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Different fingerings for certain notes should be mastered on the whistle.
One reason for this is that a whole spectrum of tunes become available to play.
There are a couple of notes that cannot be cross fingered and that is the Eb/D# and the E/F.
Cross fingered notes aren't always as pure as half holed notes but for some people (me included) it is difficult to half hole notes correctly.
My excuse is that I don't use the tips of my fingers to cover the holes so it takes more movement to half hole a note, the consequence being that the note can sound slurred, which is okay for some tunes but not all, by any means.
I think it is more common for older traditional players to use half holing.
A couple I know who do use half holing entirely are Mary Bergin and Carmel Gunning.
Here is a chart for most of the half holed/cross fingered notes, there may be other ways of getting some of these notes depending on the type of whistle.
For a Generation whistle these fingerings work.
There is an advantage if both ways are learned as the same note fingered differently can have a different colour.
In the upper octave (just to add a bit of confusion) on the G#/Ab note, the cross fingering is slightly different than the lower octave.
The next note up, the Bb, cross fingering is the same as the G#/Ab of the lower octave.
If your brain isn't boggled yet then give it a try and hear what comes out!
As I said before whistle types behave differently to certain cross fingerings. for instance the cross fingered Cnatural can be out of tune on some whistles but not usually enough to worry about this also applies to other notes. Its all a matter of experimenting and getting to know the ins and outs of your own particular whistle/s.
Fly Me To The Moon
A useful tune to practice Bb/A# and Eb/D# in this old standard.
Many of these tunes are good for whistle as they can be sung...to get the idea of the rhythm, it's then fairly straightforward transferring to the whistle.
The tune is also slightly syncopated which makes it interesting rhythmically and adds momentum.
Syncopation being the displacement of either the beat or the normal accent of a piece music.
In this piece the syncopation comes between the first and second bar and the fifth and sixth, so accent the dotted crochet (quarter note) that falls on these bars.
Hopefully anyone reading this page will know the tune so will not be phased by the idea of playing a syncopated rhythm.
Firstly sing the tune and it should then fall naturally on the whistle, it can also be played at a slower pace.
I use cross fingering for the A# and use a Sindt C whistle.
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