Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi all,

I am a beginner and know that I need to hone my breath somehow but I really want to play Si Bheag Si Mhor and I am finding the top notes rather harsh.

Is there a relatively cheap whistle that will be kinder to my ears on the top notes but without losing the low notes?

Please be kind as I am still a beginner.

Top A, B, and C# are always piercing, specially if you have to sustain them. It's true on any high D, and buying a better quality one can sometimes mean it's louder!

I'd start with ear plugs – I've always worn them for practice. I use Docs Pro Plugs nowadays, which are actually for swimming but also seem to knock the sharp edges off a whistle. You can still hear clearly, it's just a bit less 'ouch' when you have to repeat the same phrase over and over.

I'd also experiment with popping a mini paper clip into the window of the whistle (just balance it on the sound blade with the end sticking out through the window). This also mutes the volume a bit, at least on my whistle. If you find that awkward, you could try a sliver of bent metal or something. You're trying to partially obstruct the blade, whilst still allowing it to split the airstream well enough to sound. That kind of thing's useful if you want to practise late in the evening.

If you want to try another high D without spending a lot on it, maybe try a Dixon DX1004D? They're about £20, tuneable, not especially loud, and they warm up pretty much instantly.

If you mean a Clarke Sweetone, you're going to have a hard time finding any whistle with a second octave that can be played more quietly than that. Clarke originals have slightly more piercing second octaves, but even they are tame in comparison to most more expensive whistles.

Perhaps the trouble is the way you're playing? Clarke whistles take less air than you think in the second octave, and they play better in tune when you play that second octave as quietly as possible. Try seeing how little air you can give the whistle while still getting it to stay in the second octave. Try messing with your blowing angle, tightening your throat, etc., and see if you can find a way to play slightly more quietly up there.

Otherwise, earplugs are good, as Moof said.

(Personally, I typically do not play tunes that go up to high C sharp, or that have long extended notes above high A; if I do, I switch to the lower octave for the parts that go that high.)

Part of learning the whistle is learning to reinstall in the high notes and play them as gently as they will let you. Which is something that may take time. Between breathcontrol and a degree of shading there are things that you can achieve there.

I would suggest not to fuss over your next whistle too much, get yourself a half decent Generation and work at it. The Internet will tell you all sort of things about that type of whistle bug the majority of them are serviceable enough for a self proclaimed beginner (even one who has been a member here for 15 years ).All it takes is a bit of work and dedication.

I should have said that I have a Clark Meg as well as a Clark Original so yes I would say it's totally down to me.

Thank you for your kind and helpful advice. I will try your suggestions and have sent away for the Dixon DX004 High D tuneable so hopefully will get a rounder sound than the top squeaky notes I seem to be getting now.

Part of the problem is that I don't want to burst anyones ears with the top notes so I tend to avoid tunes with them in.


I have been very bad at not playing for many years as was noted.

Pammy wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 6:21 pm Part of the problem is that I don't want to burst anyones ears with the top notes so I tend to avoid tunes with them in.

When I first came back to it, I learned the B parts of a few tunes as well as I could in the lower octave before I tried the upper. They mostly still need both octaves, so it meant jumping about a lot, but it allowed me to get to grips with the fingering first and then focus on the breath.

I also tried the trick I used as a kid wen I was supposed to be asleep, where you put the beak of the whistle under your lower lip and blow air down across the blade – you only get one octave, but you can hear the melody just well enough to practise the fingering and timing.

It all gets easier as you get a bit quicker. In dance tunes you pass through top B so briefly that it doesn't have the same impact, and when you're playing with others, most will only really hear the upper octave really clearly. In a big group, only upper G, A, and B stand out above the other instruments, the rest of the scale blends in as part of the overall sound.

In dance tunes you pass through top B so briefly that it doesn't have the same impact,

Unless you plat tunes like the Connemara stockings or the Sailor's bonnet ofcourse

Mr.Gumby wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2024 5:09 am Unless you plat tunes like the Connemara stockings or the Sailor's bonnet ofcourse

Ahhh...yes. there is that!

Well you know what! I purchased a feadog FW17 and a Dixon DX004 and having played them a lot over the last week I am sending them both back.
It has made me realise how nice the Clark Meg sounds even if the top B is a little, I think, flat but at this moment in time I can't see the point in spending money on whistles that I'm not totally happy with.

Maybe later when Im more experienced I might look further but as I mentioned before, Im sure its my playing and not the Meg.

Actually the meg sounds better than a Clark sweettone I have but not so much as I would have noticed if I hadn't spent so much time practicing this tune.

The suggestion of blowing across the blade was fun. I ended up whistling with my lips at first.

Connemara stockings and sailors bonnet are now on my list to try. If I can find the sheet music.

Here are some settings for you:

The Connemara Stockings
https://thesession.org/tunes/614

The Sailor's Bonnet
https://thesession.org/tunes/570

The general tune search page is at: https://thesession.org/tunes

A music teacher told me that when I am playing in the second octave, I should move my tongue forward and up in my mouth (like you do when whistling through your lips). It reduces the cavity in the mouth and directs the airstream very narrowly into the whistle. I tried it and it reduced the sound volume in the second octave without taking me out of tune. Of course, everyone's mouth is different, and YMMV.

AW

In Cathal McConnell's audio whistle course, he says that the old players he learned from used to play those high notes very short. I guess he's talking about reels and jigs here, not slow airs. Of course the old players he learned from would have been from northern Ireland. I don't know if that's a regional thing.

Avg Whis: That's very interesting. Worth spending some time experimenting.

Newbie to tin whistles. 1st whistle purchased was a Shush High D. While waiting I came across the Clarke Celtic (dark green model of the Sweet Tone)for a bargain price. Do find 2nd octave F and higher a bit loud. That is even being deaf in one ear. Recently diagnosed with left ear idiopathic sudden sensory neural hearing loss. Right ear seems to be a bit more sensitive than in the past. Ear plug I recommend is a brand called Loop. They make models for specific environments. From max sound suppression, tone down loud music without "muffling" the sound quality, and the one I use to hear conversation in a noisy environment.

Shush is softer projecting. But again with my low level "skill" the higher note in the 2nd octave tend to be loud or worse. Squeaky squeal if blowing too hard.

Picked up a Killarney High D. Good projection, but at least from what I can hear. Less irritating at higher notes. Maybe just a more rounded sound quality taking the edge of the sound? It's my everyday whistle. The Clarke is my take on the walks and hikes thorough our forested Northwoods. Tired legs. Sit the butt down and whistle away. Keeps the coyotes and mtn lions away. I hope.

The tin whistle exercises I recently posted are played on a Clarke Celtic/Sweetone whistle. The second exercise actually plays D in the third octave. I believe it is the mouthpiece that makes it such a great little whistle. I read that it was designed by Copeland.