So, I’m a brand new whistler. I’m new to music in general also. I’m playing up and down the scale of my flute, and it sounds horrible, sometimes when it does sound right, it will change it’s sound without me even doing anything. What’s going on here?
You are answering your question before you ask it.
Keep going…it’ll make more sense.
(search on breath control)
Hi Jarl—Welcome to the forums!
If you are brand new to the whistle, your problems are normal.
Even though it may seem that you are not changing anything and the sound changes, your breath, as Denny pointed out, might not be controlled or you may move a finger so slightly that you don’t notice or you might change something about the way your are holding your lips, your cheeks, your tongue, etc. Some people do practice just playing one note and holding it for a long time and seeing if they can keep the pitch the same----so that shows you that it is not something that happens automatically.
I find it very hard to get the holes covered just right—not pressing down hard or squeezing the whistle but just keeping my fingers relaxed and covering the hole completely—some holes I have an especially hard time with, they are not so easy to get covered. I will be absolutely certain that the hole is covered but my result will show it is not so it can be a bit tricky I think.
It will be more fun I think if you sound out by ear some tunes you know, just simple things. If you like what you are playing that can help you get through this hard part where you are trying to get the basic sounds. Good luck!
Jarl, do you know what make your whistle is?
the make of the whistle is OAK. Thanks for you help those of you how have answered thus far.
Jarl, don’t be discouraged!
Whistling looks easy–so easy that I think most people see it as a toy. But as you have found, it’s not! Breath control is extremely important–not just keeping from blowing too hard, into the high range (second octave), but also not blowing TOWARDS the high range too far, making your sound rough. Timing–exactly when you take your fingers on or off a tonehole, does a lot, including the “air leakage” that the others mentioned when a finger isn’t on a hole all the way.
The good news: the whistle isn’t like many other instruments–it won’t take you two years to learn “Mary has a little lamb!” You’ll be having great fun sooner than you think. That’s why we’re all here.
Also get a tutorial–I recommend Grey Larsen’s “The Tin Whistle Toolbox” with it’s accompanying CDs. You can get it from his website or from The Whistle Shop, including other sources.
And Oak is not the easiest whistle to learn on. It’s not extremely difficult, but it’s harder than a Sweetone, for example.
I can see an new player having a problem with overblowing an Oak, which gets you into the second register when you don’t want to, and just puts out extra noise (not sounding right).
Start with barely blowing, just exhale into it. Get a feel for how little breath it takes. Then find the point where it will go into the next octave for you, and try not to blow much harder than the minimum to get what you want. Also for playing in the second register, think about blowing the air faster, rather than just harder. It’s subtle, but there is a difference.
The Oak is a relatively quiet, sweet whistle. Stick with it, it’s a nice one. And learning how to control your breath in the beginning will help you later on.
Jason
I had an Oak in C. It required more breath control than any other inexpensive whistle I have owned.