Eb Frankenwhistle

[GordonH]

Generation Eb tube with a Clare D head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhCSvXP-v14

Much more mellow than the original Generation.

[Larry Marshall]

Beautiful. The title of the video is Band O Shearers. Is that the name of the tune? I can't find it listed that way on Sessions. I like it, and I ask because I'm knew to the whistle and so still somewhat lost

Cheers --- Larry

[Mr.Gumby]

Just tried similar swap. It seems you got lucky as it's not guaranteed to work each time.

[MTGuru]

Just tried similar swap. It seems you got lucky as it's not guaranteed to work each time.

Very true. But with so many 1/2 inch tubes and heads out there, there's no harm in experimenting. It's an interesting project to spend a few hours on. You gain some insight into the relative contributions of tubes and heads to a whistle's overall sound (unscientifically, ~33% tube, ~66% head). And you may end up with a combination that you really like - like my excellent Gen head on a Clare tube.

[GordonH]

I only tried it because I had a damaged Clare whistle. Mine has the poster putty tweak as well.

Band O Shearers is a Scottish tune.
A shearer is not a sheep shearer, its a person who travels from farm to farm during harvest cutting the wheat (and barley) and making it into sheaves.

This is the short version that I know (there is a longer one).
The first verse is also the chorus.

Bonnie lassie will ye gang,
And shear wi' me the hale day lang?
And love will cheer us as we gang,
Tae join yon band o' shearers.

Summers days and heather bells,
Come soonding owre yon high high hills,
There's yellow corn in a' the fields,
And the autumn brings the shearin'.

[Chorus]

And if the weather be's owre hot,
I'll cast my cra-vat and my coat,
And i'll shear wi' ye amang the lot,
When we join yon band o' shearers.

[Chorus]

And if the weather be's owre dry,
They'll say there's love twixt you and I,
But we will proudly pass them by,
And well gang no more a shearin.

[Chorus]


Another song about shearing is "Oh the shearin's no for you", but that one is altogether darker.
For the story of that one see here:
http://www.ecalpemos.org/2011/02/kelvin ... de-of.html

Anyone looking for Scottish tunes should check out Jack Campin's web site:
http://www.campin.me.uk/
He lives local to me and has a huge amount of stuff on his site.

Might want to look through this site for some obscure downloads:
http://themusicgatherer.blogspot.com/
Thats another of our locals, but his turntable seems to run a wee bit fast as all his recordings of LP's seem a bit on the sharp side.

[mickey66]

i like the sound of the whistle and your playing.......




www.tuxedomusic.com

[GordonH]

i like the sound of the whistle and your playing.......




http://www.tuxedomusic.com

Thank you.

[dunnp]

You can hear Fintan Valley playing the related Shaghai March or Shanghai Lil here:
http://source.pipers.ie/Media.aspx?medi ... goryId=208
in an NPU video
and here in the Irish traditional music archive:
http://www.itma.ie/audio/cruinniu_na_bhfliuit.html
has been appropriated for Orange marching bands.
Jack Campins site is excellent. Everyone should have a look and tell him thanks if you see him locally.

[GordonH]

You can hear Fintan Valley playing the related Shaghai March or Shanghai Lil here:
http://source.pipers.ie/Media.aspx?medi ... goryId=208
in an NPU video
and here in the Irish traditional music archive:
http://www.itma.ie/audio/cruinniu_na_bhfliuit.html
has been appropriated for Orange marching bands.
Jack Campins site is excellent. Everyone should have a look and tell him thanks if you see him locally.

Thanks.
The song is very old. The Ewan MacColl connection is because he edited "Folk Songs and Ballads of Scotland" which brought it into the standard folk repertoire in the 60's. He got it from Ord's Bothy Ballads. It will likely have emigrated to Northern Ireland with Scots who went there from the west coast of Scotland.

[killthemessenger]

I have found that an older style Dixon trad brass tube fits a Fred Rose head, just - and this may not always work. The sound is noticeably less reedy, and it plays perfectly in tune in C# - at least mine does, because that's how far I can fit the brass tube onto the Rose tuning slide without forcing it. So you get an A415 whistle in D, or an A392 whistle in Eflat, or a modern whistle in C#, take your pick.

The sound is very different - there is more pop between slurred notes and less higher partials. Quite attractive. And it looks absolutely ridiculous, which is a good thing too. It's the only use I could imagine for a Dixon whistle.

[MTGuru]

The sound is very different - there is more pop between slurred notes and less higher partials. Quite attractive. And it looks absolutely ridiculous, which is a good thing too. It's the only use I could imagine for a Dixon whistle.

Yes ... The pop/chirp and partials are what I notice most when swapping heads. It's very tiny differences in the tonehole layout - size and placement - which make the difference.

But why the diss of the Dixon Trad? It's a very nice whistle.

[killthemessenger]

Tastes differ - I think the Dixon is crudely voiced, at a price point where I would expect more finesse. It's OK, but.

I've now sanded out the inside of the body so it plays in D (it slides further onto the Rose head) and it really works nicely. I don't know if this is a feature of brass, but it is very solid sounding and quite a bit louder than the original wooden body. It's easier to play, but it does lack the complexity and reediness of the Rose body. Nice to have both options.

I'm sure the holes are very important, but the bore of the brass body is also a lot smoother than the wood - no pores - and I think that contributes to the rounder sound, plus it's cylindrical, whereas the Rose body is slightly tapered.

But most likely no-one except for a woodwind obsessive notices these things anyway.

[Larry Marshall]

Thanks sooooo much for your response about Band O'Shears and the other pointers to music sites. These are places I hadn't run across yet. I've just spent the last hour listening to your YouTube channel and early recordings in the ITMarchive. Wow...I have much to listen to...much to learn.

Cheers --- Larry