Hello, I’ve only been playing the whistle for a couple of months, but I’ve reached a point where I’m a little frustrated and/or confused about something. My first whistle was a Feadog which I couldn’t play very well at all in the 2nd octave. I then got a Clarke original D, a Sweetone D, and a Dixon tunable D, all of which I can easily play all the way up the 2nd octave.
I just got an Oak nickel D, and I’m having a lot of problems controlling the high notes. I really like the tone, but it’s very hard to play well. The E note is especially finicky - if I don’t get it just perfect, I get a mixture of the lower and upper octave notes. Also, I can only play the 2nd octave D with the first finger up. If I play it with all fingers down, I again get a mix of the lower and upper notes. There seems to be a very narrow range of breath speed/pressure to sound the higher notes.
Is this type of whistle really that much harder to play, or do I maybe have a bad whistle? Does this type of whistle need a different blowing technique than the other whistles? I’m going to try to attend a local session this weekend and try to have a more experience whistler try out my Oak.
At only a couple months in, it’s hard to say whether or not it’s you or the whistle. It really could be a bum whistle..check inside the mouthpiece/windway for burrs, plastic shavings, etc.
On the other hand, it really could be you. Not all whistles are easy for beginners to play (the sweetones are considered one of the easiest). When I first started playing, years ago, I ranted against this piece-of-junk Soodlum brand whistle I had. It was flat, it squeeked and honked and so forth. I just so happen to still have it, and now I can play it just fine. And I’m pretty sure the whistle didn’t somehow ripen with age, so it must have been me
This may seem like heresy to some, but my advice is, if you have a Dixon and some Clarkes you like, and can play acceptably well, stop buying whistles. These are fine whistles. Learn to play for a while, and let your tastes and skills develop. Put the oak aside, and come back to it every couple of months. You may find, as I did with my Soodlum, that you’re able to play it better in the future. At two months in, there’s going to be a lot of whistles that are beyond you…trying to play them is bound to be an exercize in frustration.
Of course, if it’s a bum whistle, you’ll be in a better place to make that determination after you get some mileage under you.
Definately some good points. My main reason for still buying whistles is that I want to find one with a sound that inspires me. The Clarke’s and Dixon are OK, but I prefer the edgier tone of the Oak.
I do believe it’s me and not the whistle. Since I first posted, I played some more on the Oak and I think I’ve found the problem. I was tightening up some to speed up the airstream for the higher notes. That worked OK on the other whistles, but not the Oak. I tried relaxing my lips and throat when going to the second octave, and it worked! I still need to work on controlling it since I’m not very consistent yet, but I think I’m on the right track. When I got the notes right, they seem louder and more penetrating, and I can feel the whistle vibrating a little on some of the notes.
I will still have someone else try out my Oak just to see how well it can be played.
Welcome to the world of whistles. I bought an Oak after starting on a Clarke and a Sweetone. I just couldn’t get the sound I liked on the upper octave and gave the whistle to my niece. She also inherited a Susato the same way. I had been playing about a year at the time. I bought a Dixon and I love it. BUT I have come to realize that I was more to blame than my poor whistles. Thanks heavens I had enough sense not to give away my Silkstone in frustration! I guess the more you practice, the more control you gain.
although it can be the whistle, all of us know most of the time it is the player.
practice practice practice and when you think you’ve got it, practice some more…
find a way to check you are doing it right, technically, ask for some advice and it sure won’t harm to have that whistle checked by someone else.
berti
playing since last summer and needing more practice…
To make a soft upper octave blow through and past the whistle, in fact take it out of your face and blow at it. Then you’ll realize how easy it is to make the second octave - quietly and soflty.
Welcome to the board! I noticed that you mentioned that the whistle in question is made out of NICKEL. Even though you are still new to whistling there is one thing that you should understand that will get you off to a fairly decent start. Aluminium is a soft material. On the otherhand, Copper is a very heavy and dense material as well as Brass. You have a NICKEL whistle which means that the material is along the lines of “THICK AND DENSE”. There is almost always more back pressure(more air required to play it) as the material gets heavier! When you purchase a whistle at this STAGE in your playing pls consider the type of material beforehand. It will make all the difference in the world!
Also, it’s part you. You Being new to the world of whistling! Try blowing harder and in time you’ll find that blowing harder become’s second nature regardless of the Material. Try this exercise:Blow the second octave(higher) for about 5-seconds. Do this for each note! Now try this: Starting from the bell note (bottom) blow the 1st octave softly for a second or two then quickly increase the AMOUNT of PRESSURE! This will quickly bring you to that second octave. Do that all the way up the scale. Exercises are wonderful for all players!! Even most professionals warm up by just playing SCALES.There are many ways!
P.S. In time you’ll begin to feel the amount of air required and you’ll adjust quickly to any whistle regardless of the pressure. Don’t give up. Again, having said that. All Material’s in many casses will determine the amount of air required! . - Tal St.Claire
These upper and lower register exercises are a very good idea for anyone who’s working on getting used to whistles in general or to a specific whistle.
Although Oaks are usually pretty decent by default, there is the chance you’ve gotten a stinker, but I’d wager not. I have a rather spiffy Oak that I love. It’s my favorite cheap whistle. Oak whistles take finer breath control than most cheap whistles. They also generally take less air than any other whistle I’ve encountered (which isn’t a whole lot beyond the cheapo range but still).
You may just want to shelf it for a while and use the others until you’ve been practicing a little while longer, or you can just stick with it until you can make it work. Try blowing softer, not harder.
In my probably unqualified experience, the material of the shaft of the whistle will have little or nothing to do with the problems you describe. It is true that the Oak has a pretty thick body compared to a Generation or Feadog. That thickness would make a greater difference than the material, I’d say (nickel whistles, such as the Oak are made of brass with a nickel coating). But frankly, I think it’s all in the mouthpiece. Aluminum may be softer but then aluminum whistles are also a lot thicker than brass/nickel cheapies. People do argue about accustic properies of different materials, but that may be something to worry about down the road.
Back-pressure and the amount of air you need to blow is controlled by the width, height and length of the windway (the longer a tube, the harder it is blow through it). The ease of hitting the second octave is controlled by the position of the balde, the length of the window, and shape of the blade. If you have trouble with specific notes (such as high E), checke the blade for burrs or nicks. I would venture so far as to suggest slightly dulling the blade a bit with a strip of very fine sandpaper or emory board. Go very gently.
Some whistles are more forgiving of differences in breath pressure than others. The sweetones are very forgiving, the Oaks are among the least forgiving, which make them challenging whistles for beginners. So you want to by all means develop breath control, as has been suggested.
The Oak is one of my favorite cheap whistles, but it’s also one of the hardest cheap whistles to play well (at first). Once you’ve had it for a while and spent time playing it you (or at least I) adjust pretty quick. Oak’s take much less air than other cheap whistles and can sound scratchy sometimes, but when you get the 2nd octave working correctly they have a really nice ringing tone on the high notes.
Talbert: Have you played an Oak? They have plastic mouth pieces and very little back pressure, and don’t need much air at all. I’m sure all metal whistles (Overtons, Chieftans, etc…) differ based on the metal they’re made from but I don’t think it affects the cheap plastic mouth piece whistle nearly as much (at least not in the back pressure/air). The material does seem to effect the tone some. …just my opinion.
EDIT: Bloomfield beat me to it.
-Brett
Thanks for sharing some light on the Oak! However, I really understand the material side of things. My observation was really just based on the “MATERIAL” side of things. Not neccesarily a detailed description of the OAK whistle. The Oak has a mouthpiece you mentioned where as the ones I play are the Chieftain/Overton brands. Because the whistle in question(Oak) has a mouthpiece unlike the Chieftains or other whistle’s that are made as an all “one bodied material” whistle(straightAluminium/Brass/Nickel through the entire whistle) I was simply referring to the straight tubing whistle’s that are made without any attachments(mouthpieces). Based on my own experience depending on the MATERIAL these whistle’s even in the same key are quite unique! Less forgiving than one’s with mouthpieces. Especially LOWER WHISTLES.
Example: I have sampled a Burke whistle in A! One in brass one in silver.The brass has an aweful lot of back-pressure compared to the silver whistle! This was a standard in almost all cases that i’v seen with other whistles as well. It’s all about the MATERIAL’S USED.
P.S. I’m not to crazy about whistles that have the mouthpiece attachment. Especially the higher end whistle’s. I prefer the whistle’s material made throughout the whistle. My own preference musically, ofcourse. Everything that’s being said here is really all just a matter of PERSONAL VIEWS. All opinion’s ofcourse i’m sure will “ASSIST” the person whos’ curious about these various things regarding the various whistles! -Tal
Since I’m not far along the road to whistle mastery my $.02 probably isn’t worth much but I’m not buying any more whistles for a while and I intend to practice on the ones easiest for me to play until I can tell which ones irritate the dog and family least. I’ll list the ones I have in order of increasing difficulty for me to play though:(all soprano D’s)
Generation (real easy to get clean transition to 2nd octave and good sound)
Soodlum’s mello D (close 2nd)
Susato (OK but I haven’t played it much)
Walton’s little black whistle (It just doesn’t sound good in my hands)
Clarke original (takes too much wind in 2nd octave and 2nd octave notes don’t sound clean)
I’ve got an oak that was fair out of the box. Breath wise very touchy though. Squeeky. I tweaked it a bit, including a thin plastic strip to extend the blade on the underside. Its a bit more solid and smoother now, but it is still very touchy on the breath. I have a hard time deciding if I really like it or not.
Right out of the box, I thought it had mostly a gen type sound, but now it’s been tweaked, it really doesn’t resemble a gen much. Eh. What the heck. Ten bucks. I’ll mess with it a bit more. Probably buy another one or so. I havn’t got the C yet.
It’s definately the breath control. I found that by having the mouthpiece just barely in my mouth so the opening between the lips is narrower than the mouthpiece opening, I can control the high notes much easier. It does seem like I’m blowing softer.
Even though I can already play better on the Clarke’s and Dixon, I feel it’s worth the extra effort to gain the breath control needed to make the Oak sound good. It’s sound is much closer to what I want a whistle to sound like.
I noticed that you mentioned that the whistle in question is made out of NICKEL. Even though you are still new to whistling there is one thing that you should understand that will get you off to a fairly decent start. Aluminium is a soft material. On the otherhand, Copper is a very heavy and dense material as well as Brass. You have a NICKEL whistle which means that the material is along the lines of “THICK AND DENSE”. There is almost always more back pressure(more air required to play it) as the material gets heavier! When you purchase a whistle at this STAGE in your playing pls consider the type of material beforehand. It will make all the difference in the world! 