I was practising on my Copeland D the other day for about an hour. When I got done I looked round and I noticed that my wife had shut the bedroom door. This is actually kind of unusual but on that day she was working on some papers and needed some peace. I asked if my practise session hat got on her nerves and she complained of the very loud second octave and of my playing the same songs over and over. She understands… but sometimes it gets on her nerves. Well, I love my Copeland and will continue to play it regularly but I was wondering what kind of good whistle (nice like my Copeland) I might get for practises when my wife needs some peace and I simply have to play. I have to believe that there are many other Chiffers who have experienced this same dillemma. Any advice would be much appreciated. I’m just trying to keep from being banished to the basement. Thanks!
I was playing my Clarke original this evening, and it’s pretty quiet. I imagine the tweaked version from the Whistleshop might be even quieter. The original appears to take a lot of wind, but I’ve found that I’ve been overblowing it. If I don’t push so hard and let it generate its own sound, it actually doesn’t take that much wind–at least not any more than any other whistle–and is pretty quiet and nice.
Robin
I use the same whistle as always, but for playing late at night I took an old plastic library card and cut it into a small T shape. I stuck that down in the window and it effectively mutes the whistle enough so that no one outside my room can hear it. I had to do a little trial and error, but eventually got it right. And it was cheaper than buying a new whistle (faster, too).
I’ve been following the discussions here on quiet whistles for a while now. While I don’t own one (yet) and can’t speak from personal experience it seems that Mack Hoover’s whistles are about the quietest out there (especially the narrow bore). Try doing a search on Hoover to see what other Chiffers have had to say about it.
Yup – you want a Hoover; the narrow bore can hardly be heard from the next room if the door is closed. And it has a beautiful sound. It takes very little air, though; you might have trouble getting used to that.
These colors and font options are fun!
Tery
If you have the spare clams, I’d recommend a Laughing Whistle. They aren’t loud, and are very sweet-sounding/musical in both octaves. (As mentioned in another thread, my wife will let me play mine in the car while she’s driving…)
On the downside, the windway (being so small) gets clogged with moisture/spit when played aggressively; but being able to play in quiet environments more than makes up for it.
Oh yeah, and they neatly telescope down to about 1/3 their playing size!
You need a laughing whistle. Wonderful tone, in tune, no “shrill” notes, very quiet. AND…colapsable to boot!!!
How about a moderately quiet whistle with flawless construction, gorgeous tone, and superb playability? I don’t know how it compares to the the Copeland, but the Burke Brass Pro Narrow Bore D averages 6 to 8 dB quieter than a Susato, and you can “lean into” it without worrying about overblowing.
Hoover, hoover, hoover, hoover
Hoover, hoover, hoover, hoover
Hoover, hoover, hoover, hoover
Hoover, hoover, hoover, hoover
You have to email him on the first of the month to get on that month’s waiting list.
Did mention Hoover?
I have a Clark and it takes way too much air and is breathy. I play the Hoover and my family doesn’t hate me anymore. And my ears don’t hate me either.
Did I mention Hoover?
Well, my vote goes for either the Clarke orig or the Doolin 2pc. Very quiet whistles which sound nice, and are pretty inexpensive. Won’t eat a nice hole in your pocket book… 
I would agree with those who have recommended the Hoover.
Mine arrived yesterday - beautiful sound and very quiet.
The only way to annoy anyone with a Hoover is to poke them in the eye with it.
Arthur
You could get a good quiet whistle, such as a Hoover or Laughing Whistle, or you could go the road best left untraveled and get an iffy, chiffy, cheap as dirt Cooperman. There’s no guarantee the Cooperman will make a sound at all, but if it does, you can blow lots of air and get a quiet tone. Not only that, the Cooperman’ll probably be in tune!
I play my Laughing Whistle quite a bit because it IS quiet, and the sound is beautiful ~ Yet, there is that clogging issue…
Just know, that the wait for a Laughing can be pretty loooonng…
I think I waited several months for mine ~
BTW, Whenever I play it, my sons start mentioning how much my playing has improved! ha
Mary
I almost forgot, you can get a quieter effect with the whistles you already own by using scotch tape or plumber’s tape to cover part of the windway, just arrange the tape until you get the volume you want.
lots of good suggestions, but you should probably give a clarke sweetone a try for two good reasons: 1) very cheap–you won’t have any reason to regret buying it, if only for its distinctiveness and contrasting tone, and 2) it’s very in tune, which makes it very convenient for learning off recordings. since it is inexpensive, i mean, very cheap, you can always justify a medium loud whistle as well!
Wow! thanks for all the input everyone. The Laughing whistle sounds really nice but the clogging might drive me nuts and I kind of need a quick fix for this :roll: Methinks that I am going to send Mack Hoover an email. The Whistle Shop says they won’t have any for a while but I did go and look at the pics of the Narrow Bore D on their and Mack’s websites. That is a beautiful instrument. In the meantime, I’m going to try the plastic card trick on my Copeland. Thanks, Blackhawk. Have a great St. Patrick’s Day weekend, everybody!
Best,
-Paul
If you want a cheap quiet whistle, Oaks are pretty quiet.
Bill “Serpent” Whedon makes a fairly quiet whistle, at least the copper one I have is.
Just a quick point concerning Mack Hoover’s whistles, if I may. True, I agree that Mack’s whistles can be very quiet - especially the narrow bore D…
But…
I also play Hoover whistles that are louder than my Burkes. If what you wish is quiet, please let Mack know of your wish. He can easily voice one to suit you…It is a fallacy to think that Mack’s instruments are all quiet, by design…
A true sleeper among Mack’s stable is the Whitecap. One solution would be to request he voice one for you that is particularly quiet. Even in normal form, they are sweet and not loud…
Best.
Byll
Any whistle can be made quiet by forming a new ramp out of silly putty…just mess around with the thickness and angle of the putty ramp until you get the tone and volume you want. I’ve used this trick on Overton, Generation, Burke, Susato, and Reyburn whistles, and it works great and only takes seconds. The benefit of this method over some other muting methods discussed in the past is that the tone does not suffer and can even be controlled to some degree. If you use this method, you can use the same whistle to play in the house or at a session.
Micah
I agree with TelegramSam on the Serpent. Nice and quiet. Mine’s the brass variety.
I should have specified. My brass regular bore is very quiet. The brass narrow bore is supposed to be even quieter. I think the other types are not as quiet. But in the email Mack will ask what you want and if you say sweet and quiet he’ll know what to do.