LAST TIME WE LEARNED THE FIRST five notes on the whistle, and you
should now know the names of these notes (D, E, G, A, and B) and you
should be able to play them with confidence. If you can't, take a step
back and practise until you can. Memorise the names of the notes so that you can find them without thinking too much.
Now we're going to learn more notes and expand our tune repertoire.
The High D
The
next note we need to learn is called the high D. One of the notes we learned last time was D. Well, high D is the same note
but an octave higher. An octave consists of eight notes, and is the standard do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do scale. The last do is an "octave" higher than the first do, and the high D is an octave higher than D.
The way that you play the high D is quite simple: it's the same
fingering as D, but you blow a little harder to raise it by an octave.
The difference in the amount of breath you need to change from one octave to another is very subtle, and only experience can teach you that subtle difference.
Last week we learned Egan's Polka. Below it's given again,
but this time there is an extra note, the high D (look at the second note on the third line, for example). So we're going to add that extra note to the way we play Egan's Polka. Also notice that in the tune below the high D is shown with a dot above it; this is to distinguish it from the low D.
It should be noted that there is an alternative method for sounding
the high D, and that is to have all your fingers down except the top one: leave the top hole uncovered (see diagram above). I don't use this method,but lots of whistlers do. You'll have to choose one way and stick to it.
Egan's Polka
The Skye Boat Song
The words of this popular Scottish song were written by Sir Harold
Boulton in 1884. The first half of the tune is said to be an old sea
shanty. Charles Edward Stewart, the Young Pretender or Bonnie Prince
Charlie, was defeated by the Duke of Cumberland at Culloden in 1746.
Aided by Flora MacDonald, Charles escaped to the island of Skye. The song commemorates his flight.
Remember that the double dots mean repeat that section, so the tune is played in the order AABA.
The Skye Boat Song
The Upper Octave
We've now learned the high D, which is obtained by using the same
fingering as low D, and blowing a bit harder. In fact all the notes higher than high D are obtained by the same method: simply blowing harder, and these notes are known as the upper octave. Now try sounding other notes in the upper octave: start off with D then blow high D; then E and high E, and so on (note: the high B is quite difficult at first, and can often sound grating).
In all the music examples that I give from now on, any note name in
the upper octave will be marked with a small dot above it. This should
help distinguish between the lower and upper octaves. Note that with the high B, the lowest hole is also covered. This is to steady the whistle and make it more secure. This fingering is also useful for the low B.
but an octave higher. An octave consists of eight notes, and is the standard do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do scale. The last do is an "octave" higher than the first do, and the high D is an octave higher than D.
