Well I’ve been practising on and off since I got my first whistles yesterday. But it seems I’m having a much harder time to get a normal (i.e. non-catstrangling) sound out of my Little Black whistle than out of my Sweetone.
I’m just wondering, how do you tell if it’s you or the whistle?
It seems that for the Little Black I need to watch my breathing a lot more than for the sweetone. Just wondering if this is normal.
Of course, at 2 days practising I’m certainly not ruling out that I just need a lot more practice But how is a newbie to tell if a whistle out of tune?
Hey Llhorian. Generally, I think cheap whistles are especially easy to play, unless theres some manufacturing fault with them. I don’t think they have any serious problems otherwise because they’re all pretty identical in their nice playability.
However for beginners or when playing a new whistle, some time is needed for you to adjust to the blowing nuances of each whistle. Some whistle flip up to the 2nd octave easily, others less so. Some require a more steady flow of air to produce a good sound while others are more forgiving.
Check if your whistle has any obvious manufacturing faults, like pieces of erroneous plastic sticking out of the sides, a fipple blade thats not smooth, etc. Do play the whistle for some time (anything from a few days to a month) before judging it. If its still unplayable after this period, its most likely the whistle because cheap whistles are normally very easy to play.
How do you tell if a whistle is out of tune? Use a tuner. Or play the note you want on another instrument and compare it to your whistle’s note by ear. Most cheap whistles are never perfectly in tune across the octaves when put against an electronic tuner but thats not a catastrophe=)
P.S. I like your signing off quote a lot! Cow and Chicken just cracks me up.
I found out that my cheapy whistles were actually perfectly serviceable when I handed them to a good whistle player and complained, and he proceeded to play – sweetly – in three octaves.
My suggestion is to find someone in your area who whistles and see what they have to say.
But breath control can be vastly different on different instruments, just as you may want to adjust your fingering of certain notes on different instruments.
If you’re a beginner, you may want to pick one of your two instruments and play that one exclusively for a bit, until you have a handle on how to get the tones you want. Then set that one aside and pick up the other instrument, and spend some time getting to know it well. After getting the basics down on both instruments, you may find it easier to swap between them.
When I first started playing, I too bought an LBW and had a lot of trouble with it – it produced the most horrible squawking noises. I went back to my Sweetone. After I was a little more experienced, I found playing the LBW much easier. Despite its price, the LBW really isn’t a beginner’s whistle. So I suggest you keep on with your Sweetone, and try the LBW again in a month’s time. You’ll be amazed at how easier it is to play.
At the risk of sounding like a “me too” post I just wanted to add a bit from a newbie perspective. I started out playing with a Sweetone (and a Clarke Original). I found the Sweetone very easy to play. Then I bought a Chieftain and a LBW which is when I discovered (1) how crappy I was and (2) that the Sweetone really is very easy to play. I mean the first time I tried to play my LBW it was awful, truly awful … I’m trying to forget the experience
IMHO the Sweetone seems to be less sensitive to small air pressure variations that some other whistles will actually respond to; thus, the Sweetone does not require the same level of breath control that some other whistles (like the LBW) do which makes it a very forgiving whistle for beginners. IMO regulating your breathing properly only comes with lots of practice and patience.
But, don’t be discouraged - you’ve only just begun and learning anything properly takes time. For me, constantly switching between instruments just got me frustrated and slowed my progress. So now I practice mostly with my Sweetone and when I feel I have made some significant progress (1 - 3 weeks of practice) then I will practice with one of my other whistles for a short while. It seems to work for me
But how is a newbie to tell if a whistle out of tune?