Most Difficult Note to Roll On

PeteyWhistle · Post by **PeteyWhistle** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 10:11 am

Besides for C & C#, I find it most difficult to roll As and Bs...even more difficult than rolling Ds.

What do you find to be the most difficult note to roll (using a D whistle)?

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 10:54 am

PeteyWhistle wrote:Besides for C & C#, I find it most difficult to roll As and Bs...even more difficult than rolling Ds.

What do you find to be the most difficult note to roll (using a D whistle)?

same thing, i think it is harder on the A and B.

dfernandez77 · Post by **dfernandez77** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:40 pm

E then A for me. I think I am actually slightly left handed - but went right handed because that was the way of the world.

Quick and precise movements with multiple fingers are easier for me to learn with my left hand.

I have to practice ornamentations and such more on the bottom end of the whistle.

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:20 pm

octave D

Guinness · Post by **Guinness** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 9:58 pm

IMHO, the list should actually be:

low D
low E
low F#
low G
low A
low B
low Cnat
low C#
middle D
high E
high F#
high G
high A
high B
(... don't even go there...)

Technically speaking, low and middle D cannot be "rolled" on a whistle unless you're equating it to a crann or if one has a low C hole on their whistle. Same goes for C#, it really can't be rolled but it can be double or triple cut. High A and B can be rolled but it often doesn't sound very crisp (depends on skill and the whistle). The Cnat roll can sound good but again it depends on skill and the whistle/flute. And yet another consideration is whether we a discussing long or short rolls or even double-cut rolls.

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:31 am

For me it's E. I'm right handed but I play with my right hand on top and my left hand just never could get the tap quick enough on the E roll. Part of this is because my pinkie goes everywhere that my ring finger does and visa-versa. I don't have this problem on my right hand, somehow the tendons or muscles are different and I can move my pinkie and ring finger around separately without affecting each other. For the last year or so I've played double cuts in place of rolls for my E's and it sounds nice and crisp, most probably wouldn't even tell the difference in a recording.
A and B rolls are cake for me... my right hand is on it!

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:04 pm

Guinness wrote:Technically speaking, ...middle D cannot be "rolled" on a whistle...

Actually, octave D *can* be rolled, but it's quite a trick - at least as compared to the rest of the more 'regularly' placed notes.

BoneQuint · Post by **BoneQuint** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:24 pm

Brian Lee wrote:
Guinness wrote:Technically speaking, ...middle D cannot be "rolled" on a whistle...
Actually, octave D *can* be rolled, but it's quite a trick - at least as compared to the rest of the more 'regularly' placed notes.

And you can roll low D too. Tap your pinky on the end of the tube, covering about half of it.

Brian Boru · Post by **Brian Boru** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:53 pm

BoneQuint wrote:
Brian Lee wrote:
Guinness wrote:Technically speaking, ...middle D cannot be "rolled" on a whistle...
Actually, octave D *can* be rolled, but it's quite a trick - at least as compared to the rest of the more 'regularly' placed notes.
And you can roll low D too. Tap your pinky on the end of the tube, covering about half of it.

Have you ever tried that on a low whistle?

BoneQuint · Post by **BoneQuint** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 1:31 pm

Brian Boru wrote:
BoneQuint wrote:
Brian Lee wrote: Actually, octave D *can* be rolled, but it's quite a trick - at least as compared to the rest of the more 'regularly' placed notes.
And you can roll low D too. Tap your pinky on the end of the tube, covering about half of it.
Have you ever tried that on a low whistle?

Not with my finger.

Brian Boru · Post by **Brian Boru** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:42 pm

BoneQuint wrote:
Brian Boru wrote:
BoneQuint wrote: And you can roll low D too. Tap your pinky on the end of the tube, covering about half of it.
Have you ever tried that on a low whistle?
Not with my finger.

What about public performances?

Guinness · Post by **Guinness** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 5:49 pm

Brian Boru wrote:
BoneQuint wrote:
Brian Boru wrote: Have you ever tried that on a low whistle?
Not with my finger.
What about public performances?

Let's not go there.

As a test balloon I tried this by placing tape over B1 B2 and B3 and cutting with T3. Sounds good but requires rather careful half-covering of the tube end else spurious noises emerge. Difficult with my shorty digits. I think its the cut/tongue low D "roll" for me.

Guinness · Post by **Guinness** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 5:52 pm

Brian Lee wrote:
Guinness wrote:Technically speaking, ...middle D cannot be "rolled" on a whistle...
Actually, octave D *can* be rolled, but it's quite a trick - at least as compared to the rest of the more 'regularly' placed notes.

Okay, I give up. How do you do it?

colomon · Post by **colomon** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:07 pm

oxx xxx
oxx xox
oxx xxx
ooo xxx
oxx xxx

Not that I ever do this in actual playing, but I just tried it and it works fine. It's also pretty easy to do a C# roll in a (vaguely) similar fashion.

Guinness · Post by **Guinness** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:28 pm

Hmm. Is it really a roll or even a crann?

oxx xxx D
oxx xox Cnat
oxx xxx D
ooo xxx C#
oxx xxx D

It's weird because the grace/blip notes are both lower than the note to be ornamented, like a tap, yet they're fingered like a cut. Is it a cRoll or a CrannP? Anyway it's better than what I've been doing so in my mind it's certainly not Crap.

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Most Difficult Note to Roll On

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