Post a picture please - correct grip for whistle playing

KatieBell · Post by **KatieBell** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 11:57 am

The little and I are getting into a bit of a struggle. She curls her top finger up onto the whistle so that the fingertip is coming down onto the first hole instead of coming over across it. It is fine for the first finger, but it makes the third finger too short and she doesn't cover the entire third hole.

I keep telling her that she needs to rotate her wrist out and around and kindly helping her to do so, but then she complains that her thumb is too short to reach.

Instead of whopping her upside the head

I'm asking for a picture of a correct grip to show her from a third party what she needs to be doing. Do any of you have one you can pass on? I'd appreciate it!

It definitely is not a whistle/finger span problem now. It is just her obstinance in finger positioning. Thanks for any help!

(She is managing to play the first 7 notes of twinkle, twinkle with plenty of time and determination, and she's now making requests of me, so we're doing pretty well!)

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:52 pm

Hi Katie and daughter. Glad to hear progress is being made. I don't have a photo to hand staight off, but will try to do one tomorrow maybe. Meantime, have you tried watching some whistle videos together from Youtube or some of the other specialist whistle sites? Check out the Youtube sticky at the top og this Forum. Action shots and nice sounds might be even better than photos? - Might be sensible for you to check some out when she's asleep and find slowish ones with pretty tunes????
Good luck!

wvwhistler · Post by **wvwhistler** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:59 pm

Katie,
Ryan Duns's video on the Fordham U site and You-tube show very close up the proper technique for holding the whistle and he reitifies what you are already telling your little one.
Hope this helps

http://tinwhistler.blogspot.com/2007/03 ... eek-1.html

Stevie D · Post by **Stevie D** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:23 pm

What a useful coincidence; I was coming on top post about the self-same problem. I've scanned Youtube as well. Some people play with like the gap between the two knuckles, which is to say... well, look at the palm-side of your hand everybody. See how each of your fingers is split up by its joints into three sections, and it's the middle one I'm talking about. Anyhoo, I tried playing like that. Did I read somewhere that that's a piper's style of playing? The advantage is that it gives you an ultra-flat finger technique. But then, the hole-coverage isn't so hot. It feels a bit weird and it's not for me, I don't think.

Having looked at Ryan Dunn's first tutorial again, he's very clear on how he uses the pad of skin just behind the very finger-tip. No retraining for me, after all.

It does mean the middle finger of each hand has to be slightly crooked, because it's longer than the other two, but what the hell.

I'm having real trouble getting my rolls nice and crisp on my A's and B's, that's why I've gone back to basics. It doesn't seem to be my fingering, though. Is it just me or are these more difficult to get fluid than rolls on G, F and E, which I seem to have pretty sweet?

Guinness · Post by **Guinness** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:45 pm

I used to have very rigid ideas about "correct" grip (whistle, flute, fiddle, guitar, etc.) but these have been shattered over and over again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99usJnGc48

Notice T1 at 22 seconds in. Looks almost fingertip to me.

wvwhistler · Post by **wvwhistler** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:56 pm

I've tried both the piper's grip and Ryna Duns's way of holding. I find fingertips easier for small holes such as the high D and piper's grip for larger holes such as my low D.
I was of the understanding that neither is actually incorrect unless perhaps you're playing Uilleann or other pipes which require the piper's grip to play properly.
Perhaps it's all really a matter of finger size, reach and what feels most comfortable.

KatieBell · Post by **KatieBell** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 2:10 pm

Jem,
Thanks! I tried showing the whistle videos, but they usually are straight on from the front and don't clearly show finger and wrist position. Add in the movement and all I get is a complaint that she doesn't see it. One of the Duns videos has a different camera angle in it and I'm thinking that might be helpful, especially if I pause it there.

WV,
Thank you for the link! I hadn't watched his videos even though I knew about them. I'm hoping that will help!

Guinness,
That is exactly what she looks like! Mary must have a longer ring finger to manage it! Mary also puts right on top, I noticed.

Jem had recommended rubber band thumb rests which we've switched out to twist-ties. That way the pokey tie sticks out on the side her hand shouldn't be on. Don't know what I'd do if she saw that one of the best whistle players ever plays like her.

I wouldn't mind it if it were working for her. It obviously works for Mary. But she isn't covering the third hole, so she needs to do something different.

Berti66 · Post by **Berti66** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 11:55 pm

www.tradlessons.com does also a video but with real close up, maybe this helps.

berti

Jason Paul · Post by **Jason Paul** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:11 am

That Mary Bergin lady is never going to be able to play very fast with such poor whistle-holding form.

Jason

KatieBell · Post by **KatieBell** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:42 am

Jason Paul wrote:That Mary Bergin lady is never going to be able to play very fast with such poor whistle-holding form.

Jason

I'll send her a link so she can learn better.

whistleaway07 · Post by **whistleaway07** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:30 pm

Some good pictures on the whistle tutorial at whistleaway

KatieBell · Post by **KatieBell** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:42 pm

whistleaway07 wrote:Some good pictures on the whistle tutorial at whistleaway

I followed your signature link and clicked on the tutorial, but it is teensy-teensy tiny and I can't read any of it.

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:10 am

Right then, let's see if these help.....

First on high whistle:

Then, because she will quite rightly say, "That's not fair, he's got whopping great big fingers on a diddy little whistle", here are some on low whistle where the proportions involved will be more comparable!

I don't actually play low whistle quite like that (though I could) - I find a semi-piper's hold like the following pictures more comfortable - no major reason why the lass shouldn't use it on high whistle if she finds it better, but usually the standard hold should be fine.

The first one is the same low D as the others above, the second is on a low Bb with raised and offset third holes.

BTW, you can download/copy these into your computer and blow them up bigger if you want.

Hope those do the trick, Katie. Good luck!

whistleaway07 · Post by **whistleaway07** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:07 am

KatieBell wrote:
whistleaway07 wrote:Some good pictures on the whistle tutorial at whistleaway
I followed your signature link and clicked on the tutorial, but it is teensy-teensy tiny and I can't read any of it.

Thats strange, it should open in a new window, you can then make the tutorial the full size of the screen.

Anybody else having this problem?

KatieBell · Post by **KatieBell** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:12 am

whistleaway07 wrote:
KatieBell wrote:
whistleaway07 wrote:Some good pictures on the whistle tutorial at whistleaway
I followed your signature link and clicked on the tutorial, but it is teensy-teensy tiny and I can't read any of it.
Thats strange, it should open in a new window, you can then make the tutorial the full size of the screen.

Anybody else having this problem?

It does open a new window, but even when I maximize it the entire tutorial is about an inch wide.

I can just make out the menu text, but I can't read any of the smaller text.