Why does Eb sound sooo cool?

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 9:53 am

corinthia wrote: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.

You probably won't get one off the rack. I imagine Colin Goldie would make you an Overton in B. You can get Burkes and Water Weasels in B. Probably quite a few others if you look into it.

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 12:29 pm

chas wrote:
brewerpaul wrote: 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?

Paganini was also an accomplished guitarist and he wrote quite a bit for that instrument. When performing his chamber pieces with guitar he would hire an extra 1st violinist and a guitarist. He, himself, would play all the virtuosic sections on the violin and guitar and leave the rest for the others. Truth or legeng? You decide.
Mike

selkie · Post by **selkie** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 5:25 pm

I had a Red topped generation Eflat and a blue old Eflat. The blue one is better. I use the eflat whistle a lot in the brass sort of band the local ex councillor started off. However I get given Oboe music and then take the score down one note so I can play with D fingering. All the music we play in this group is in Enad Bflat and sometimes Aflat aswell. Sounds complicated but if I play an octave higher you can hear the whistle. Makes a change from the whistle drowning everything else out

E = Fb · Post by **E = Fb** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 1:40 pm

De Danann (spelling?) got it's name from Tuatha De Danann, which means Tribe of Danann. They were early settlers of Ireland in pre-Christian times, but not by any means the first.

Some folks think they might have been the Tribe of Dan, one of the "lost" tribes of Israel, which would make the Irish close brothers of the Jews. Hard to imagine.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 5:24 am

E = Fb wrote:De Danann (spelling?) some folks think they might have been the Tribe of Dan, one of the "lost" tribes of Israel, which would make the Irish close brothers of the Jews. Hard to imagine.

Not so hard-- Dublin had a Jewish mayor for many years. Then, there's Bloom from Ulysses...

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 11:55 am

brewerpaul wrote:
E = Fb wrote:De Danann (spelling?) some folks think they might have been the Tribe of Dan, one of the "lost" tribes of Israel, which would make the Irish close brothers of the Jews. Hard to imagine.
Not so hard-- Dublin had a Jewish mayor for many years. Then, there's Bloom from Ulysses...

When I first heard of the Coen brothers,I wondered if the spelling was perhaps a corruption of 'Cohen'-but then I saw pictures,and realised one of them (Charlie) was in fact a Catholic PRIEST!

Ridseard · Post by **Ridseard** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 12:43 pm

Back to the original topic. Hope nobody minds too much.

I have two O'Briain Improved whistles, a D and an Eb. The D is a good whistle, but the Eb is outstanding, both in tone and responsiveness. I wondered whether there might be some differences in the heads which would account for this, so I switched the heads. Surprisingly, there was no change, the Eb was still far superior to the D.

Sandy Jasper · Post by **Sandy Jasper** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 1:10 pm

I really like to play the piano in Eb. It is like a reverse of other keys and opens the mind to new possibilities. You don't necessarily follow all the same progressions. It has long since been a favored key of mine for noodling or writing!

allezlesbleus · Post by **allezlesbleus** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 1:41 pm

brewerpaul wrote:Paganini again-- ...His talent was so awesome that rumors circulated that he had made a pact with the Devil in order to play so well...

IIRC, after Paganini died (I think it was in Nice) his body remained in his room for 2 weeks before someone collected it...

Back to Frankie again, he and a lot of other fiddle players (James Kelly and the fella from Dervish...can't remember his name...come to mind right away) liked to tune up their fiddles a half step to give them a brighter/louder sound and a faster response. I personally think it makes the instrument sound kinda thin and wheezy.

I really dig F whistles...

PC

E = Fb · Post by **E = Fb** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 8:32 pm

Hi Rideard:

No, it's not the head. It's the key. Eb is the perfect key for the whisle. It's so easy to play that I don't want to practice using it because I'm afraid I'll get sloppy. I prefer to use a D whistle that needs a bit of control.
Tom.

Ridseard · Post by **Ridseard** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 8:40 pm

E = Fb wrote:No, it's not the head. It's the key. Eb is the perfect key for the whisle. It's so easy to play that I don't want to practice using it because I'm afraid I'll get sloppy.

Same here. I almost wish I had never tried the Eb whistle.

Blackbeer · Post by **Blackbeer** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 8:53 pm

Well I just gave in completely to the Eb whistle. I don`t know what it is about it but I just love it. I have 3 different Eb`s a Gen brass, a Syn and my Parkhurst. They are all different in temperment but they are all a blast to play. And now I know why I get so sloppy on the Shaw D. It takes 20 minutes to settle back into a D. But who cares. Eb rules!!!

Tom

Jeeze I wounder what an Eb flute sounds like?

Hiro Ringo · Post by **Hiro Ringo** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 9:55 pm

If you usually get used to the atmosphere produced by D scale,Eb atmosphere can sound fresh to you.To me,Eb means nothing special,I think it's because I am most likely to play the piano in Eb and Bb.

Some violinists I know like to play their violins in Eb and Bb,I think it's because violins are the basically desighed for D tunes.

They are all just my own opinions though.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 1:54 am

I like Eb whistles because they are good for duets with alto and baritone sax players.

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 2:20 am

burnsbyrne wrote:
chas wrote:
brewerpaul wrote: 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?
Paganini was also an accomplished guitarist and he wrote quite a bit for that instrument. When performing his chamber pieces with guitar he would hire an extra 1st violinist and a guitarist. He, himself, would play all the virtuosic sections on the violin and guitar and leave the rest for the others. Truth or legeng? You decide.
Mike

How many "Variations on a theme by Paganini" do you know?
Rachmaninov wrote a well-known one for the piano,
but I reckon there are others.