Best whistle for small hands

[Kamillion]

I have tiny hands, and I have really struggled with keeping the d and e keys covered on my feadog (D) whistle. I just wondered if differnet brands differed, and there was a better whistle for me. I wouls appreciate any information anyone can give.

Kami

[pipersgrip]

I would try Clarke Original or Sweetone or Meg. They are conical bored and smaller holes which are easier on the hands.

[Ballyshannon]

I had a Dixon tunable poly D with one of the shortest, tightest finger hole layouts I've seen, definitely tighter than a Feadog. What I'm referring to is the distance from the bottom hole to the top hole. And it's a nice sounding/playing whistle...very pure. I have medium-small hands and the hole spacing was too close for me, so may be good for you. This was several years ago and Tony may have changed things, I don't know. Might be worth a try. Buy from a vendor with a 100% return policy in case it doesn't work out.

[MTGuru]

I have tiny hands, and I have really struggled with keeping the d and e keys covered on my feadog (D) whistle. I just wondered if differnet brands differed, and there was a better whistle for me.

Seriously? Unless your hands are smaller than, say, a 10 year old girl's, it's hard to imagine. Here are some young ladies in that age range managing their D whistles (Sindt Ds):

Deirdre Hurley
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... re_hurley/
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... ey_family/

Breda Shannon
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... n_whistle/

Clodagh Holland
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... h_holland/
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... h_holland/
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... h_holland/

I suspect that your problem is not the size of the whistle, but the placement and position of your fingers. Look at the videos again, and notice how flat across the whistle the fingers of their bottom hands are. Deirdre's hand is also slightly angled. If you are trying to come down vertically onto the holes with the tips of your fingers instead of the flat pads, then you'll have trouble.

FWIW, the Dixon Trad D has a slightly smaller E-D hole distance than most others. But not enough that it should make any difference. The hole spacing on all high D whistles is approximately the same.

An Eb or F whistle is obviously smaller, and the Eb in particular is also popular. Both are available from Generation and inexpensive, and might be comfortable for you to try.

Good luck!

[Ballyshannon]

Seriously? Unless your hands are smaller than, say, a 10 year old girl's, it's hard to imagine.

..... but possible.

With no info or specifics other than "tiny hands" and experiencing problems attempting to play a Feadog high D, we don't know anything further. Not all humans are created equal and it's very possible Kami has unusually small hands/fingers relative to what we consider "normal". It happens. It would help if we knew more about Kami. Is there restricted movement in the hands or wrists? Are the hands/fingers in fact unusually small? OR...as MTGuru said, maybe just not the correct placement of hands/fingers?

[MTGuru]

..... but possible.

Sure, of course! I figured the videos would give at least a rough point of reference.

From what I've seen of people learning in isolation, finger position is often the problem. But not always, as you say.

Kami: If you hold your bottom hand palm up, and spread your fingers apart comfortably, what is the distance between the tip of your index (first) finger and the tip of your ring (third) finger? Measure from the middle of each tip. That would give us an idea of the size of your hand.

FWIW, mine is around 80 mm or 3-1/4 inches. That corresponding D Feadóg hole-to-hole distance is around 42 mm or 1-3/4 inches.

[brewerpaul]

Try getting an inexpensive C whistle like a Generation and play that for a while. When you go back to the D, you may discover that it's now easier to play.Seriously.

[Kamillion]

..... but possible.

Sure, of course! I figured the videos would give at least a rough point of reference.

From what I've seen of people learning in isolation, finger position is often the problem. But not always, as you say.

Kami: If you hold your bottom hand palm up, and spread your fingers apart comfortably, what is the distance between the tip of your index (first) finger and the tip of your ring (third) finger? Measure from the middle of each tip. That would give us an idea of the size of your hand.

FWIW, mine is around 80 mm or 3-1/4 inches. That corresponding D Feadóg hole-to-hole distance is around 42 mm or 1-3/4 inches.

Mine are 2 - 3/4 inches. I plan to keep practicing and try out a few other whistle styles.

[MTGuru]

Mine are 2 - 3/4 inches. I plan to keep practicing and try out a few other whistle styles.

That seems normal and big enough, Kami.

Keep working on your finger position, and get those fingers flat. Use the pads of your fingers, not the tips. Angle your hand(s) with the fingers pointing slightly down toward the floor, if that's comfortable. Imitate the videos. Make sure you're pressing hard enough to squash your fingers down onto the whistle a bit. But not too hard, no death grip.

Of course, if you know another experienced player to show you some tips and tricks in person, that would be very helpful.

Let us know how it goes ...

[Kamillion]

Mine are 2 - 3/4 inches. I plan to keep practicing and try out a few other whistle styles.

That seems normal and big enough, Kami.

Keep working on your finger position, and get those fingers flat. Use the pads of your fingers, not the tips. Angle your hand(s) with the fingers pointing slightly down toward the floor, if that's comfortable. Imitate the videos.

Of course, if you know another experienced player to show you some tips and tricks in person, that would be very helpful.

Let us know how it goes ...

Will do thank you very much.

[Ballyshannon]

Mine are 2 - 3/4 inches. I plan to keep practicing and try out a few other whistle styles.

My reach is only ~3" and don't have any issues playing a Feadog or whistles with a slightly longer hole placement. So like MTGuru, I'm thinking the problem may be in the placement and position of the hands and fingers, and as mentioned just keep at it and don't give up.

Paul's suggestion of trying a C whistle is an interesting one and brings up something I hadn't thought about...stretching exercises. It may help to do some daily stretching of the 'ol fingers and hand by fanning out/spreading the fingers as far as possible, gently pushing/pulling each one sideways to loosen up. Also do the usual make-a-fist and release exercises to promote strength and movement.

Kami, you have the right idea and a positive attitude of keeping at it. Good on ya!

[plunk111]

Something that nobody's mentioned is using the pipers' grip. Never heard of anyone needing to use it on a high-D whistle, but that would be an option as well. If you search this forum, you'll find LOTS of references to the technique.

Pat