- Irish flute in D, Irish flute in B-flat, Boxwood flute in D, pennywhistle in low A, pennywhistle in low C, pennywhistle in low C-sharp, pennywhistle in low D, pennywhistle in low E, pennywhistle in low F, pennywhistle in F-sharp, pennywhistle in G, pennywhistle in A, pennywhistle in B-flat, pennywhistle in C, pennywhistle in D, pennywhistle in E, pennywhistle in F, Uilleann pipes
Come From Away
9 comments
Leave a comment
Added based on information received from Talitha Broughton.
Talitha indicates that the parts are “transposed for the specific keys i.e. being shown in concert pitch for D Whistles/Flute and transposed for the others. There is some inconsistency in instrument labelling – the Low F Whistle also appears as Mid, and the D Flute also appears as Irish Flute or just Flute. Many of the whistles are only used once and some can fit on other keys of whistle if needed (e.g. the Mid G fits on Low D, and one section actually has a written low C# note which would fall off the end of a G Whistle). Both High and Low D Whistles feature often, otherwise the low whistles are used the most.”
The book also calls for “Mic’d Whistle in pocket;” Talitha says this is a whistle in D, and doesn’t necessarily have to be a separate instrument from the other D whistle in the book, but might be if logistics require. This is for a brief moment in which the whistle player is to stand up in the orchestra pit.
Still have questions about whether or not a classically trained flutist can handle the notation and/or transpositions without much trouble.
If you obtained the whistles and flutes as called for, any flutist should be fully capable of adjusting to the new instruments, they aren’t much different – though the finger stretch for the lower whistles is much wider than a regular silver flute – pipers grip helps, or whistles designed to reduce that stretch (IE, Carbony). Some Irish style articulations are written in, but in all recordings I’ve heard they are greatly embellished by the player, so learning some things about that style will be helpful.
If your plan is to transpose the parts and play it all on your silver flute, you would have to transpose near the entire book with different transpositions for each key of whistle and the Bb flute. You’d also lose all the authenticity that makes this score so special.
Having played the book for a production in Australia, I managed to slim down some of the requirements.
The Bb whistle occurs once at the end of Screech In, and is far too high to be comfortable. I put it on high F instead, which means the high F is now used more than once.
Epilogue has parts for G and F# whistles, but those parts make much more sense on low D and low C#- it’s music you’ve played before in the show but they’ve given you different fingerings for these passages.
The pipes are extremely minimal, I replaced them with a Bawu, but they’d fit on low D whistle.
There are also parts written for “Boxwood Flute”, I assume the original player had a keyed flute and a keyless flute, and the Boxwood passage was intended for keyless flute as there are no accidentals. Most of the flute parts require a C natural and F natural key.
I’m very confused by the whistle part and was wondering how far I could condense it. I’m 17 years old and this is just for a school musical so I don’t have access to basically all of the instruments except for a basic flute, recorder, and tin whistle in D. I can’t figure out if the whistles are transposition or not and the neccessity of most of these whistles. I’m very much not an expert and I’m scared that I’m not going to be able to play it in time for March 2026. Does anyone have any advice about what I can condense and what keys are accurate to the musical since I am also confused as to why the C whistles appear to be in a different key to my C flute? Help very much needed.
Replacing the whistle parts with transposed concert flute parts is highly discouraged by those who have played it with the proper instrumentation, that said, if it cannot be done the method for transposition is slightly non-traditional compared to the usual orchestral woodwinds. A whistle in D is a non-transposing instrument, think of it as a flute without a foot joint.. D was the lowest note, and the key of the instrument is determined by what pitch comes out when you play that all-fingers-down low D (then to further complicate things, it’s always written to be in the key of D. So for a D instrument, add that missing “footjoint” that gives you one full step lower – C, then you transpose (or in this case, DON’T transpose) to play it on a C instrument. A whistle in E (add the “footjoint” transposes as an instrument in D. F becomes Eb, G becomes F, Bb becomes Ab, etc. Always transpose the music as if in the key one full step lower. The low A (really it’s a Bass A whistle) could then be played on an Alto Flute (in G).
Question off of this: do you know if the whistle parts are written out so that you consistently use the D whistle fingerings regardless of what whistle you play? Or do you have to switch fingering systems like you would with recorders?
Yes, they are all written consistently to use the same fingerings no matter what key the instrument plays in.
Hi Sebastian,
Basically, you will need a few more whistles (Christmas-come-early!) and to line them up in order/labelled on a separate music stand. And a good stand light so you don’t pick up the wrong one!
And here are a few ideas I am working on, as I prepare for a show in Scotland also in March.
– If you DO have the correct whistle indicated, you just play what’s on the page. A written “D” is always six fingers down, no matter which whistle it says to you and no matter which actual note sounds. For example, on a Bb whistle, six fingers down sounds like a Bb but, unless you have perfect pitch, don’t worry about that. For all intents and purposes, you read and play a “D”.
– If you DO NOT have the correct whistle indicated, you can either use another (e.g use Low D for a Low G / High C for High F) but you’d have to transpose the parts up a major 4th.
– If you’re most confident on the silver concert (fully-keyed) flute, then you can use it for all flute parts. But keep an eye on the key signatures and listen to the soundtrack (especially for F and Fsharps / D and Dsharps, as Irish flutes have sharps built into them so they are not always notated.
– REPLACE some of the low whistles for the equivalent high whistle an octave up.
– For the UILLEAN PIPES, ask the keyboard player to play this! On the recommendation above, and for fun, I have ordered this (but not neccessary for just a few bars): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FLXT731L
– MUSESCORE is handy to play along with, so you can hear how the parts fit together and harmonise, to ensure your choice of whistle/flute is correct. You can put this on reduced speed too, which is handy.
– BROADWAY CAST RECORDINGS on Youtube will let you hear the embellishments and style of the whislte.
So, now you’re now a trad. player! So don’t feel you have to pristinely hit every note! According to the lyrics “…the drunkest fellas in the room are playin’ in the band” Now, I’m not advocating drinking before a performance but I really hope it’s alot of fun for you!!