If you have ever had one of those moments when something kicks in and all of a sudden things seem soooo much clearer?
Since beginning playing the whistle i have had many such moments , but none so profound, to affect the quality of my playing, as the realisation that conscious breath control, affects the smoothness, tone, pitch and overall quality of the sounds i produce.
So Gee maybe now i cannot blame my low end whistles for being crappy, all of a sudden they are playing so much sweeter.
The amount of air pressure that is blown into the mouthpiece, especially between octaves, or on long “runs” of notes between octaves, seems vital to better playing. all my whistles behave differently in this regard, and it has taken me a while to become familiar with what the whistle needs to make sweet music.
Mind you its not always easy, especially when the music is fast, my fingers get crossed up or i find it had to find a good place to take a breath, as i slowly go a pretty shade of blue in the face…but hell i reckon my playing has improved considerably, just by being aware of the pressure of my breath.
So even when I am not playing I now practice breath control, and breathing excercises.
It make me feel top of the world, so thats gotta be a good thing huh?
I have no other real point other then to share in my "enlightenment " and hope that it may be of help to others, or even just a reminder for those who already know better,
Happy whistling,
Regards,
David
Excellent, important insights!
We all tend to work like hell on fingering, but that’s only half the battle. They don’t call them woodWINDS for nothing…
Breath control is definitely a big part of the job. Some tunes lend themselves to plenty of easy breath breaks, while others entice you to play long passages on one good lungful (actually, I have 2 lungs). The higher up the 2nd octave you go, the slightly harder pressure is required to get those notes out cleanly and dropping from a high b down to an e or d means a real controlled change in pressure. Often, you need to tongue these transitions to get them to play without squawking.
Plan your breath breaks so you don’t run too low. It’s harder to control the passage of air from almost empty lungs. The notes get shaky or you want to play them fast in a race to get them out before the air runs out. Doesn’t sound good.
If you can play with relaxed breathing (takes work), your playing will sound more relaxed and natural.
Tony
It’s also useful to experiment with the shape of your mouth:
Dropping your jaw, or making a larger cavity in your mouth, helps you to make tuning adjustments, and can help the lower notes speak more clearly. It’s particularly useful for sharp C naturals.
Along the same lines, the upper notes of the whistle speak easier if you create a narrower openning in your mouth. Narrowing the shape of your mouth will also allow you to sharpen flat notes.
It’s always good to hear about people’s ‘a-ha!’ moments. May you have many more!
Another lightbulb is when you’ve been playing all your whistles with the mouthpieces pushed in for a long time then suddenly pull them all out to a tuner to have them all in tune(or play with another person). It takes getting used to again because (if you’re like me) you’re used to hearing them sharp.
This is what i love about this message board, years of experimenting, trialling, labouring even to try to get things right, is shared on a few lines of the board.
It is truely wonderful, Thanks guys you have given me even more to consider…many many many thanks
