Question: What key of tin whistle matches the Great Highland Bagpipes?
Asked by: North Carolina Piper
Answer: The best approach to playing Great Highland Bagpipes (GHB) tunes on the Irish penny whistle is to play them in the correct keys, be it A or D.Â
The GHB scale, on a D whistle, is:LG xxx ooo LA xxo ooo B xoo ooo C# ooo ooo D xxx xxx (oxx xxx) E xxx xxo F# xxx xoo HG xxx ooo HA xxo ooo
x=closed hole o=open hole (The whistle’s mouthpiece is to the left)
A D whistle will come out in the correct key for Scottish small pipes in A and Border pipes in A. Using an Eb (E-flat) penny whistle it comes out in the correct key for the GHB.
