I was just wondering because I noticed sometimes when I pick up my whistles they sound different than other times. I might pick up a whistle and it would sound really great, other times it would sound a bit softer or dimmer, more vague (Is this making sense?) or maybe even clogged, though they aren’t.
I was just thinking, could this have anything to do with temperature changes. My whistles are quite close to the window so on some days like today (2 degrees outside) they will be colder and on other days they might be warmer (also due to the heating, which isn’t too far from them either.
So does temperature change have any influence on the sound of a metal whistle? Should I keep them somewhere else where they are less exposed to different temperatures?
Temperature affects the pitch certainly. I don’t know about the tone. There was a thread about warming whistles a short while ago. I also just posted something in the “cramping fingers” thread just now.
2 degrees?! Jaysus, that’s cold! (I live in Atlanta, GA.)
Yes, the temperature can affect metal whistles. When they are cold, they will be a little (or maybe a lot) flat, and the tone will not be as good. You should blow through them for about a minute to warm them up. If you want a whistle that is not affected by the cold, get one that is made of polymer – e.g. Dixon, Burke, Silkstone.
Much higher temps than +2F will cause the whistle to contract slightly and play differently. The easiest solution I’ve found is to reverse the whistle, cover the holes and blow UP the tube for a few seconds.
On 2001-12-10 09:25, ThorntonRose wrote:
2 degrees?! Jaysus, that’s cold! (I live in Atlanta, GA.)
I think he might be talking 2 degrees centigrade, being from the Netherlands. That would be about 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Still to cold for a whistle. Brrrr.
A cold metal whistle will cause
condensation in the windway and
the body of the whistle, which will
dull the tone until the whistle
is warmed up. Also the pitch is affected.
Better to keep the whistles away
from the window, I would say. Avoid
extremes of heat and cold, if you
can. I’ve been playing Christmas
carols on the street here in St. Louis–
very tough going, but doable, sort of.
I was indeed talking 2 degrees centigrade, I don’t even know how the fahrenheit scale works, which temperatures are boiling water (100 celsius) and freezing water (0 celsius) ?
Thanks for the answers and advice all, I’ll go and find anothe spot for the whistles.
On 2001-12-10 10:58, Llhorian wrote:
which temperatures are boiling water (100 celsius) and freezing water (0 celsius) ?
In the fahrenheit scale, water freezes at 32, and boils at 212. 2 degrees on that scale would be cold indeed!
And, as others have mentioned, temperature definitely has an effect on metal whistles. I live in Houston Texas (and have seen snow maybe 5 times in my life), and the moderate winters here still make a difference in how my whistles play. I also note that for me, cold whistles tend to clog quite a bit more.
To show how temperature affects matter, some schools do this science experiment where they take a metal ball that is just barely too large to fit through a ring, but after freezing, the ball passes through easily. The same thing happens to your whistles (especially metal ones), and by slightly changing their size temperature can certainly affect how they play.
Shoot, 2 degrees above freezing is a heat wave around here! It’s been down to around 0 degrees F this winter so far…and that’s considered mild–it’s actually gone above freezing most days. Short-sleeve weather!
Now, in a real cold winter (adopting my best old-man voice), it can get right unpleasant. I used to keep my baritone mouthpiece tucked into my glove in between sets when playing at football games; if I didn’t, it would freeze to my face. And a couple years ago (the last real cold spell we had) I’d regularly return from my morning run with my beard caked with ice.
But my favorite cold story: Once a couple buddies and I decided to go do a rock climb in early march. It was a little above freezing, cloudy, and the wind was blowing. By the time I was halfway up the pitch, I had to look at my hands to see if they were holding on to something, because all feeling was gone. It was no fun whatsoever. hee hee
And yes, that sort of cold drastically effects whistles, even pvc ones. In the time it takes to carry them from the car to the gig, they sort of soak up the cold, and it takes a long, long time to get them back in tune. I’ve been thinking about getting a piece of wool blanket, or maybe a coyote or rabbit fur, with a couple chemical hand warmers inside. Anybody ever tried that?
But I still like it here. The cold is the only thing that keeps all you suthners from over-running the place!
Of course, if you live in Fairbanks, Alaska you know that there is one temperature that is the same in Centigrade and Fahrenheit. That is -40. Yeah, forty below zero is the same in both systems.
Right now, it is warming up from the last week. It is about -20F right now. Much better than -35. Haven’t seen -40 yet this winter.
I prefer to put my whistles inside my jacket when taking them outside and back in again.
What about the effects of altitude? I spent lots of time playing a clark and/or feadog in a tent at 8500’in the Canadian Rockies. On some days (usually cold and damp days) neither whistle (or was it the whistler?) was capable of playing in the lower octave. They would “pop-up” and squeak no matter how gently I blew. Has anybody taken a whistle to the himalayas?
OT- Patrick, as Loren alluded to in another post, I’m going to be moving to Fairbanks this summer (probably, anyway). Is there a session there? If not, maybe we’ll have to make one
Yes, colder temperature cause whistles to play flat. High whistles are quickly warmed by breath temperature. Low whistles (especially metal) are more susceptable to cold temperatures driving them out of tune because of its body mass being cooled by the outside air.
It takes me about 2 or 3 minutes of blowing and passing out for a while on my Kerry Pro Low D to get the lower register to respond when it’s cold. I Don’t notice any change in pitch though.
I don’t participate in it, but there is one local session. A bookstore/coffeehouse called Into the Woods hosts it every Saturday night. Problem is I have a 22-month old son and church in the morning. The session starts around 8. That’s bedtime snack time. Then bath, then bed…
When you get here, please look me up. I could use any help I can get with the whistle. Love it dearly, but I am totally self-taught. May develop some bad habits from that. Plus, it’d be great to meet another C&Fer.
And you get used to the cold. It just means dressing for the weather. And putting the whistles inside your coat.
What about the effects of altitude? I spent lots of time playing a clark and/or feadog in a tent at 8500’in the Canadian Rockies. On some days (usually cold and damp days) neither whistle (or was it the whistler?) was capable of playing in the lower octave. They would “pop-up” and squeak no matter how gently I blew. Has anybody taken a whistle to the himalayas?
I’ve played various whistles on backpacking trips in the mountains of Montana/Wyoming, up to 12,000 feet and I don’t think the altitude made any difference. I was more short of breath, and had to take breaths more often than usual at high altitude. Hiding the fipple from the wind was the trickest part, with even slight breezes affecting the tone.
I was hired to play whistle at a wedding that was held at 10,000 feet (an 8 mile, 3000 ft. elevation gain hike)! It was wonderful - the clouds drifted though between times of warm sunshine.
I think that the acoustics of a room can make a huge difference in tone (as heard by the whistler). Especially with lower whistles a slightly different location and orientation in a room can drastically affect how you hear the sounds.
As long as we’re talking about getting together…if you ever make it out this way for some hiking in the Winds, give me a holler–I’m always on the lookout for another hiking partner–and it would be nice to have two whistles around the campfire.
As for high altitude tone changes, the shortness of breath can have an effect on duration of phrases. As can violent coughing after inhaling a good lung full of wood smoke.
