Cold verses hot, how many cents does a whistle drift?
I have heard about how a whistle tends to change pitch as it warms up, so, how much drift is there and what is the worst case scenario?
In my experience it doesn’t drift by much but there are several other factors that come into play when cold temperatures are involved.
For one thing, whistles (especially aluminum) with metal fipple components tend to be less responsive when not warmed up first. Then, of course, there is the issue of clogging due to hot breath passing through a cold metal windway and creating condensation.
For soprano whistles the tuning doesn’t seem to be effected too drastically by temperatures but the playability of the whistle is.
Hi ID,
20 cents is not uncommon in a high D when warming from around 10 degrees Celcius. This will be a bit more on dry days.
Of that 20 cents, a lot of them are due to humidity in the tube - this is most pronounced in wooden instruments.
The mass of the whistle will affect how long it takes to reach playing-temperature. Materials also come into play - metals are usually more conductive to heat, so the entire metal mass needs to reach equilibrium with the breath temperature. Plastics and woods reach the desired temperature quicker on the surface, but might take a bit longer for the whole instrument to warm, so they can tend to reach within 5 cents playing temperature, then gradually drift up over a minute or so. Metals lose their heat quicker, so it’s best to keep them in a pocket between tunes.
All that said - one can usually get 10-20 cents either side of the note by puffing harder or softer.
Having a goat in the tube can also have very interesting affects on the tuning (a 3-legged goat can be good for slip-jigs).
I just did a test using a Overton soprano D and tenor D. Room temperature was about 73° so I will assume the whistle was about the same. When it warmed to my temperature of 98.3° it sharpened by about 10 cents. I tried it with an Overton tenor D and it went up by 12 cents.
i personally think TEMP is not a big issue-------------it warms up pretty fast ----------also YOU can move your “cents” up and down by breath control-------------every whistle will play different for each player-------------- a good whistle will stay the same "off cent " range in each note--------------Now, if it is good on a couple of notes but , OFF on others thats the big problem----------then your tuning was off to begin with -------------me, myself if it has to be Off i like it on the flat side---------------but when i hit the higher octaves -------it will go sharp---------its just the way I blow--------------there is no perfect whistle out there they are all off about 5 or 10, there are too many variables---------------the question is how off is off
I don’t believe this to be true in a folk music setting.
Actually, I have never found it a problem, the loss or addition of a few cents.
There’s a lot to be said about intonation here. If a whistle is designed (hole placement) with intonation in mind, versus even temperament, the notes may not be easily blown without getting to know the instrument. If you blow an F# and it comes out a few cents flat and your G comes in a few cents sharp that doesn’t automatically mean you have a whistle with poor tuning.
IF your listening to it on the tuner–thats what i am talking about -----------the best thing is to tune it- as close as possible ------------but as you tune it —you dont want OFF cent both ways- (sharp /flat)if this makes sence-----------------it is best if it is eithwer sharp or flat -------------if it is both , then the tuning holes are possibly off**---------after all this it is best to tune to your ear**---------------i have heard intune whistles that tear up an eardrum------------
My beloved Overton playes like crap, when not warmed up.
The tone isn´t very good, it clogs, it doesn´t vibrate at all, and it´s out of tune.
When warmed up - beautiful tone, no clogging, amazing slight vibrations, perfectly in tune.
Heat makes the difference 