It’s Derry Aire, played on the “O’Freeman Improved Sweetone” that I mentioned in another thread. This is the best I can do for now. (Yes, the final Cnat is very flat.)
edit: I notice I also misplayed the second phrase. Oh, well. It’s a start.
Gulp!
Best wishes,
Jerry
P.S. Thanks to Gary Humphrey/Raindog for his very beautiful recording of same on a low D. I used his ornamenation as a guide for beginning to learn slides and cuts.
[ This Message was edited by: Jerry Freeman on 2003-02-20 10:24 ]
I don’t think my cheap computer mic and inexperienced playing do justice to the whistle.
I’m impressed with how much better in tune the Sweetone is compared to the Generation type whistles (except Feadog) I’ve encountered. The tweaking seems to have made it much less breathy and more musical/richer sounding, and the slightly increased back pressure makes it more responsive to subtle breath control, making it more expressive and giving more of the sensation that the whistle is singing.
I laminated a .006 inch layer of mylar (acetate) plus the thickness of the double-faced carpet tape used to adhere it, to the windway floor and filled the cavity under the windway with sticky tac.
As a follow up to that thread, I’ve extensively played both whistles I did the windway lamination tweak to, and there’s no indication that the double-faced tape presents any problems with moisture making it come loose. They’re sticking together just fine. Neither one seems to have a problem with clogging, though I do need to suck a drop or two out after playing for awhile every now and then. They don’t seem noticeably different than before in this regard.
Great use of vibrato. According to Clarke’s promotional materials, that was the most popular of the tunes played by their founder, Robert Clarke, in the mid 1800’s.
Good job! And the whistle sounds yards better than my new Sweetone, which I’ve been thinking about tweaking. I’m curious…did you try just the sticky tack before doing the laminate in the windway and, if so, did it make a difference in the breathiness?
I think the slightly increased back pressure from the windway lamination tweak makes effects such as vibrato more manageable.
My recollection of the whistle before I did the tweak is that it felt like I was blowing a lot of air through the whistle that wasn’t going into the music that came out.
It seemed only to accept the air for just blowing, and it went right through the whistle. It didn’t give enough “feedback” to allow for more subtle control. For a more skilled player, that might not have been so much of a factor, but I definitely noticed it.
Now it feels like it takes less air, and it’s all being blown into the notes that I’m playing such that I can play them more the way I feel them. Kinda like the difference between a car that has sloppy steering and one that has nice, responsive steering.
First I did the windway lamination tweak, then (much later) I filled the cavity under the windway.
I think the biggest change in the dynamics and sound of the whistle was from the windway lamination tweak, but filling under the windway did significantly clean up and stabilize the whistle. Both together gave me a whistle that I’m extremely happy with.
The windway lamination tweak took away most of the breathiness. I don’t recall if it changed again when I filled the cavity, but the breathiness was already mostly gone by the time I filled the cavity.
Best wishes,
Jerry
[ This Message was edited by: Jerry Freeman on 2003-02-20 12:46 ]
