tips on whistles playing with other instruments?

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:54 am

Tuesday I tried out for the praise band at our church and was accepted.
In the group there is an electric drummer, guitar, electric key board,professional piano player that switched to auto harp when I played,
and three regular vocals. The auto harp player and I alternated playing measures. I only played in one song at the two services and we received a lot of positive feed back. ''Beautiful music'' was said several times.
I have noticed that some of you are also playing in praise bands.
Perhaps you could give us some tips on whistles playing with other instruments?

NicoMoreno · Post by **NicoMoreno** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:19 am

What kind of tips do you need?

My tip: make sure you are in tune.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:32 am

Tuneable whistles are a must especially if you're playing with something hard to tune like a piano.
It helps to have an outsider listen to the whole group and give feedback as far as relative volume of all instruments.
In addition to tuning the instruments themselves, the players have to tune themselves to each other. Practice some nice long unisons on a variety of notes.

Danner · Post by **Danner** » Mon May 16, 2005 2:42 pm

I second the tuning and getting outside feedback. It is especially useful to have the person listen for balance. Many whistles sound waaaaay different from a distance than they do a couple inches from your ear. If you can't get or don't trust feedback, someone here said once that if you can still hear yourself in the lower octave and you can hear the rest of the group in the higher octave, the whistle is the right volume.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Mon May 16, 2005 6:36 pm

A lot of times people think that something as "simple" as a whistle must be very easy to play, and I find it helps if you let them try to play.

marcstew · Post by **marcstew** » Tue May 17, 2005 5:38 am

so why are some whistles not tune-able? I've never worked this out.
cheers M.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Tue May 17, 2005 8:39 am

marcstew wrote:so why are some whistles not tune-able? I've never worked this out.
cheers M.

Some of us play in contexts in which the other instruments can always tune to us: fiddles, guitars, mandolins etc. Some of us also play a lot in strict A=440 contexts. Electric keyboards won't be out. If a concertina is out, then it's probably not in tune with itself and that is for the concertina player to fix.

I have both tunable and fixed but my fixed whistles get just as much work as the tunables.

Kate Dowling · Post by **Kate Dowling** » Tue May 17, 2005 9:58 am

marcstew wrote:so why are some whistles not tune-able? I've never worked this out.
cheers M.

If you have a whistle with a plastic top you can make it tunable by simply popping the whistle top into a pot of just-boiled water (don't put it into boiling water on the stove!) and leave it in for a SECOND. Take it out and with a kitchen towel, twist until the top comes off. If it doesn't work the first time, try again but DON'T leave the whistle in there for very long or it will melt the fipple. Clean off any residue and put the top back on - now you have a tunable whistle.

Whistles like this just have the tops glued on so they don't fall off during transport, purchase, etc.

Whistles like Clark will not be tunable because they are all one piece.

Kate Dowling

Jennie · Post by **Jennie** » Tue May 17, 2005 11:10 am

Sounds like you're already listening pretty carefully for what sounds best. It's a good idea to alternate with other instruments, not to feel you have to be playing every verse or every instant.

You may want to try some longer held tones as harmony or some countermelody or descant parts on some of the music. With a lot of the music played in church, you don't always have to be the melody.

Jennie

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Tue May 17, 2005 3:16 pm

Thank you Jennie.

They changed the key for me so I could play in high D, and the whistle is new to them also. Is there key that is used more with a whistle than others for praise music?

I think some hymns would do better than others with a whistle added to the drum,guitar,piano,electric keyboard and auto harp. Any suggestions?

Jennie · Post by **Jennie** » Tue May 17, 2005 5:34 pm

They keys depend on whether folks are singing along. If there are singers, you want to be in a key that is comfortable for voices. Also, just as some keys are easier for certain whistles, there may be keys which are easier and others which are near impossible for the players in your group. Ask them.

You could eventually consider a whistle in another key which could make you more flexible. D whistles comfortably handle the keys of D and G and their related minors (b minor and e minor).

Jennie

Lost-in-North-Dakota · Wed May 18, 2005 7:09 am

My wife and I play duets (classical guitar and Chapman Stick) at church, and tuning is not a problem, we can use electronic tuners. When I have to play (guitar or Stick) with the church's piano, though, there are always tuning issues. The piano is a very good instrument, but overly sensitive to humidity. It can be as much as 10 or 15 cents flat.

The one general suggestion I can give, in tuning to a wayward church piano is....make sure you tune your instrument to the range in which people will be singing. This is an issue for guitars and bass guitars more so than whistles. For example, if the piano is closer to being in tune below middle C, but is running more flat between middle C and an octave above middle C, tune to the range in which people will be singing, even if that puts you a little sharp to the bass side of the piano.

Just my observation,

Lost

For those of you who don't know what a classical guitar and Chapman Stick sound like together, a short excerpt:

http://members.ifmcs.net/rjgoos/Public/ ... de/n30.mp3

Geraint · Post by **Geraint** » Wed May 18, 2005 8:24 am

Lost-in-North-Dakota wrote:
The one general suggestion I can give, in tuning to a wayward church piano is....

Is that for a wayward piano in a church, or a piano in a wayward church?

prw · Post by **prw** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:24 am

Is that for a wayward piano in a church, or a piano in a wayward church?

very cute.

Argh, some of the old (and new!) uprights really go out of whack in some small churches. Not in tune with themselves, much less any other instruments. Lovely sound together with a whistle or flute when they are in tune, tho.

Lost-in-North-Dakota · Wed May 18, 2005 12:05 pm

Geraint wrote:
Lost-in-North-Dakota wrote:
The one general suggestion I can give, in tuning to a wayward church piano is....
Is that for a wayward piano in a church, or a piano in a wayward church?

A neighbor lady told me once, "I don't like organized religion!!!"

I said to her, "What....you prefer disorganized religion?"

She had to admit that organized religion was probably a better thing than disorganized religion.

Sad to say, it is a wayward piano. I don't know if there is such a thing as a wayward Lutheran church...we tend to be pretty stuck in our ways (too much so, I guess).

Lost