As a beginner, I really had no right blaming the whistle for the times when the notes didn’t come out just right. But that’s just what I’ve been doing. First the Walton wasn’t good enough, so I got a Clarke. The Clarke wasn’t good enough, so I hit it with a hammer and bought a Clare and a Clarke Sweetone. The Clare and the Sweetone weren’t good enough, so I asked for a really expensive whistle for my birthday, and I got that. Now, by this time, I should have known that the only common factor in all of these so-called “bad” whistles was me, but my head must be made of some sort of rock.
Well, after watching L.E. McCollugh’s tape, (He plays a 20 year old Generation D) and once again blaming the whistle, I got stubborn, and decided that I was going to Tame the Whistle. I practiced for 4 hours, and I discovered that instead of taming it, the darned thing tamed ME.
Nice whistles are nice and all, but grab the nicest Overton or O’Riordan without putting in the time, and it’s really just another tube with some holes in it.
Instead of WhOA, I now have WHOOPS
Well said!! Much as I would like to insist that everyone simply MUST have a high end wooden whistle, I agree with you. Actually, a really good whistle is a very humbling thing, because then anything really bad sounding can’t be blamed on a shoddy whistle. On the other hand, a really good player can make good music on almost anything.
I recall a ( hypophycral?) story about a very famous violin player/teacher who was giving a week long masterclass, culminating in a performance on his legendary Stradavarius. All week long, he listened to students complaining, and blaming their shortcomings on their inferior instruments. Finally the concert arrived, and the master awed everyone in attendance with his technique and wonderful tone. At the end of the concert, as the thunderous applause rained down on him, he took his violin and smashed it on the accompanist’s piano. Turns out, he had bought that fiddle just that afternoon at a pawn shop just to demonstrate that the instrument is only a part of a good performance..Don’t know if this is a true story, but it should be…
All well put. The thing I have noticed though is that you develop a playing style around a given whistle then can often perceive a new whistle to be defective or something until you adjust. Then the OLD whistle seems goofy.
Some whistles require subtle adjustments, other major. I can go from the cheapies to the Burke pretty easily. But to play the Chieftains requires much more tonguing and a lot more air, leading to a different “regional” style!
What has been my priority is to have as even a whistle as possible so I could play the scale and arpeggio passages focusing on my fingerings and musical phrasing. That has led me to Burkes. I don’t want a whistle where you have to suddenly jump out of your groove because the high A is peculiar or conversely, cut way back on air to hit a low note without inadvertently making an octave jump.
But you can get used to about anything and people are attracted by the lure of something easier. Sells lots of whistles.
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On 2002-06-07 13:04, The Weekenders wrote:
All well put. The thing I have noticed though is that you develop a playing style around a given whistle then can often perceive a new whistle to be defective or something until you adjust. ]
I’m sure this has come up before, but you are SO RIGHT! A couple weeks ago I e-mailed a couple board members about a particular newly acquired whistle (that shall remain nameless) that I was really unhappy with. I hated that I had spent the money (more than I have on any other whistle to date) and couldn’t get the d*** thing to do anything other than squawk and clog. Re-reading the old posts on the merits of this particular whistle made me feel terrible ~ I was so sure that I had wasted a lot of money on an especially lemony whistle…
Well, a couple months can be pretty revealing in the whistle world, to say the least. Although this whistle still definately has a personality all its own, I have worked around its foibles, and I find myself playing it more and more, especially since it has such a distinctive sound which is so much different from my beloved Burkes. Right now, I am very happy that I didn’t go with my first impulse, which was to chuck it out the window and count my losses
Mary
I thought that overplaying was just another symptom of WhOA…
Playing the whistle at inappropriate times and in inappropriate situations (examples: Watching TV, sitting in automobile at traffic lights, sitting in automobile waiting for police officer to approach vehicle to ticket victim for playing whistle at traffic light, while engaged in marital relations, while meeting with attorneys re: divorce, while working at place of employment, during job interviews, during interview at unemployment office, etc.)
While I’m not suffering quite that badly yet, I’ve certainly been known to play my whistle at traffic lights, while walking to the corner store, while waiting for the bus or train, whenever a commercial comes on during Buffy, when it’s the other player’s turn in just about any game, while passengering on road trips, etc. I do find the lack of notches on gas-pumps around here very frustrating because it means I need a hand on the pump and can’t play my whistle while filling the car…
And other beginners around me complain that they can’t find time to practice. I don’t understand that at all…
Chris:
I’ve actually played my whistle on a job interview before, and it got me the job! I was asked about my strengths, and I consider “compulsive perfectionism” to be one of them, being a computer programmer. I used the whistle as an example. I explained I’d been playing the whistle for 5 years (at the time) and had achieved a fair amount of proficiency, and that by way of comparison, I’d been programming in my chosen language for over 10 years. They asked if I had a whistle and I did. I played it, they smiled and offered me the job
On the other hand, about half of the gas pumps around here have that auto-handle-retention thing, and half don’t. On those that don’t, I stick my shoe in the handle (since they ALL have auto-shutoff). Maybe I do play a WEE bit obsessively…
Greg
On 2002-06-07 14:35, ChrisA wrote:
I thought that overplaying was just another symptom of WhOA…
Playing the whistle at inappropriate times and in inappropriate situations (examples: Watching TV, sitting in automobile at traffic lights, sitting in automobile waiting for police officer to approach vehicle to ticket victim for playing whistle at traffic light, while engaged in marital relations, while meeting with attorneys re: divorce, while working at place of employment, during job interviews, during interview at unemployment office, etc.)
While I’m not suffering quite that badly yet, I’ve certainly been known to play my whistle at traffic lights, while walking to the corner store, while waiting for the bus or train, whenever a commercial comes on during Buffy, when it’s the other player’s turn in just about any game, while passengering on road trips, etc. I do find the lack of notches on gas-pumps around here very frustrating because it means I need a hand on the pump and can’t play my whistle while filling the car…
And other beginners around me complain that they can’t find time to practice. I don’t understand that at all…
“…whenever a commercial comes on during Buffy…” – Chris A
Oh hohoho. I pick up my whistle then too. I actually watched the MTV Movie Awards last night just to see how the lovely Ms. Gellar handled her hosting duties with Jack Black! They didn’t spoof her character, but there were a few Buffy mannerisms there for sure. She sang again, in the opening number, “Movies kick Ass!”
I can’t believe I’m about to post this. You brought it up, Chris!
Several years ago, I wanted to play the tin whistle, and I wanted it to sound pretty. So I bought my first whistle, a Walton’s LBW. But I didn’t care much for the sound, so I splurged on the most beautiful handcrafted whistle - a Sweet rosewood - and sad to say, after learning how to play the whistle(and I spent most of my time with the Walton’s, simply so I wouldn’t drool into the expensive one) I didn’t mind the the Walton’s after all. I had to then re-learn, if you will, how to play on a less airy instument, so I started on the Sweettone. And I liked that one, too. Now that I’ve played with more modest instuments, I find the Sweet to be big, fat, clunky and too loud in the upper register. Truth be told, there was a lovely silver whistle with a wooden fipple for thirty dollars at the shop, as well, I should have gone with that. The salesmen told me that I didn’t need to have an expensive whistle, most of the trad players used the cheap 10 dollar whistles.
So, I own an absolutly beautiful whistle that I don’t play very often. And I still enjoy the sweettone.
Buying an expensive whistle is fine . . . but only after you’ve learned the basics of playing. Then you have a better idea of what you like and don’t like.
Oh, yea, I wasted my money on a Susato Low D. I haven’t bought anymore whistles since my Dixon High D Duo. My favorite whistle, but the fife head is another waste. People seem to really love his whistle and his flutes, but not the combos. They don’t seem to work.
style!