaw]

having a craving for a particular key might have to do with your singing pitch, your voice might be in Eb

My singing voice is just plain b

cheer up! that's a cool key!! some aren't even aware of there singing pitch, so they choose high G

[brewerpaul]

Paganini again-- he was so paranoid about anyone learning his music that he personally handed out scores to the orchestra just before rehearsals and concerts, and collected them immediately afterwards.
His talent was so awesome that rumors circulated that he had made a pact with the Devil in order to play so well. It was also rumored that he murdered a lover and used her entrails to make his violin strings, thus entrapping her soul in his fiddle. He never circulated these rumors himself, but being a consummate showman, he never denied them either...

[corinthia]

I think a comfortable singing pitch for me is B natural. But B natural isn't really a common key, is it? I've only seen Bb whistles, when I've looked.