I did a really stupid thing while doing yard work last week and sliced my lower lip wide open. It is healing nicely, thank you – but the doctor who stitched it up said that under no circumstances should I even THINK about playing any wind instrument before, say, July.
So, I’m looking for alternatives to regular flute and whistle practice, since I don’t want the modest whistle and flute skills I have to turn to mush while the lip finishes healing. Any ideas?
I do have other musical instruments with which to amuse myself – and my lack of skill on guitar and piano can be pretty amusing. Have also sent the mountain dulcimer that was my father’s to the shop to be repaired and restrung; this looks like the time for learning to play it properly.
No seriously, I think the dulcimer is a good idea. This may also be the time to learn to play the bodhran. That way can keep playing Irish music and not lose your sense of rhythm.
Why hasn’t anybody suggested the obvious? Uillean pipes! They’re powered by pressing the bag with your elbow, not by blowing, and they take a similar fingering to the whistle and flute but without the blowing problem…
Of course, they’re also expensive, tempermental, and notoriously difficult to learn, but why let that stop you?
A ukelele or a glokenspiel(small xylophone)are not only very affordable but great fun and easy to play.A uke can be tuned in 5ths just like a fiddle or mandolin. Peace.Mike
Personally, I think your Doc is being VERY conservative in his estimate of your healing time. I don’t want to contradict him, but facial injuries in a normal, healthy person heal quite quickly, and your lip should be healed WELL before July. You didn’t break any bones, which take 6-8 weeks. Cuts heal crosswise, not lengthwise, so in most cases, a 1/4" cut heals no faster than a 3" cut. Be sure to tell ( or demonstrate to him)how little your lips actually participate in whistle playing-- it’s not like you have to form an embouchure like for a flute, or tightly purse your lips as in oboe playing. The whistle more or less just rests between your lightly closed lips. Armed with this information, he may well relent and let you play a lot sooner. Please note, he may know some specifics about your particular injury that make everything I have said WRONG, so in the final analysis, go along with what he says.
As a mountain dulcimer player of twelve years, I would be remiss if I let this thread pass without a plug for the dulcimer. Like the whistle, it’s fairly easy to get tunes out of quickly, but offers endless challenges to “playing well.” Let me know if you want any suggestions/help.
Whitey
=00
[ This Message was edited by: mgwhitehead on 2002-04-24 08:59 ]
Yes, I think the doctor is being overly conservative – but then he knows that I play the flute and tabor pipe too – both of which are more embouchure-intensive than the whistle. I’ll revisit the matter with him in a few weeks.
Uillean pipes or other bellows-blown pipes do sound like just the ticket – or they did before I stopped taking painkillers and actually priced the things. But they are nice to think about. (Maybe a set of Scottish border pipes for Christmas? I shall have to research this!) And I hadn’t thought about the rhythm aspect of Celtic music; a bodhran is doable, and the Remo ones that are the only practical ones for this climate are not that expensive.
WhOA is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends!
I think I’ll stick with the dulcimer and maybe a bodhran for now; will get my Scottish music fix once a week at dance class.
On 2002-04-24 09:10, ErikT wrote:
Come on guys; you don’t even need to go away from the whistle on this one. All you need is duct tape and a canister vacuum (reversable, of course).
Adrienne,
If you decide to pickup a bodhran, you might want to check out http://www.ebay.com. They often have bodhrans on auction that you can pick up for half the retail price, I picked up a nice Malachy Kearns / Roundstone 18 inch for around $40 (it retails for around $120).
Well, find your significant other, or perhaps a small child or niece/nephew who would be willing to sit in your lap for a while. Sit behind them (sideways on the couch would work well), wrap your arms around them, and put the whistle in their mouth. At least your fingers will get to practice. Even it it doesn’t work, it will be fun to try!
I get my two girls [Ciara and Orla..4 and 5 yrs] to blow the whistle while I play it for them…[although the resulting hilarity usually prevents more than a couple of bars at a time before laughter ensues…or as one whistles, the other will stand on a coffee table imitating a raspberry-blowing chicken in an attempt to sabotage the music]
…maybe you could find a volunteer !!
[best someone with good lungs]
All these jokes about nose-whistling sadden me. I find playing with the nose to be perfectly enjoyable and satisfying. Perhaps someday the nose will be accepted just as heartily as the mouth. Until then, I will continue to stick up for it.
