I’m brand new to whistles (And message boards - it’s desperate times calling for desperate measures), and have been foolish enough to make my first one a chieftan low D, which I only purchased yesterday. (Foolish because I’m not experienced enough to manage it). I used to play recorder - mostly by ear but can read music a little, and thought myself pretty good until I came across some examples of how beautiful whistles can sound in the right hands - I was sold on the more mellow sound which makes the recorder sound like a horrible squawk. If I could knock out some of those jigs and reels a quarter as well I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven!!
Yesterday I couldn’t really get a noise, never mind a note and nearly used it to batter my husband to death instead (he was being less than supportive!!) In tears - literally, I found some tuition on the ‘whistle shop’ pages, and learned about the piper grip, which helped, and I’ve managed a couple of the higher notes fron G through to C. Now I’ve discovered you guys I’m almost feeling optomistic again (So don’t let me down!!)
The biggest problem I’m having is with condensation in the mouthpiece. Now it stands to reason that a tube of cold metal with warm breath blowing through it (LEAVE IT!!) is going to cause condensation, but after about four notes the tone changes to being whispery and much harder to get a note. Obviously, condensation needs to be blown through every now and again, and to say I’m a novice player is overstating it - I’m as unexperienced as it’s possible to be, but is it a problem that will rectify itself with practice, or am I doing something wrong, in which case now would be a good time to find out. If anyone has any suggestions on this, or any other tips for a new player - I really would be very grteful.
You’ve chosen to start your whistling career with a very challenging instrument! Most people start with higher whistles, and work their way down. Among low D’s, the Chieftain has a reputation for being among the more difficult to manage, although they might be quite lovely.
I’d consider, if not a high D or C, then at least maybe a low G or F to get started on.
There’s a couple good tips for you to control condensation - detergent in the windway and warming it up. I stick my Overton’s (Aluminum like yours) in my armpits, and I do wear sleeved shirts and shower daily.
I’d go along with the advice of starting with a friendlier instrument and key. The high D is the standard - but if you want something warmer, a Bb is nice.
See if you can find a Generation in D or Bb - A good (inexpensive) way to go is with one of Jerry Freeman’s tweaked Gens. Then you’re not fighting the squeaks and quirks of an untweaked whistle while getting the hang of the instrument. You can search the members for “Jerry Freeman” to get in touch with him.
Until you’ve built some chops, put the Chieftain away. Unless you want to whack your husband for giving you trouble about playing the whistle - I think we all would agree that it’s a good interim use for it.
Thank you all so much for your replies. It was a lovely surprise as I didn’t think I’d succeeded in making a posting.
Since making my plea for help I have found the tuition area of the Kerry whistle web site - highly recommended!
Just to explain my coice of low D, I’m a recorder player (a C instrument yes - but the c is on a 7th hole covered by the little finger) so I thought I would find the D the easiest for fingering.
I can’t afford another low whistle at the moment - even a cheap one - but I have just bought a Dixon high D to practice tunes while I get my head (and hands) round the low one.
I hadn’t thought of warming it up first - so thanks for that one.
I read about the dishsoap and am reluctant to try as I have a habit of sucking the moisture out - still I guess it would break the habit pretty quickly! Don’t you end up blowing bubbles?
If anyone is interested in a progress report… I have been practising 3-4 hours a day and can now do an octave scale from high to low D with barely a squeek or squawk (one finger at a time) For some reason I can’t go for example from a G to a low D - I think it’s something to do with putiing more than one finger at a time in position. If anyone knows a way of getting 20 years experience in a week…
Thank you all again.
Tracey X
P.S. I’ve just discovered how impossible it is to talk about whistles without an awful lot of innuendo… or is it just my mind??
As it is, the music world is filled with a lot of odd terminology and bizarre product names (Gorilla Snot). No more bizarre than any other hobby I suppose, though.
There’s also dishwasher rinse aid. I do the same as you to clear whistle windways, and I’ve never gotten a bad taste from it.
The Chieftain/Overton/Harper design, with the flat, broad, narrow windway is the worst for clogging. I can clog even all-wood whistles, so I have an incredible problem with it. If I didn’t think the Harper C was one of the finest whistles in the world, I’d steer completely away from that type.
Thanks Charlie - I’ll try the rinse aid. Do you use it neat or dilute it?
I’m certainly a bit peeved to learn that mine is one of the worst makes for clogging. I knew that with any woodwind intrument you have to get rid of moisture once in a while, but I think it’s reasonable to expect to get through one complete piece without losing the sound - otherwise the thing can’t be described as fit for purpose??
Mine seems to clog after the first 6 notes, which is why I thought it must be to do with my technique.
Changing the subject - how do you cut the bit of text you want to reply to so it shows at the top of your answer? I did say this is my first encounter with message boards!!
Also, can you send a message directly to one individual?
Tracey X
Sure. At the bottom of each post you will see a “Quote” button. Click the button, and it will bring up a Reply screen with the entire post reproduced between quote tags. Edit the text to include only what you want, then add your reply below.
Yes. Click the “Profile” button on a user’s post. Then click the “pm” button on their Profile page to send a personal mesage, or “email” button to send e-mail. You can also click a user’s username anywhere on the board to bring up their Profile page.
With washing up soap or dishwasher rinse aid, you want to dilute it a bit before applying, then let it dry before playing. Some taste when you suck back the moisture may be one of the hazards. You can also cover the fipple window with your finger, and puff forcefully through the windway to clear the condensation.
An alternative to soap is sodium lauryl sulfate, which goes by the names Duponol or Anti-Condens. It’s a tasteless and odorless surfactant (detergent), and sold in small bottles by many recorder dealers and shops. One bottle lasts quite a long time for occasional application.
My technique is to hold the whistle upside-down with a thumb covering the beak. Dribble Duponol into the windway on the window end, let it sit for a minute, then let it drain out and dry.
I not new to whistles and the Low D, but I’m not too far from it. If you don’t want to do the dish soap thing (It does help), You could try rubbing with waxed dental floss which will give a fine layer of wax inside the windway. Or if you like just spend the first five or ten minutes mucking around with inventing sounds before getting into serious practice of tunes. This gets the whistle warm and clogging is hardly an issue then. I have an Overton Low D, which is similar to the Chieftens.
