Need Help Transposing from E-flat Major to C Whistle...

[loyukfai]

Hi everybody!

I'm a complete noob in music learning to play the tin whistle, and happened to find a melody in E-flat major which I tried to transpose (is that how it's called...?) to be playable on a C whistle. I *think* I got some of them going but there are a number of flats and sharps that I'm not so sure how to deal with. Could anybody lend a hand...?

Thanks very much in advance!

[MTGuru]

Hi, and welcome.

Because the whistle is a diatonic instrument, not all keys are easily playable - including Eb. In order to play this melody on whistle, you'll want to transpose the fingering to a friendly key.

Your best choices here are GMaj fingering on a Bb whistle, and DMaj fingering on an Eb whistle (although the DMaj version goes a bit high). You still must half-hole or cross-finger (xoxxxx) the A# in the G setting, and half-hole or cross finger (xxxoxx) the E#/F-nat in the D setting.

Cut and paste the entire ABC notation below into the Concertina.net converter, and it will generate a PDF that you can download and play.

You mention playing it on a C whistle. Unfortunately, the C whistle is not a choice that will allow you to preserve the concert Eb pitch of the tune. The G setting will sound in FMaj, and the D setting will sound in CMaj. Of course, if you're playing by yourself, that's no problem - use whatever whistle you have. Or if the other people can transpose themselves to your concert key (F or C). Otherwise, you'd need a Bb or Eb whistle, as mentioned above.

Enjoy!

X:1
T:Bruised Reed, A
M:9/8
K:G
"In G (on Bb whistle)"
B^AB|G3 D3 Gc>G|B6:Bd^c|=c3 A3 FDA|G6||
B^AB|G3 D3 Bdf|e6:gfe|d3 B3 AEF|G6|]
"In D (on Eb whistle)"
[K:D]f^ef|d3 A3 dg>d|f6:fa^g|=g3 e3 cAe|d6||
f^ef|d3 A3 fac'|b6:d'c'b|a3 f3 eBc|d6|]

[loyukfai]

Thanks alot! I got much more than I asked for.

However, since I didn't pay enough attention to the music teacher back then, I could only grasp half, possibly less, of what you're talking about... : ) Besides, I have neither a Bb nor Eb whistle.

So, I sticked to my trial and error method to make it playable on a C as I'm playing by myself only. However, as you already know, the flat and sharp at A are causing me trouble.

Anyway, thanks very much again and all the best!

[Adrian]

loyukfai

Re-read Guru's reply and follow his instructions - copy the ABC notation that he wrote out for you and paste it in the Concertina.net converter that he gave you a link for. This will give you the melody that you can play on any whistle.

Most whistlers treat the whistle as a transposing instrument. This means that every whistle is played as if it is a D instrument. All that is needed is to have the music transposed to a whistle friendly key and then use a whistle in the appropriate key. In this instance you are only playing by yourself and so you can use a whistle in any key including your C whistle.

So, print the music Guru gave you and play it on any whistle using D fingering.

[loyukfai]

Silly silly me...

I just figured out that the notes I made is basically the same as the G on Bb made by Guru... I just wrote down the D fingering according to my beginner guidebook's notation method on the sheets...

But I still got to work on the sharp and flats.

Thanks again and nice weekend!

[hoopy mike]

But I still got to work on the sharp and flats...

If you select the right whistle, usually you can play the right sharps and flats without having to think about it. For instance, a D whistle plays F# and C# for no extra cost (i.e. without half-holing, cross-fingering, or aligator wrestling).

[loyukfai]

So, print the music Guru gave you and play it on any whistle using D fingering.

It seems I could get it mostly fine using D-fingering on a C whistle, except that I don't know how to handle the C, C# and Cb. What fingering should I use for each...?

Thanks again and pardon me for my ignorance in this.

Cheers.

[MTGuru]

Don't apologize for asking! And check out the fingering chart(s) here:

http://www.fullbodyburn.com/html/flutes ... _main.html

[loyukfai]

Thanks! But I still couldn't figure out how to handle the flat...?

[crookedtune]

For the Cb, just substitute a B. No one will know.

[Denny]

yer just temperamental

[fearfaoin]

Thanks! But I still couldn't figure out how to handle the flat...?

That's not a flat, that's a natural.
It's 0xx000 just like the first one you
marked.

[MTGuru]

Thanks! But I still couldn't figure out how to handle the flat...?

Aha ... The C note you circled with a question mark is not a flat. It's a natural sign, which simply cancels the previous C#. So it's just a normal C-natural with the fingering oxxooo (or half-holed). The other fingerings you marked are correct.

Strictly speaking, the natural sign is not necessary. When you use a sharp or flat sign to alter a note (like the C#), the alteration stays in effect only up to the next bar line, which cancels it automatically. But when the notes are right next to each other, it's common to write the cancellation (natural) anyway, just as a reminder. That's what I did here.

[ Crossed posts with fearfaoin. ]

[loyukfai]

Thanks very much for everyone's help, especially Guru's!

God Bless You All!

P.S. And I'll probably bother you guys again in future... : )

[loyukfai]

It's me again... And here I got another tune...



And I've copied it to something like this...

X:1
T:I cannot tell why He whom angels worship
M:4/4
K:G
F G A|B3 A B e d B|(AG) E3 G B c|d3 e d B G B|
(A4A) F G A|B3 A B e d B|(AG) E z2 F G A|B3 c B A G A|
(G4G) d e f|g3 f f e d B|(dB) G3 d e f|g3 f f e d B|
(A4z) d d d|b3 a a g e g|(dB) G3 F G A|B e d B A G E F|(G3G)

And play on a C-whistle...

By trial and error, it seems that I should play the C-natural by half-holing the 1st, or should I just use 0xx0000...?



Thanks very much in advance!!!