Low f sharp on g

[auld argonian]

I posted a while back about my getting a susato high g whistle and trying to get better tones on the higher notes...someone referred me to an article on tweaks and that proposed the "O" ring modification: using a neoprene plumbing O ring to help adjust the windway. I actually have the cheapie model of the susato, so the size of o ring that they suggested was a bit too large and I have to find the next size down but it does seem to work.

Anyway....I found that while playing it I have often been starting songs too high and need that one note lower than the g that's the lowest note on the whistle. But I instinctively took the little finger of my right hand and used it to block the open end of the whistle halfway and got the needed f sharp. Anybody else tried this one? I'm trying it with the high d whistle as well and it looks like, with a little practice, I'll be able to make the stretch and get the c sharp below the d by doing the same thing. Stretch that little finger!

Best

AA

[piperdbh]

You might get the same results with a piece of Scotch (what other kind is there?) tape covering the top half of the hole. This has the effect of lengthening the pipe, which produces a lower pitch, and frees up all your fingers for playing other notes.

[auld argonian]

I'm actually talking about the open end of the whistle rather than any of the actual holes on the body of the whistle. Taping the end would give me the low f sharp everytime I fingered the low g...

Best

AA

[OC Richard]

I handle the same sorts of tunes (tunes that have a low leading tone) by playing them using the 4th of the whistle as the tonic.

So, tunes in G that have low F# I would play on a D whistle.

Interestingly, though "concert pitch" Irish flutes, whistles, and uilleann pipes are nominally in the key of D, tunes in G are at least as common as tunes in D.

And... this is perhaps even more strange... the regulators on a "concert pitch" D set of uilleann pipes are in G, not D, having the C's being natural, not sharp.

There are some whistle makers that offer whistles with a hole for the pinkie/little finger for that low note, I'm told. I can't remember which makers offhand.