I’m not allowed to play whistle in my house, so I practice in the park. It’s usually deserted, and on a chilly afternoon between Christmas and New year, I though it would be. A couple of people came in to mind their children playing on the swings and climbing frame, but that’s far away from me, and I shouldn’t disturb them. Most of the dogs and dog-walkers know me, and I them. Max (a spaniel) came and asked me to throw his tennis-ball, and got my trousers muddy in the process, but that’s Max. He’s friendly.
Then a dog I didn’t know appeared and sniffed around me. I was playing “Merrily kissed the Quaker” at the time. When I finished a man and a boy applauded.
The man said, “That was nice. I keep a restaurant and that would be good playing in the background. Did you make that yourself?”
“Yes, I did. Have you seen me before?”
“No, I can recognise when someone makes their own instruments. I like it when they’re man-made.”
Stupidly I replied, “I thought they were all man-made.”
“Ha, yeah. You know what I mean. Bye!”
So… I think it was a compliment. I’m taking it as one, anyway.
I definitely have an extra measure of respect for those who make their own instruments…though I would never be one of them. I tried making a whistle twice, but never finished the attempts once. I HATED it!
I definitely have an extra measure of respect for those who make their own instruments…though I would never be one of them.
This can be fun if you have the workspace to do it. My place is too small. The wood and PVC dust from lots of experiments would seep into my food and clothing. Besides the cost of supplies (and any cutting/shaping equipment you don’t already have), you’d have to buy a tuner to get the intonation spot on.
Well, this is what I’m getting at. How does random passer-by observe that it’s not a “store-bought” instrument? Is the intonation that bad? Has this guy got perfect pitch? That was my best whistle.
There are on-line tuners. I tend to tune against my other instruments, which isn’t ideal.
