Little Black Whistle

Whistle
1

Hi from Norway!

I started playing tin whistle only a few weeks ago, and I just got a Little Black Whistle in the mail. I’m having a hard time hitting the high notes with it, I find it a lot easier with my Sweetone or my other Waltons whistle (written ‘irish whistle’ on it, it’s got a green mouthpiece). My Little Black Whistle has a bump at the bottom, as if it was hit hard against the wall or something (don’t know what can have caused it, I doubt that the people at hobgoblin.com actually hit the whistles against the walls before sending them :slight_smile: ). It makes the bottom of the whistle look sort of like this: (_) . Could this be the reason why I’m having trouble, or is a Little Black Whistle just a bit harder to play than my other two whistles?

Thanks in advance for answering!

Emilie

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I only have limited experience, but I got a LBW which I cannot play. I gave it to my six year old, and she seems to do fine with it. So go figure!

I don’t know about the bump at the bottom, but I would think if it’s at the very bottom of the whistle, opposite from where you blow, it wouldn’t have the effect you describe. Maybe someone else knows the correct answer to this question!

I have basically given up on my LBW, although I have yet to do the sticky tack tweak on it. I got a Meg and a Clarke original, and I’m a lot happier with them. By the way, I couldn’t play the two-piece Clare either, and lots of people love them.

Robin

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Hi Emilie,

The LBW is made of very soft metal, and it’s possible it got dinged in transit. I’m looking at mne and the barrel is totally round, no hint of flatness anywhere. You may want to contact Hobgoblin & get it changed - they’re usually very good about this sort of thing. While you do that, get a Generation, and maybe a Feadog (black anodised for looks), and maybe a…WhoA!

Did you know the LBW used to be favoured by Andrea Corr, being the cheapest whistle on the market (she kept losing hers)?

For a normal LBW, there’s no reason it should be hard to hit the higher notes, but if you’ve only been playing a little while, you may need to work on your breath control to hit the notes reliably. As with most whistles, you need focussed air rather than a big volume of air to get the notes above high G reliably.

Welcome to the board, and best of luck with the LBW!

[ This Message was edited by: Martin Milner on 2003-02-22 10:51 ]

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Thank you very much for answering!

I do have a lot to learn about breath control, and I guess my problems with hitting the high notes are normal. I sound a lot better with the other whistles, but I really like the Little Black Whistle’s sound, so I’ll keep trying. I contacted Hobgoblin and I should hear from them in a couple of days. Maybe the bump doesn’t have much influence on the sound, but I’d rather have a round whistle than a flat one :slight_smile:

I knew that it was Andrea Corr’s favourite, yeah. I’m still at the point where I buy whistles because 1. I’ve heard of them or 2. I think they look cool. :smiley: I intend to become really good at whistle playing though, so I might become a connaisseur in a couple of months.. I’ll stick around in the forum and pick up some useful information.

Finally I have to say that people here seem really nice, and I’m glad I found this place!

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Emilie,

Did you know Generation D whistles come in 3 types, redtop/brass, greentop/brass “Folk Whistle” and Bluetop/nickel? Then there’s Feadog, Waltons (you know about) Clarke Original, Susato, Dixon, Clare, Doolin, Walton Mellow D (wider bore)…

Plus you should try some whistles in other keys, like the Generation Bb, a C, a high G (if you have slim fingers)!

Then there’s all the low whistles, from a mid range A down to the Low D, and further!

Hah! Now you you have to spend loads! :wink:

Actually, you can get a deal on a full set of Generation Keys from some places, so maybe not…

6

Martin Milner 2?

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Arghh! It’s only been 15 minutes…where’s the delete post key?!

Jef

[ This Message was edited by: Jeferson on 2003-02-22 18:09 ]

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On 2003-02-22 17:47, Martin Milner 2 wrote:
Emilie,

Did you know Generation D whistles come in 3 types, redtop/brass, greentop/brass “Folk Whistle” and Bluetop/nickel? Then there’s Feadog, Waltons (you know about) Clarke Original, Susato, Dixon, Clare, Doolin, Walton Mellow D (wider bore)…

Plus you should try some whistles in other keys, like the Generation Bb, a C, a high G (if you have slim fingers)!

Then there’s all the low whistles, from a mid range A down to the Low D, and further!

Hah! Now you you have to spend loads! > :wink:

Actually, you can get a deal on a full set of Generation Keys from some places, so maybe not…

I’ve been looking quite a bit on the net, especially on hobgoblin.com as they are based in England, and it costs less for shipping.. Norway has these twisted laws for import too, if one buys merchandise for more than $20 from another country, one has to pay a fee of $25.. :roll: I’m going to Canada in the summer, and I’ll be buying a lot of whistles from thewhistleshop.com then. (I come from a little town in northern Canada, and tin whistles are a RARE thing up there)

I’m not really sure of which ones I’ll buy yet, what’s this I hear about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Generation whistles? I’m not sure I want to buy 12 to find a ‘good’ one, but then again I’m not sure I’d even hear the difference, as I’m so new to this. Which one do you like best of the whistle brands you mentioned?

I’ll see what I’ll do, I might want to learn to play the whistle properly before I go and buy 20, although I have to say that it’s VERY tempting, and I know I’ll end up doing the unreasonable thing and buying at least a couple more before I go to Canada! :smiley: WhOA bites hard and doesn’t let go..

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Hey Emilie, where in canada are you orignally from?? I know a few places that sell them!!

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On 2003-02-23 12:29, Heather21 wrote:
Hey Emilie, where in canada are you orignally from?? I know a few places that sell them!!

I’m from Rouyn-Noranda, PQ, which is approximately an hour and a half east of Kirkland Lake, ON, and 4 hours east of Timmins, ON.

In other words, it’s difficult to live more in the middle of nowhere than I do (or did). But it’s great if you know some places that sell whistles that aren’t too far from Rouyn-Noranda! :slight_smile:

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I know that Prom Music in Sudbury sells them…also music box in Timmins had them, but they closed down a few months ago. I still order them from The Whistle Shop, but it’s pain because you have to order atleast $30 of merchandise, and I hate UPS, so I’d rather pick them up in town, even though they charge a lot more for them!!! My dad used to live in Rouyn!! :slight_smile: Hope this helps anyway!

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On 2003-02-22 18:24, Emilie wrote:
I’ve been looking quite a bit on the net, especially on hobgoblin.com as they are based in England, and it costs less for shipping.. Norway has these twisted laws for import too, if one buys merchandise for more than $20 from another country, one has to pay a fee of $25.. :roll:

Emilie, do they still charge like that if you receive it free, as a gift from the USA? If not, I’d be happy to drop you a “good Generation” in the mail. If this works for you, just put your mailing address in a private message to me.

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Wow! Sure that works for me! I’ll do that! :slight_smile:

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On 2003-02-23 17:30, Heather21 wrote:
I know that Prom Music in Sudbury sells them…also music box in Timmins had them, but they closed down a few months ago. I still order them from The Whistle Shop, but it’s pain because you have to order atleast $30 of merchandise, and I hate UPS, so I’d rather pick them up in town, even though they charge a lot more for them!!! My dad used to live in Rouyn!! > :slight_smile: > Hope this helps anyway!

Thanks for the tip.. there’s actually a chance that I’ll be going to Sudbury in the summer, as MY dad works there sometimes.. I could go with him!

Emilie

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I have a LBW which has an end which is most definitely NOT round.. it still works fine though. Maybe it is just different from your other whistles.
Jo.

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On a completely different topic, I dropped my LBW and it dented…oddly enough, it plays a lot better now! :slight_smile: I rarely play it anymore…it’s just sitting in a drawer collecting dust!!!

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Maybe when I’m more used to the sound of whistles, and can tell the difference between a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ whistle, I’ll just drop my LBW on the floor too, and see what happens.

There aren’t many instruments that can sound better when they’re damaged.. whistles are strange, in a good way! :slight_smile:

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damaged little black whistle - the saga continues..

When I got my LBW in the mail on Saturday and it had a bump on it, I wrote to hobgoblin.com to see if I could get it changed. about half an hour afterwards my boyfriend had managed to repair the whistle, so I sent them a new email to say that there really was no need to change it after all.

But today I got this email:

Hi,

Sorry for the damaged whistle. As the cost of returning it would
probably be higher than the cost of the whistle you may as well keep the
damaged one and we will send you out another one free of charge.

You should receive it in a few days. (There will be no cost to you).

Nicola McClelland

So now I really don’t know what to do, should I write and say one more time that I do not need a new whistle? maybe they’ve already sent it, and they’ll be annoyed.. on the other hand I think they’re such nice people that I’d feel like I was using them if I didn’t say anything.

Big dilemma! What should I do?

Emilie

[edited to correct a typo]

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[ This Message was edited by: Emilie on 2003-02-24 20:40 ]

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You can’t have too many whistles, Emilie. It will find its purpose. Just accept it and wait and see where it wants to go next.

Best wishes,
Jerry

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Avanutria raffled off a Generation Tabor pipe recently, I suppose sometime when you’re feeling magnanimous, you could offer it for a prize…maybe for the Chiffy awards? :wink:

Robin