New to the tin whistle and keen to have a try, I bought a Clarke Meg D from an Ebay seller (in fact, I bought more than one whistle for my wife and myself, but the others are yet to arrive).
This is our first time blowing the tin whistle. We are amazed at how difficult it is to get any kind of stable sound out of the thing. It is clear that we may never blow a single steady note.
I read within online tutorials that a poorly covered hole can give a screechy noise, this is what we have, but is not related to any hole being partially covered.
I noticed that air is leaking from a gap between the plastic mouthpiece and the body. I blocked the mouthpiece holes with tape and filled the tube with water. It easily ran out of the joint between the mouthpiece and body.
The whistle was cheap and I have epoxy glue which will make an effective filler for the gap, but is the gap a problem? Would it be a mistake to fill the gap and effctively epoxy the two parts together?
(Also trying a Clarke original D, Generation Bb and Feadog D when they arrive, to select the one which suits us best)
Usually, in cases like this, there’s nothing wrong with the whistle, and it’s simply a problem of blowing too hard. Beginners are often surprised at how gentle a breath is required for a good tone on the whistle.
To be sure, remove the mouthpiece by twisting it firmly but carefully off the tube (it helps to rotate it in the direction of the seam). Then check for any stray, protruding bits of plastic, and remove them with a small knife if necessary. Replace the mouthpiece to approximately its original position.
With all 6 fingers off the whistle, blow into it gently. You should be able to produce a stable C# note. If so, then the other notes are a matter of making sure your fingers seal the holes properly. That does take some practice. Use the fleshy pads of your fingers, not the tips, for the best seal.
The joint between the mouthpiece and the tube does not need to be completely air tight. Very little air goes into the tube, and the seam on the back of the Meg will prevent a perfect seal anyway. It doesn’t matter, the whistle should play fine. You don’t want to glue or epoxy the joint, because you want to be able to move the mouthpiece to tune the whistle to the proper pitch.
(For future reference - it’s better to use PTFE plumbing tape to seal a leaky joint. The tape compresses, allows movement, and is easily removable.)
Sure! But from what I’ve heard about Megs, it pays to check at some point anyway. Meg/Sweetone heads are not hard to remove and replace, with a bit of care.
Welcome Dave. Please keep at it, it’s worth it. I called those beginning sounds “squawkers” To this day, my dog still gives me a look when I pick up a whistle.
I taught myself and had only heard one other person play a whistle. I only ran across this site after I was done learning the basics. Make sure you play with the left hand on the top. I accidently taught myself with the right hand on the top and it caused me more difficulties later on when I learned other instruments. Lots of people play with the right hand on top but I wish I would have looked at the picture in the instructions a little closer.
Keep a whistle in your car, backpack, or any other place handy at all times. But do not whistle while you drive. You’ll come to enjoy a traffic jam.
I put some plastic insulation tape round the joint, this sealed it and has helped to make a D easier to hit, but it does need a steady and gentle blow as you say.
By a happy coincidence the postman delivered my Feadog D whistle and the Clarke original D this afternoon.
Based only on the ease with which the bottom note can be held (and not yet how they compare for fingering on my hands) I will claim the Feadog, no question. It will be interesting to see which whistle my wife prefers.
The Clarke original also seems to be easier to get those lower notes and gives quite a different sound, more breathy? (I will, of course, stick to one whilst learning (for years maybe!).
The Feadog or Generation type whistle is the easiest to play. Even easier still in my experience is the Clare whistle which has a narrower bore and a really easy upper register.
The Clarke Original is harder to blow but its worth moving onto that once you have more experience as the sound is much more pleasing as a solo instrument.
However, I find the Megs to be generally very good. I give them away to people as you can get them very cheap over here in the UK. Its a chinese made version of the Sweet Tone. Having examined both the difference is in the quality of the moulding of the mouthpiece. The blade on the meg is a bit rougher and gives it a different tone.
I like the tone of it.
Your idea of blocking the gap is intriguing and I will need to try that out.
That might fix the tuning on my Meg C which is horribly flat in the upper octave.
However, the unmodified Meg is actually tuneable by sliding the mouthpiece back on the tube.
Going to break out the epoxy resin and see what happens.
Just an update on the Meg C.
I tried it on a tuner and the second octave was very flat.
I wrapped my fingers round the bit where the tube joins the mouthpiece and the pitch changed noticeably, so I wrapped some black tape round it and its now pretty much in tune.
I did try adjusting the tuning but pushed right in seemed to be about best.
Now experienced whistlers of around 4 days it seems that my wife can’t stay with the Meg either.
Perhaps it’s a bad one.
I’ve ordered another Feadog for her.
I have a Sweetone D and a Sweeton C. The D is pretty much in tune across both octaves. The C was sharp on the bell note in both octaves. I used a bit a plastic tubing pushed over the end of the tube to extend the foot about 1/4’’ and it is now pretty well in tune across both octaves. I didn’t modify the heads or tubes in any way other than to make sure the heads moved smoothly on the tube for tuning. Both heads leak a little where they join the tube but sealing the gap doesn’t seem to make much difference in the tone or the tuning. Please note that these are Sweetones, not Megs. YMMV.
There are faulty and poor quality whistles out there and it sounds like you got one. Feadog’s are great. Apply the blue sticky tack tweak. I also use a not-too-sharp penknife to put a few hacks into the blade that cuts the air. Seems to make the sound less buzzy and more smooth.
you tried different whistles you say and probably experienced the problems with all of them. Practise with volume from very soft up to hard and you will find that at some point you’ve got the right tone. Every whistle needs its own volume, but for most (especially cheaper) whistles you easily blow too hard.
Things move on quickly. It seems that buying a few whistles and choosing that which suits me better is quite easy.
We’ve now got between us in D: MEG, Feadog & Feadog Pro, Clarke original, Sweetone and the latest is a Walton Mellow D.
I’ve learned that the MEG is more difficult to hold lower notes and seems quite unstable in the mid range. It’s by far the most difficult to play of all those we have, but this is no problem with so many to choose from. The similar sweetone is a much nicer whistle, so maybe the MEG is a bad one.
The Clarke Original is wonderful, at least in the lower register that most beginner tunes are pitched in. It’s a quiet whistle, great for practice but perhaps best left for the future as I like the tone and handling of the Feadog at the moment. Switching betweeen the two may not help my learning just yet.
The Walton was bought on impulse from a music shop a couple of days ago. It is noticably more stable and harder to overblow than any of the others. It could be a very good beginner whistle. At the moment I haven’t spent much time on it as I feel that I should get on with the one whistle. My wife hasn’t tried it yet. but she seems happy with her Feadog too.
If there is a small problem, it’s more to do with the handling (I posted another thread about this).
So, I have a bunch of whistles but can barely blow a recognisable tune yet…must keep on with the practice.
