Hello folks!
I’m new here and this is my first post. The reason I ended up on this forum is because of my search how to resolve the clogging of my Goldie’s windpipe.
To begin with, I’m not an experienced whistler, I just started and try to exercice several times a day. I don’t like the high D, the sound is too high for my eardrums. So, I bought me a Goldie Low F. Absolutely lovely sound!
Problem is, the guy who sold it could play it without a problem. My partner can play it without problems as well. When I play it, I can hardly finish one line and the windpipe is clogged.
I’m not spitting, I’m not drooling, I warmed up the whistle before playing, rolling it between my hands, keeping it under my arm, or between my legs, blowing in it when covering, I even left it on the radiator to get really warm…
I did the dish soap trick and the waxed dental flosh, nothing seems to work. I’ve been reading here that a lot used toothpaste and that seems to be a miracle! BUT… how on earth do I get toothpaste IN the windpipe, when it’s about 1mm large??? Even those popsicle sticks don’t enter!
I’m getting desperate, I really love the sound of my Low F, I need to train my fingers to cover them holes (I have had an accident on my right hand which caused two fingers being disabled, the ring finger is almost straight, which makes I have a hard time covering the hole)
Can someone please explain how to use the toothpaste and most important, how to get that inside the windpipe? Oh and please, do not tell me to buy me a “decent” whistle because for some folks a whistle of 300€ isn’t a decent one… Don’t laugh, I read this on another forum, reason why I didn’t want to subscribe to that one
Thank you!
Just so happens, Chiff & Fipple has the answer to all your whistling questions!
Mikethebook spoke with Mr Goldie about the clogging issue and was given this suggestion (requoted by Pancelticpiper recently):
"I bought a soft blowing Goldie Low D and had problems with clogging…I spoke to Colin and this is what he suggested I do:
The method uses toothpaste (not the gritty sort) and a filed down dampened wooden lollipop stick (not sure what you call them in the US - popsicle?) - and make sure it goes into the windway easily so it won’t break off and get stuck - I guess you could use a thin plastic card too but the wood tends to pick up dirt in the grain. Work toothpaste into the windway and using the dampened stick “polish” the inside of the windway with it. Then, using a cotton bud with toothpaste on it, polish the bevel and also the wall of the block below it to prevent the build up on water on the bevel. Then rinse the whistle out with cold water."
I think a tongue depressor (can get those at a pharmacy or crafts shop) would work well as they’re thinner than popsicle sticks.
Sorry you’re one of those folks that tends to get more spit accumulation in your whistle than some others! In the case of, especially, the Overtons & Golides, it is a design issue. Thin windway = more clogging. So you definitely need methods for clearing the clogs and preventing them if possible, and I hope the above helps!
Couple other things to try: the recorder players’ trick of covering the window with one finger and blowing hard through the mouthpiece will clear out all the spit. Obviously, this won’t solve you problem, but in a pinch, will keep your whistle whistling nicely!
Another is to breathe in through the whistle. Kind of like sucking on a straw, you’ll draw all the spit back into your mouth where it can be discreetly swallowed. Problem solved!
Lastly, you could try switching to flute. A flute is basically a long drain pipe with a wide enbouchure hole. Spot goes in, rolls down the pipe and conveniently dribbles out all over the piper next to you!
I, too, have whistles that clog more than I’d like. I haven’t yet tried the toothpaste trick, but covering the sound hole and blowing through the mouthpiece works pretty well. Just be sure you have that sound hole completely covered! Another thing I do is hold the whistle like it’s a flute, cover all the holes, and blow through the sound hole. If you use this method, place the little finger of your lower hand (in my case, the left) over the bottom of the whistle, or you will get saliva dribbling down your wrist.
I won’t tell you to buy another whistle, as my cheap Walton’s and Feadóg work wonderfully for me.
In the Name of All That Is Holy, yes, a thousand times yes. There was this guy who would blow out his whistle - not once, but easily as many as three times during a session - thru the mouthpiece without covering the window, and of course the hell-shriek made everyone jump. It never failed, and he’d get an especially murderous look from his poor, embarrassed, long-suffering wife every time, not that he seemed to notice that either. Fearing for our ears (and his marriage, if not his life), I took him aside, extolled the virtues of covering the window, and knowing him to be a reasonable fellow, thought it would stick. Nope. He did try it, but in the end for some reason he just couldn’t be bothered - too much work, maybe? - and we were left to forever wonder in terror when he’d callously strike next. Otherwise he was a nice guy, so we just couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t do something so simple for consideration’s sake. Well, I’d already put in my 2 cents, so at that point I figured it was someone else’s job to back me up once they’d had enough. Good luck with that in Minnesota where we would rather at all costs sit on our hands, but if he hasn’t been given a dent in his head by now, I’d be surprised.
i use duponol, sold by recorder maker MollenHaur as “anticondens” (chemical name: Sodium lauryl sulfate. It’s the same chemical that makes the toothpaste trick work).
A lot of things come into play here. First of all, getting the toothpaste into the windway isn’t that difficult given you don’t need a vast amount to coat the stick. Simply collect a glob of toothpaste on the end of the stick and press it against the end of the fipple. A little will go into the windway but most will end up around the end of the fipple. Collect it up and repeat the process five or six times. Chance are you will have enough inside the windway now to coat the wettened stick when you push it in. BTW do you know the height of the windway. If the whistle is less than five years old the height will be etched inside the bottom of the tube next to Colin’s signature e.g 0.97. This is the height in mm.
When I started out, I had huge problems with clogging but the toothpaste trick helped immensely and I have to use it every few months when I begin to get more problems again. But it isn’t the whole clogging story. The second thing is that aluminium gains and loses heat quickly so if you leave off playing for more than a few seconds, the fipple will start to cool down which is why covering the soundhole and blowing hard as Dan A. suggests needs to become a regular and automatic part of your playing. In part it clears any new condensation collecting as the fipple cools but it also warms it up again. BTW I don’t subscribe to the idea that clogging is due to saliva. Given the narrowness of the windway and the consistency of saliva I don’t think it would easily get pushed down the windway. But I could well be wrong!! Check out this video and watch it carefully. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAwrdiDao58 I quickly lose count of the number of times Davy Spillane warms and clears the whistle during breaks in his playing.
The third thing is breathing. To begin with many new to the whistle are wet blowers. The act of putting the fipple in the mouth initially may lead to salivation, producing a more humid mouth and therefore wetter breath. As I found myself this will most likely diminish in time. But certain breathing habits will mitigate against the problems of clogging.
Don’t put the fipple into the mouth. The end of it should just rest on the lower lip. This give one the possibility of much more control over the amount of air going into the whistle e.g by pursing the lips .
Colin Goldie’s whistles are designed and voiced to be blown hard. If you back off and play gently you are much more likely to experience clogging.
GIven that, you can create much more power in your blowing without undue effort by breathing and playing from your diaphragm than if you play from your throat or chest. Try humming out loud and you will feel your diaphragm muscles being used. Play from there inhaling through your abdomen rather than chest. And keep your mouth cavity small. That will help speed up the air going through your mouth.
If you like your Goldie as much as I liked mine, be patient, use the toothpaste treatment, maybe a couple of times to begin with, get into the habit of clearing/warming the fipple and learn some good breathing habits. Together they will reduce the chances of clogging.
I’ll try to reply to each of you, because you all took the time to help.
Will the more natural alternative sodium coco sulfate do as well? I have to order it online, but first I’ll try some toothpaste.
Don’t worry, when I’m alone at home, I can blow anyway I like, but I wont attack my fellow players with that shrieking sound and I certainly don’t want to cover them in spit! I’m not able to reach the bottom of the whistle with my pinky finger, because that one is completely disabled and the whistle is way to long for me anyways. I put it on my leg, rather have a wet spot on my leg instead of watching my friends wiping their eyes… Besides, the end opening of my whistle is 2.8cm, no finger can cover that!
Blowing through it seems to help indeed, for like a few notes…
Breathing in helps too, but it’s not always that handy either, I choked twice on a drop that went in the wrong way and it helps for like a few moments as well.
I’ll see if I can get my hands on one of those tongue depressors, but I’m pretty sure it’s too thick as well. I think I’m gonna try with a bit of paper fold a few times and some tape around it.
How many holes does a flute have? I used to play the ordinairy wooden flute we all know, but since the accident with my fingers, I’m not able to play that one anymore.
The plastic card idea might be a good idea! I can cut one up, since i burned my Visa card anyways
In my opinion, he’s not a nice person than! Someone should take that whistle off him and do the same, see if he enjoys it so much! I’m extremily sensitive to high tones, if I had someone like him next to me, next time he does that, he’s blowing that whistle from his *ss
It says "Goldie something-I-can’t-read 2016 8. I measured the windway, I think it’s about 0.97mm indeed. Do I need to wait untill the toothpaste dries up before rincing? and is rincing enough or does the windpipe have to be completely clean of toothpaste. In that case, I think I’ll have to use some dental floss to get it all out.
Already having that habit, I think it would be even worse if I didn’t keep the whistle warm, blowing in it and holding the mouthpiece in my hand, under my arm or between my knees has become a habit already
Lets see if I can manage those new techniques, thank you!
I hope I replied to you all, I’ll put all your advices in good use and let you know if it worked out Thank you all !!
That’s the same chemical that’s in Dawn dishwashing soap. In fact, it’s in a great number of soap related items. It’s safe and effective.
You can mix up your own batch with a drop or two of Dawn in a couple of ounces of water. On the other hand, if you can find Duponol without large shipping costs that’s a convenient way to go since it comes in a handy dropper bottle.
As far as sucking moisture back into your mouth, it’s a really useful technique. With a bit of practice you can do it right in the middle of a tune by dropping a convenient eighth note. I don’t think of it as sucking through a straw.The action is sharper and very short.
In reply to your questions I rinse the toothpaste straight away and find that by putting the bottom end of the whistle under the bath’s cold tap there’s enough pressure of water to clear the toothpaste out. I also put the window directly under the tap too. I don’t think it was mentioned earlier but you need also to “polish” the wall of the block and the bevelled exit to the windway with toothpaste too. This helps moisture drain away. A dampened cotton bud is ideal for this.
Your windway height suggests Colin’s soft blower which shouldn’t clog as badly as his medium or harder blowers with smaller windway heights, though that is what I had to start with and still had problems.
Using a sanded down popsicle stick has a major advantage over your other suggestions in that the wood grain picks up dirt from the windway. I got someone with an electric sander to grind down a few sticks for me. I wash them and let them dry naturally so that I can reuse them.
I have heretofore only played soprano D whistles, whose ends can be easily be covered by my little finger. (After learning a little breath control, I really like the sound of a soprano D.) The 2.8 cm opening of a low F would be impossible for me to cover even with my oddly wide thumbs!
Are you sure? That’s over an inch, which is way too big for a low F. And it’s the ‘window’ you cover (which can be done by wrapping your fingers right round it), not the foot opening.
As previously mentioned, blow harder using good breath support. So many people try to play Goldie whistles like they are a large Generations or similar whistles, using just enough breath pressure to make the whistle sound. Goldie whistles need to be approached more like a trumpet or sax, although maybe that description doesn’t help those who haven’t tried such instruments… Anyway, as you can see from the fact that others you know have fewer clogging issues with the exact same whistle, it must be something that you’re doing differently, and typically, IME, it’s how you blow.
Goldie whistles are fantastic instruments, keep at it and good luck!
Some people are just wet blowers on the whistle even after all the tips for clogging have been employed. While playing wet blowers just need to keep aware and do whatever possible to minimize wetness.
I’ve spent 40 years in Highland piping circles and all of us pipers know that some people are “wet blowers” and some people aren’t. I don’t know why, but humans differ that way. Some pipers struggle with their pipes due to their reeds always being soaking wet. It’s why many pipers use Moisture Control Systems in their bags (canisters of Kitty Litter etc).
There was a fluteplayer around here years ago that, when he was playing, gobs of “pure water” would nearly continuously pour forth from the end of his flute. It was disgusting.
You can’t simply choose to blow a whistle at any pressure you wish; each whistle only plays in tune at the exact pressure it was designed to play at. It’s due to where the octaves are set. So, with my Dixon Low D, yes I get better tone out of the low register if I “fill” the whistle with strong blowing… but then the low octave plays at a pitch too high for the 2nd octave to achieve. So, the octave tuning of the Dixon (a flatter 2nd octave) forces the player to underblow the low octave, giving less volume and tone than the low octave, in isolation, is capable of, in order to keep the pitch of the low octave low enough for the 2nd octave to be able to match.
Likewise on the MK you have to blow the low octave very strongly, indeed not far from its breaking-point, in order to make it sharp enough to match the (somewhat sharp) 2nd octave.
Pancel- very interesting points in your post, in 2) especially. You always explain things so well, in terms I can understand. Your valuable insights lead to better understanding of how our instruments work, and of course that leads to better playing and more enjoyment in playing music. Thank you!
and it helps for like a few moments as well.
Thank you all !! 
