Jammed...arrrgh

Whistle
1

Hi Folks,

any good suggestions against the "condensationwatercloggingup "- problem
of a whistle-mouthpiece ?? I hate it deeply :angry: (Except warming up with hands, this i know ).

Thank you,
Alf

2

Three possible solutions:

  1. Suck (works best when you believe it’s just condensation)
  2. Blow (covering window to prevent shreiking)
  3. Whistle Additives: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=38821
    also http://www.chiffandfipple.com/moist.htm
3

1,1,3? :wink:

Suck is also useful if you need to clear the whistle quickly in the middle of a tune. Don’t be squeamish: whatever is in there came out of YOU just moments before!

4

Thanks for a ton of information.
Have to go through all the topics.
But for sure, sucking is not my thing = nausea :waah:
My woodwhistles work perfect, the problem is only for the metal ones
i have

best,
Alf

5

try a small strip of dryer sheet pulled through the windway. It’s quick and you’ll smell sun dried linen fresh! :wink:

6

thanks. I still hope to find an everlasting method to prevent accumulation of moisture. Maybe i should cut off the metal mouthpiece and replace it with a wooden one :wink:

7

I’m with Paul, no need to be so squeamish! Unless you’re a real dribbler, the moisture in the windway is just condensed pure H2O from the water vapor in your breath. Nothing icky about it, really.

There’s always a minor controversy when it comes to sucking vs. blowing (man, that sounds X-rated). The idea that blowing is bad because it just introduces more moisture into the windway is … well, overblown (pun intended!). A sharp, strong puff of air blown into the windway with the fipple covered will expel far more moisture than it will create.

One problem to be aware of, though, is that in the case of wooden whistles, pressing the soft, moist fipple blade with the fingers while covering it can, over time, damage and deform the blade. In this case, it’s best to wrap your entire hand around the fipple and cover the opening with your palm, minimizing the chances of touching the blade.This is an issue that players of wooden recorders face all the time.

The “correct” recorder solution is to remove the head joint and stop the exposed end with the palm of the hand. You then cover the fipple opening with your mouth and blow sharply into the fipple without letting your lips touch the blade, and expel the moisture through the beak. This technique works with tunable wooden whistles, too.

For whistles where this is impractical or impossible, you can simulate this by 1) covering all the holes (xxxxxx); 2) optionally covering the end of the whistle with the pinky, if you can reach; 3) blowing into the fipple. After that, there should be very little moisture left in the windway.

Of course, when the instrument clogs in the middle of a tune, and you can’t stop to clear it, a quick suck is really the only practical solution. Sorry.

And, yes, the anti-clogging treatments are worth doing on a cloggy whistle. I use Duponol, and it works well. A small bottle costs only ~$3 from any recorder dealer and lasts a long time.

8

this could be a part of the tune, instead of a roll :smiley:

but thanks a lot for your advices !
in case of wood whistles i do not have any moisture problems, those are my own creations. Can play them forever without interruption.

Alf

9

  1. There is no everlasting method in existance. If so very likely most or all whistle/recorder makers would already be using it.

  2. Moving from a metal to wood windway will only increase your clogging problem several times over. Wood sweels when it gets moist or wet and will collect even greater condensation then.