Key of [blank] whistle can play what Scales easily?

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:58 am

Hey walrii, thanks for the kind words.

On the other hand, are you sure it's not just the wine? Maybe the cats are right!

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:10 pm

Alrighty MT, using that info, I've updated the graphic. How does this measure up?

I'm wondering if I am right about the 'no half-holing required' on that final column of Aeolian and Dorian Modes.

And Thanks for your help!!

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:19 am

Annie, I'm so sorry it took me this long to respond. St. Patrick's week was crazy for me, so I had to swear off chiffing and fippling for a while.

It's a great chart, and you're a gem for making it and tweaking it!. I'm sure many people will find this a very handy reference.

anniemcu wrote:I'm wondering if I am right about the 'no half-holing required' on that final column of Aeolian and Dorian Modes.

No, Dorian does require the G#, like the 3rd column, so that should be changed. Also consider that whenever there are 2 modes listed for a column, only one of those modes requires the altered ("half-holed") fingering. This would be easy to show with an asterisk on that mode, and another on the note about half-holing in the top row, something like:

Column 3: Ionian and Mixolydian* / *Half-holing G-sharp
Column 4: Aeolian* and Dorian modes / *Half-holing C-natural
Column 6: Aeolian and Dorian* modes / *Half-holing G-sharp

The only other clarifications would be:
1) Half-holing G# or C# means the equivalent of that note's fingering on a D whistle;
2) Cross-fingering is an alternative to half-holing on most whistles. (Personally, I usually prefer cross fingerings.)

Maybe a couple of footnotes at the bottom of the chart might do the trick?

That's it ... whew!

Lately I've been practicing odd keys like C, E and F Major on a D whistle, but that's a different story entirely ...

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 7:40 am

Alrighty then... back to the drawing board. Thanks much for the info!

It has certainly helped me learn some things.

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:18 am

I made this back in November to put in my whistle case for my own quick reference:

I only listed the whistle keys that I own (all the common ones are there) and I only listed the scales that you can play without half-holing. You are welcome to use it or make your own from it. Let me know if you have any trouble reading it.

BTW, I owe thanks to Nico over at WhistleThis! for his guidance and music theory expertise while I was working this chart out.

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:48 am

OK ... I think I've got it covered now. EDITED - Updated image and info reflect corrections mentioned in MT's post below.

Keys and/or Modes playable on each whistle are read Left to Right.

So... you can reasonably play in 10 different keys or modes on any given whistle.

i.e.:
On a D whistle, you can play in:

D Major (Ionian Mode - no half-holing required),
.............. (Mixolydian Mode - half-holing or cross-fingering for C natural),
G Major (Ionian Mode - half-holing or cross-fingering for C natural),
A Major (Ionian Mode - no half holing required, or
.............. Mixolydian Mode - half-holing or cross-fingering for G sharp),
E Minor (Aeolian Mode - half-holing or cross-fingering for C Natural, or
.............. Dorian Mode - no half-holing required),
A Minor (Dorian Mode - half-holing or cross-fingering for C Natural),
B Minor (Aeolian Mode - no half-holing required, or
.............. Dorian Mode - half-holing or cross-fingering for G sharp)

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:57 am

straycat82 wrote:I made this back in November to put in my whistle case for my own quick reference:

....

I like the way you set yours up to include the fingering.

AlonE · Post by **AlonE** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:15 pm

ufff that complicated ..... in the personnel, I believe that single with knowing how to read music, to have a good ear, and to have the fingers “together with” the brain it is but that sufficient.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:02 pm

By George, Annie, I think you've got it. Except for two stupid mistakes *I* made ...

1) In the 3rd column, the Ionian mode is the one that should have the asterisk. Doh!

2) I forgot that the whistle can play both Ionian and Mixolydian in its own key! Double Doh! So the first column might read:

Column 1: Ionian and Mixolydian* / *Half-holing C-natural

I guess you could put the word "Ionian" in red, to show that it matches the actual whistle key.

With those fixes it's great, a left-brained delight.

anniemcu wrote:So... If I understand it correctly, theoretically, you can reasonably play in 9 different keys or modes on any given whistle?

Well, with the addition of Mixolydian to the first column, it's actually 10.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:20 pm

AlonE wrote:ufff that complicated ..... in the personnel, I believe that single with knowing how to read music, to have a good ear, and to have the fingers “together with” the brain it is but that sufficient.

Te entiendo, AlonE. Si tú puedes averiguarlo todo sin un cálculo de las claves o una consultación con una carta de referencia, pues vale. Así lo hago yo también. Pero en mi experiencia, hay gente que prefieren un método más sistemático, y para ellos una carta tal como ésta sirve muy bien.

Understood, AlonE. If you can figure it all out without calculating the keys or consulting a reference chart, that's great. That's how I do it, too. But in my experience there are people who prefer a more systematic approach, and for them a reference chart like this is very useful.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:16 pm

straycat82 wrote:I made this back in November to put in my whistle case for my own quick reference

straycat, I like including the fingerings, too. There are only two small omissions on your chart.

1) The second to last row (D) is Mixolydian, not Ionian (Major), according to the fingerings.

2) The third to last row (Am) is Dorian, not Aeolian (Minor), according to the fingerings. A Aeolian would require a half-holed or cross-fingered F-natural.

With those two fixes, you cover the 8 friendly modes you can play without the G#.

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:05 pm

Thanks MT! I've edited the post above to reflect the changes.

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:10 pm

MTGuru wrote:... Understood, AlonE. If you can figure it all out without calculating the keys or consulting a reference chart, that's great. That's how I do it, too. But in my experience there are people who prefer a more systematic approach, and for them a reference chart like this is very useful.

Yes. Originally, it was just a study for me to help visualize the facts of the instrument. Then I saw that it might be useful for other as well, and since the question comes up fairly frequently here, I posted it.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:28 pm

anniemcu wrote:Thanks MT! I've edited the post above to reflect the changes.

Wow, I think it's done. Now we can share some of the pocket lint and peanuts I got for my 100 post milestone.

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 11:03 pm

MTGuru wrote:
anniemcu wrote:Thanks MT! I've edited the post above to reflect the changes.
Wow, I think it's done. Now we can share some of the pocket lint and peanuts I got for my 100 post milestone.

I can contribute lint from the tear in the hem of my jacket... And some esxtra sharp cheese, if you like.