I am about six months into whistle lessons. I have asked my teacher this question but I thought I’d give it a go here as well. Of the many varieties of chiff the one that I am afflicted with is the Plopp. I often get a big PLOPP sound when putting my finger down on a hole. I have heard other players playing the same tunes who do not plopp. I have been trying to get rid of it but to no avail. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m so mischugene I could plopp!
Mike Burns
I think I know what you’re talking about. I don’t seem to have trouble with it like I used to. Don’t know what, if anything, I might’ve changed. Well, I guess that was no help!
Actually, I always thought that could be kind of a cool effect. You know you can play a tune by just “plopping” your fingers on the holes in random fingerings.
Probably you’re just putting your fingers down too hard. That’s my guess.
I tend to get a “plop” sound when I slur from B (xoo ooo) to C-natural (oxx ooo) or vice-versa. I don’t mind it, however.
Ploping is aparently forbiden by some recorder players.I love to plop unashamedly on a soprano whistle and have noticed that the larger hole whistles have a more satisfying plop than the ones with smaller holes.Waltons Mellow D and Generations are good ploppers…and thats no poop! 
Mike
On 2002-10-01 11:55, burnsbyrne wrote:
Of the many varieties of chiff the one that I am afflicted with is the Plopp. I often get a big PLOPP sound when putting my finger down on a hole.
Mike Burns
I doubt whether plopp is a kind of chiff, properly so called. But I really don’t know what plopp is. I get lots of strange unintended noises playing whistle like squeek, wheeze and shhchlllerrrpppp. But I don’t get anything I’d describe as plopp.
Can you please point me to a clear example, say a bar where Mary Bergin goes plopp?
For a lovely example of the deliberate use of “plopping” check out Joanie Madden’s album “Song of the Irish Whistle” and skip to The Otter’s Nest. Great song. For a while, it was my son’s favorite tune.
-Patrick
On 2002-10-01 13:24, Wombat wrote:
On 2002-10-01 11:55, burnsbyrne wrote:
Of the many varieties of chiff the one that I am afflicted with is the Plopp. I often get a big PLOPP sound when putting my finger down on a hole.
Mike BurnsI doubt whether plopp is a kind of chiff, properly so called. But I really don’t know what plopp is. I get lots of strange unintended noises playing whistle like squeek, wheeze and shhchlllerrrpppp. But I don’t get anything I’d describe as plopp.
Can you please point me to a clear example, say a bar where Mary Bergin goes plopp?
I have never heard a player of Mary Bergin’s caliber plopp.
I’m learning a tune called Planxty Mrs. Power with a passage that goes something like BCD|BCDD|BCDg and no matter how slow I play it it plopps all the time. That’s just an example, there are other spots and other tunes where I plopp. I’m getting plopped out!
Mike
Here’s my B to C-natural “plop” on an Ó Briain nickel D.
http://pw2.netcom.com/~ridseard/plop.mp3
I bet Mary Bergin doesn’t go shhchlllerrrppp either. But thanks Patrick, I’ll check out the Joannie Madden example. If Joannie plopps deliberately sometimes, that might just be something Wombat wants to do too. Thanks too Ridseard; we can never have too many tricks.
[ This Message was edited by: Wombat on 2002-10-01 13:51 ]
Ridseard - I went to you mp3 site to hear the plopp but got poop! – nada! Too pooped to plopp?
BillG
On 2002-10-01 13:49, Ridseard wrote:
Here’s my B to C-natural “plop” on an Ó Briain nickel D.
http://pw2.netcom.com/~ridseard/plop.mp3
Riseard,
You have a little more squeak in your plopp than I have but basically that’s it. It’s interesting that I get very little plopp on my Sweetone, but then that’s a very low-chiff whistle anyways. I plopp big time on my Oak and slightly less on my brass Gen. I would think that it’s due to some interaction between how hard I’m blowing and how fast I close the holes…I dunno!
Mike B
On 2002-10-01 13:49, Ridseard wrote:
Here’s my B to C-natural “plop” on an Ó Briain nickel D.
http://pw2.netcom.com/~ridseard/plop.mp3
Is THAT a plopp? That’s bad?
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!
I find if I don’t lift and put down fingers at just the right times, and or use breath control just right as I go from note to note, I get odd little unintentional grace notes. I sometimes will use a split second transitional fingering to go from one note to another so as to prevent the odd unintentional, or cause a more pleasant transitional note between notes.
I personally like the “Plopp” and use it as much as possible as I find it very reminiscent of the Uillean pipe “knee” break. Not many "pure drop"s will say it’s OK. But you know what, I’ve about had it up to here with so-and-so saying what’s acceptable and what isn’t. I LIKE the B to Cnat PLOPP. If they don’t,oh well. Not everybody likes the Levellers either.
Sean the Heretic.
On 2002-10-02 01:45, Rod Sprague wrote:
I find if I don’t lift and put down fingers at just the right times, and or use breath control just right as I go from note to note, I get odd little unintentional grace notes.
This happens to all of us. They’re called cuts. Nobody will notice that they’re unintentional if you don’t tell them.
Plop? I plop my dixon Low D every so often without blowing. Just plopping the holes.
Mike, I think I know exactly what you’re talking about and coincidentally I had a half hour grilling from my teacher on Monday on this very issue.
The plop (or “clipping”) is caused by miniscule inaccuracies in timing the raising and lowering of your fingers (the B to Cnat XOOOOO to OXXOOO previously mentioned is a classic and the very one I got picked up on while trying to master [still!] “The Kid on the Mountain”). It’s considered poor technique, which really it is.
Actually it’s okay to plop/clip if it’s what you intend as part of the piece. Think of Jimi Hendrix using feedback for sound effect - there’s a big difference between using feedback and having it happen upon you.
The way to overcome it is to practise again and again at slower speed those finger movements (and tongueing co-ordination) till it doesn’t happen. Then when you’ve mastered it, you can use the odd plop deliberately if it fits.
Hope that helps
Nick
The way to overcome it is to practise again and again at slower speed those finger movements (and tongueing co-ordination) till it doesn’t happen. Then when you’ve mastered it, you can use the odd plop deliberately if it fits.
Hope that helps
Nick
Nick,
Yes, it does help. I have been close to this conclusion but hearing it stated crystalizes the idea. Thanks!
Mike Burns