high (and yes, I do mean high) A whistle

[Brigitte]

Considering low whistles or such a super low silver flute and the sound for the listener. I have heard these in real life, the super low flute being played at an exhibition by a very good player (the one they had there was if I remember correctly 5 m long). It was wonderful to the ear, low frequencies are not only wonderful to my ear but they also stimulate the brain in a calming manner.

On the other hand whistles higher than E I personally experience them as a physical attack, this is a serious statement not a “kindly wrapped hint” as I did earlier on, they not only are piercing to my hearing but they make me nervous close to getting agressive. If you have small/er children and want to damage their hearing you should play such high and more often loud keys as much as possible when they are in the room, as a side effect they may dispise whistles in the future, too… . Also if you have animals be it dogs or cats you do not do them any favour in playing such high instruments, too. Both the kids and the pets hearing is much better than yours, they hear frequencies you do not pick up anymore.

Brigitte

[MTGuru]

@Tinkerer

I read an article about a high whistle that used a sliding tube over the small, narrowly-spaced holes, and, of course, I lost the reference. I think it was well above the high G, perhaps Bb or even C. Though mostly a curiosity, it wasn’t very expensive.

It’s a similar principle that lets me cover 6 holes with 4 fingers on the very high F. A mechanical slide device, though, would be limited to stepwise melodies, 7ths, or constant glissandi. A curiosity indeed. I seem to recall seeing a description of it somewhere, too.

@Tinkerer

Now, for those of you who simply can’t seem to resist attempts at making cute or critical remarks about extremely high or low whistles, flutes, or any other musical instrument, consider saving some space and avoiding some clutter; resist.

That comes with an implied smiley, right? It’s hoopy mike’s thread, so I suggest we enjoy the hoopiness.

[Jerry_Freeman]

Keywork!

(Where’s Bingamon when you need him?)

Best wishes,
Jerry

[Tinkerer]

I appreciate Brigitte’s informative reply.

I, too, am sensitive to excessive sound levels; I have even written articles for ballroom dance publications on our tendency to protect workers from industrial sound yet seem to presume excessive, damaging sound levels to be synonymous with entertainment.

I avoid loud venues, and have musician’s ear plugs for concerts and dances where the music is beyond a healthy level.

At 2 feet, most whistles approach damaging sound levels at A4 and are clearly subject to cumulative damage at A5; that seems to be the nature of the instrument.

Measured at 2 ft, my Susato G hits 104 dB at A5, but my little Generation G only hits 92 dB at A5, well within the normal range of most any upper register for a typical Bb, C, or D whistle. At lower notes, it is a pleasant, sweet little whistle. The little Generation F is comparable. (The decibel, dB, is a logarithmic measure; 92 dB is about 1/16th as much sound pressure as 104 dB.)

High does not necessarily mean loud, and low does not necessarily mean quiet. Most popular whistles generally have potential for ear damage in the second register. The second register D on a Susato low G, medium bore, registers 92 to 100 dB at 2 feet.

The common G for Susato low Gmed, Susato high Gvsb, and Generation high G, at the same distance from the meter, showed the following:
Susato Gmed - 74 - 76 dB
Susato Gvsb - 76 - 82 dB
Generation G - 68 - 72 dB

Cumulative hearing damage appears to be a function of pressure level, not frequency. Both subsonic and supersonic sound waves can impart damage at the appropriate pressure levels even thought the perceived “sound” is absent or “low level.” (e.g. car sound systems that one can “feel” from an adjacent car even thought they don’t sound all that loud.)

Happy whistling.

[hoopy_mike]

Measured at 2 ft, my Susato G hits 104 dB at A5, but my little Generation G only hits 92 dB at A5, well within the normal range of most any upper register for a typical Bb, C, or D whistle. At lower notes, it is a pleasant, sweet little whistle. The little Generation F is comparable. (The decibel, dB, is a logarithmic measure; 92 dB is about 1/16th as much sound pressure as 104 dB.)

Ah, but doesn’t that depend on how hard you are blowing, unless you’re using a controlled source of air?

And yeah, enjoy the hoopiness

Mike

[JordanII]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO8bQb__jKg

Not only is the flute huge the guy is really good at it.