Fat Whistle for Achy Fingers?
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Fat Whistle for Achy Fingers?
I have a problem that I haven't seen discussed here. Arthritis is setting into my fingers and when I play one of the typical metal whistles (Feadog, Sweetone, etc.) my fingers hurt terribly after a couple of minutes and I have to quit playing.
I've found that my Susato is a lot easier on the fingers. The slightly wider diameter relieves the strain of keeping the holes tightly closed.
So my question is - does anyone make a (high) D that is even wider
in diameter than the Susato?
If anyone else has had this experience, I would appreciate any tips
on coping with achy fingers.
thanks,
Brian
I've found that my Susato is a lot easier on the fingers. The slightly wider diameter relieves the strain of keeping the holes tightly closed.
So my question is - does anyone make a (high) D that is even wider
in diameter than the Susato?
If anyone else has had this experience, I would appreciate any tips
on coping with achy fingers.
thanks,
Brian
- OutOfBreath
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1) Try a piper's grip (yes, even on a soprano D whistle it works unless your hands are unusually large). This alone will pretty much erase the difference between a thin and a fat whistle.
2) Use good posture.
3) Raise fingers just far enough to cleanly uncover the holes. A lot of people "clinch" when they close the holes because they're compensating for the finger being too far away to begin with. Many guitarists do the same thing. They raise their fingers too far from the strings, then "slam" them down when trying to finger notes quickly.
I watched Paddy of the Chieftans through binocs at a concert a couple of years ago -- his fingers barely seem to leave the holes at all, they just kind of flutter above the whistle constantly.
4) Try to warm up with nonsense (i.e. scales and random fingerings) before playing. You may be clinching with the "effort" of playing the tune right. If you've warmed up good your hands won't fatigue as quickly if you do happen to tighten up and "clinch" when you start playing tunes.
5) All the typical arthritis things, warm dry hands, a glucosamine supplement if it works for you, and so on. Oh, and a family sized bottle of ibuprofen...
6) Do not as I do, but as I say
2) Use good posture.
3) Raise fingers just far enough to cleanly uncover the holes. A lot of people "clinch" when they close the holes because they're compensating for the finger being too far away to begin with. Many guitarists do the same thing. They raise their fingers too far from the strings, then "slam" them down when trying to finger notes quickly.
I watched Paddy of the Chieftans through binocs at a concert a couple of years ago -- his fingers barely seem to leave the holes at all, they just kind of flutter above the whistle constantly.
4) Try to warm up with nonsense (i.e. scales and random fingerings) before playing. You may be clinching with the "effort" of playing the tune right. If you've warmed up good your hands won't fatigue as quickly if you do happen to tighten up and "clinch" when you start playing tunes.
5) All the typical arthritis things, warm dry hands, a glucosamine supplement if it works for you, and so on. Oh, and a family sized bottle of ibuprofen...
6) Do not as I do, but as I say
John
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The Internet is wonderful. Surely there have always been thousands of people deeply concerned about my sex life and the quality of my septic tank but before the Internet I never heard from any of them.
Walton's Mello D's (not the regular D) are pretty fat - they use the same head and tube diameter as the Walton's C whistle.
Others have mentioned the Dixon high D.
The Serpent Polly whistles are also pretty fat, and in the same price range as a Susato or Dixon. You can get one of these in Eb or F, too (check with Serpent, but I think they all use the same tube diameter).
Enough?
Others have mentioned the Dixon high D.
The Serpent Polly whistles are also pretty fat, and in the same price range as a Susato or Dixon. You can get one of these in Eb or F, too (check with Serpent, but I think they all use the same tube diameter).
Enough?
- Loren
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- peeplj
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They can be ordered from the M&E web site:Cranberry wrote:Where do you get one of those, James?
http://www.irishflutes.net/mef/Whistles.html
Two things worth pointing out:
First, when he states they are louder than standard whistles, he means it. They are well balanced, but just about as loud as a clarinet. The tone is quite nice and somewhat pure.
The second thing to note is the little MP3 file of a scale is fairly horrid sounding and doesn't do his whistle justice. I have some better MP3s of this whistle:
http://www.flutesite.com/samples/cronnolly2.mp3
http://www.flutesite.com/samples/cronnolly3.mp3
--James
- raindog1970
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I'll second OutOfBreath's recommendation to try piper's grip... that would probably give your fingers more ease than a fatter whistle would.
If the Cronnolly soprano D has a 3/4" outer diameter as James said, then it is probably the largest available... I've never seen one even that large, with the exception of my most recent wide bore D/C prototypes.
If the Cronnolly soprano D has a 3/4" outer diameter as James said, then it is probably the largest available... I've never seen one even that large, with the exception of my most recent wide bore D/C prototypes.
Regards,
Gary Humphrey
♪♣♫Humphrey Whistles♫♣♪
[Raindogs] The ones you see wanderin' around after a rain. Ones that can't find their way back home. See the rain washes off the scent off all the mail boxes and the lamposts, fire hydrants. – Tom Waits
Gary Humphrey
♪♣♫Humphrey Whistles♫♣♪
[Raindogs] The ones you see wanderin' around after a rain. Ones that can't find their way back home. See the rain washes off the scent off all the mail boxes and the lamposts, fire hydrants. – Tom Waits
- Loren
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You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
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- chas
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Greenwood (Davey/David Boisvert) whistles are also 3/4" OD. Available from www.greenwoodpipes.com .
Charlie
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