Question about tunable whistles

[Zabava77]

This may sound as a silly question, but I need an educated opinion. If I don't play with other musicians (just for myself and friends), do I need a tunable whistle? What does the tuning slide accomplish? If a whistle is not tunable, how does it compare to a tunable one?
Again, I have a feeling this is a very silly question...

[crookedtune]

Not silly. No, you don't. Untunable whistles work fine for playing alone, and for playing with others, as long as things stay on an even keel. That said, most whistles are tunable to some extent.

The biggest challenge for new whistlers is to concentrate on learning the music, and not obsess over the wide choice of whistles available. Find a decent one that feels good in your hands, and you'll have all the instrument you need.

[Zabava77]

Not silly. No, you don't. Untunable whistles work fine for playing alone, and for playing with others, as long as things stay on an even keel. That said, most whistles are tunable to some extent.

The biggest challenge for new whistlers is to concentrate on learning the music, and not obsess over the wide choice of whistles available. Find a decent one that feels good in your hands, and you'll have all the instrument you need.

Thank you! Very well put! Actually, I am experimenting with using my Ukrainian sopilka ( 10 holes, chromatic, high C) for Irish music. When I will be ready, I'll post a tune for comparison.

[bogman]

You don't need a tuneable in normal circumstances. I have three Goldie high d's, two are tuneable but my main whistle is non tuneable and 99% of the time it's not a problem. But they do sharpen up in some conditions. I've never had a problem other than places where it's particularly hot or cold. In hot parts of Canada for example they were sharp in the normal position and the lower (bigger) the whistle the more they have to be flattened. The opposite is true in cold places.

If you are a new whistler, as I think crookedtune suggests, then you don't need to worry about it yet. There's a fair difference in pitch just through how and how hard you blow and just getting used to playing in tune on a standard is enough to be getting on with. Given the choice when buying a whistle I would go for tuneable though, there's no particular reason not to that I can think of.

[Mikethebook]

Interesting. I just came across this thread. I have a non-tunable Goldie Low D and, at a recent whistle workshop, a well-know and respected whistle-player showed me his bag full of tunable Goldies in every key and told me that, as a pro, he had to have tunable whistles . . . but that he liked the sound of a non-tunable Goldie Low D and suggested there can be a subtle difference where the interior of the whistle is smooth and without joins. It made me happier about my non-tunable . . . and, for what it's worth, I've never seen Davy Spillane playing a tunable whistle!

[maki]

Looking foward to hearing an Irish tune on the Ukrainian sopilka.
Love the tone I've heard from some of them.
But, are they are a nimble as a standard tin whistle?

[Feadoggie]

he liked the sound of a non-tunable Goldie Low D and suggested there can be a subtle difference where the interior of the whistle is smooth and without joins.

There is truly something to that. It has to do with how the sound wave is supported within the tube. Opening up a tuning joint can cause a significant enough expansion of the bore to effect tuning and to a lesser degree the timbre of different notes. This was made amply clear to me one afternoon sitting with a lady whistler whom I cherish. We played a bunch of tunable whistles with slides in differing configurations to illustrate the issue. But all this can be minimized by placing the joint at a point where their is less pressure and by limiting the bore expansion or disruption.

Most whistle makers know these things and solve them in the tried and true ways. Whistles with thick wall tubing at the joint can cause the more radical expansions which is why many makers use a thin walled tuning slide of something like brass. Whistle sets with one head an multiple bodies can test the issue of joint placement in some cases. The "one head size fits all keys" doesn't always work out best.

Keep in mind there are several reasons that make a tuning slide useful. As bogman relates, materials like heavy gauge aluminum may need to be warmed up to play in tune at concert pitch. That is the ultimate pitfall of one piece aluminum whistles. The slide can help offset that effect. But with some care in warming the beasts before we play we can get around that too.

Feadoggie