I bought a Clarke D a couple months ago, and I enjoy playing it (especially the lack of ear splitting shrillness!). One thing I’ve noticed is that I have a difficult time getting anything above a high F to sound. I’ve tried varying air pressure and the angle I hold it–all to no avail. Also, for some reason, C naturals (played oxxxox) don’t want to sound either.
Any suggestions? Hope I don’t have to paint some gold diamonds on this Clarke…
send her to jerry famous freeman, and ralph will fix it!!
Word.
What they said.
Jerry is a genius (I suppose Ralph is too). Go ahead, send it to him, and in the meantime, get you a Sweetone or Feadog or some nice cheapie and relax!
Personally, I’d probably just buy a new Clake. Last I checked you could get the unpainted ones for $6 at the whistle shop, and get you a couple more while you’re at it.
Thanks for the kind words, all.
Thom Larson at The Whistle Shop sells a tweaked Clarke Original that’s well regarded. I haven’t played one, but I’ve seen several positive posts about them. He’s a great guy.
I haven’t gotten into tweaking Clarke Originals for people so, I’m sorry so say, I’ve nothing to offer in the way of direct help. I do have tweaked Shaws, and I tweak already-owned Shaws, as well. If you like the sound of a Clarke Original and would be interested in something with a similar sound, but more robust and professional sounding, the tweaked Shaws are it.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Is this your first wihstle, just out of curiosity?
The Clarke Original was my first whistle and I remember having some similar problems when I was just getting started, and even if it’s not the Clarke Orig. can take some getting used to if your coming from a plastic fipple. Remember that only around 10% of the air you blow into a Clarke actually goes into making a sound 
. In all seriousness though, the Clarke Org. does take quite a bit of huff in the upper register. Also, I finger a Cnat like this: oxxooo on the Clarke and it seems to do ok.
Don’t give up on the Clarke just yet, they really are some fine instruments once you get the hang of them. Besides the Clarke is a lot like New York: If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere 
.
Hope this helps,
Micah
Oops, didn’t realize Jerry didn’t tweak Clarkes. The tweaked one from TWS is nice, I have one of those.
You might try a Sweetone or Meg, which is made by Clarke. They might be easier to make 2nd octave notes on. And they’re cheap as well.
Hi all–thanks for your input. I’ll keep plugging away at it and see what happens. Worst case, as several have said, I can always try another Clarke or different manufacturer, as they are cheap.
Micah–to answer your question, I originally learned whistle on a Gen D which I picked up about 10 years ago. I put it down about 9.9 years ago and just started up again 6 months ago, this time with a bit more diligence. I wanted to try a couple other models for comparison, so I bought a Clarke Original and Susato this summer. I find myself gravitating back to the Gen, especially when working on something more difficult–seems easier to play and quieter than the Susato and plays all the notes that the Clarke won’t.
I think it’s highly likely that there’s something wrong with your Clarke…termites in the fipple plug or something like that! Take a look inside the whistle, through the window and through the top opening and see if anything is stuck in there or whether the wood is warped or frayed. Also look in the tone holes and see if anything is stuck there. If you can’t see anything, chalk it up to luck and get a new Clarke, or a tweaked one. What you describe isn’t characteristic of this whistle.
Robin
It is an unhappy truth that spiders and assorted other nasties love to crawl up in a Clarke whistle and die in there.
I shudder to think of what I’ve seen and heard tell of inside these whistles. 
–James
It is an unhappy truth that spiders and assorted other nasties love to crawl up in a Clarke whistle and die in there.
I shudder to think of what I’ve seen and heard tell of inside these whistles.
There’s a happy thought…
I would agree get yourself a new one, they really are wonderful.
Micah
Just before my avatar picture was taken I was blowing a high B on a Clarke Original.