OK…so I got my new brass Generation F, Clare 2-piece brass, and Little Black Whistle this afternoon. As of today, they are extremely annoying little beasts, who squeak and have little tantrums at inopportune moments. Now, I remember having some of the same problems when I first started playing my Dixon D (some kind of plastic) and Sweetone D (aluminum?), and they have fallen into line and are behaving well, just an occasional squeak from the Dixon, who tends to like things done a certain way. One of the new whistles, I don’t remember which one since I am only on handshake terms with them, has these high-pitched overtones like it is trying to jump up an octave (even when I am already in the upper octave). I don’t know if I should tweak them or just play them for a couple of weeks until they learn the rules around here!
The nose flute, on the other hand, is a perfect gentleman. I think the ocarina is a rock in disguise.
I know what you’re talking about!!! When I first got my SB Susato D (Rick- short for Toirneach which is Celtic for ‘Thunder’), it threw a tantrum if I put it down for a week and then picked it up… sometimes, even now, it will throw a tantrum if I don’t use ‘the preCISE amount’ of air pressure… lol
Sometimes I wonder if they have a mind of their own…?
actually, my generations “seasoned” a bit, they sound better now than when they were new anyhow. Well, the Bb is still unplayable, but that thing was DOA…
Hey Robin; I got myself a Gen brass in F just to see what my dog would do. When I first played it I was the one who ran for cover. God awful. I did the blue tack thing to it and a very gentle sanding of the blade with 600 grit paper and I could not believe the sound this little sweatheart makes. I love it. No squeeks or squaks, in tune, although I had to move the fipple quite a ways out and well worth having.
All these little buggers seem to need something different to sing their sweatest but heck thats why we love them right.
Just a quick suggestion. Some very good whistles are never going to learn your rules. You’re going to have to learn theirs. Don’t tweak straight away; wait until you are sure that there are no sensible rules around for you to learn.
On 2003-01-23 00:04, Wombat wrote:
Just a quick suggestion. Some very good whistles are never going to learn your rules. You’re going to have to learn theirs. Don’t tweak straight away; wait until you are sure that there are no sensible rules around for you to learn.
I agree. While some whistles do have problems that require tweaking, and some do seem to “season,” I think that, in general, new whistle “tantrums” are more a matter of learning the whistle’s nuances than anything else. They all have their little idiosyncrasies, but if you tweak them right away, you’ll never know if you could have come to love their natural sound once you got to know them just a little better.
Sometimes the player should adapt to the whistle; sometimes the whistle should be adapted to the player (i.e., tweaked); and sometimes the whistle is a piece of crap which deserves to go out in the trash but usually ends up collecting dust in a drawer dedicated to crappy whistles in the hope that someday the parts may be useful for the construction of the perfect Frankenwhistle.
All whistles take time to learn where their sweet spots are and just how to get the best out of them.
If after a good introductorary time they still are not behaving, have them checked out by someone you consider to be a good player. That way if the problem is the whistle, you don’t beat yourself and your technique up! If it is not the whistle, the person testing them may give you some tips on how best to play them.
All in all, even if a whistle sucks, if you learn to get the best out of them you have learned a valuable lesson in the subtleties of breath control. When you do pick up a wonderful whistle, you will have much more to offer it because the techniques for survival with the bad whistle become techniques for expression and beauty on the new one.
Just like how owning a really crappy car can make you a far better mechanic and resourseful person than someone who has always had a B.M.W.!!!
Some kind soul gifted me his collection of whistles he wasn’t playing. This included an almost unplayable Gen Bb.
I’ve tweaked it according to Dale’s instructions on this site and done the blade tweak that Bloomfield, E = Fb and MikeR have posted under “Susato VSB blade tweak” or something like that. I used a piece cut from soft drink bottle plastic instead of a guitar pick.
Anyway, that Gen Bb is now about the prettiest sounding, most well-mannered whistle I can imagine. It’s a true gem. Sometimes those unplayable whistles are diamonds in the rough.
All in all, even if a whistle sucks, if you learn to get the best out of them you have learned a valuable lesson in the subtleties of breath control. When you do pick up a wonderful whistle, you will have much more to offer it because the techniques for survival with the bad whistle become techniques for expression and beauty on the new one.
Exactly. When people ask on board which cheap whistle to get I usually say get several. That’s because when one starts frustrating you, you turn to another. Of course, a completely different set of problems come into play, but the problem that was bugging you is often solved. Then, when you return to the problem whistle, you can often overcome the problem that drove you away. When I bought my first really good whistles, Overtons, I was puzzled. Why do some people say these are hard to play? But even these required some getting used to: about half an hour.
One solution: Purchase a good entry level whistle from a reputable whistlesmith (there are many to choose from…) and most of the above-mentioned ‘challenges’ will be in your past. It is a wonderful thing when you can learn to play your whistle without having to make allowances for its shortcomings.
Best to all.
Byll
We’ve got bunches of helium balloons around the office this week - some sort of celebration - and I think the helium is beginning to leak out and goto mi brane.
Maybe I should try playing a whistle with a lungful of helium - we had a discussion once about what would happen, here’s my opportunity to do some real science!
Actually, I think all whistles throw tantrums from time to time, new or not. Although I know the generations I’ve played needed to be “played in” at first, and even again when I hadn’t played in awhile. Then again, the tantrum can come to a seasoned whistle I guess. I once saw Paddy Maloney start a beautiful air on stage with an old looking generation. It obviously wasn’t behaving as he quit, and looked it square in the fipple and just shook his head. haha From that distance he then was either attempting to shake it out, strangle it or bang it against the mic, and then started again. lol Happens to the best of them I guess.
I know what you’re talking about!!! When I first got my SB Susato D (Rick- short for Toirneach which is Celtic for ‘Thunder’), it threw a tantrum if I put it down for a week and then picked it up… sometimes, even now, it will throw a tantrum if I don’t use ‘the preCISE amount’ of air pressure… lol
