Hello!
I am completely new to whistling (and playing instruments at all) and I LOVE IT! I got my Walton’s D about three days ago and it is so fun. It seems to be following me around…
For several years I have had this particular tune in my head and would love to play it. I dont know if there are any other New Zealanders on the forum… but there was this wonderful mockumetary a few years back by ‘The’ Peter Jackson called “Forgotten Silver”. There was this lovely haunting yet happy and nostalgic piece used throughout. If anyone out there knows what it is I would LOVE to hear from you! (I may try and MP3 it so as to tap the knowledge of non-NZers)
Anyway, I have a million beginner questions to ask you!
1: I noticed when I got home that the fipple does not line up with the holes! I am assuming this is wrong (from a post I read in the archives). How can I remove the fipple to straighten it up (or shouldnt I bother)?
2: What do you keep your whistles in?
3: What is the best way of removing condensation? Shaking it? I was wondering about making a short stick with a bit of cloth to clean it out - I really hate the stuff! It is so grotty when it drips out the end…
Im sure I had more but cant remember them right now.
Really looking forward to this new hobby!
Stella
1- Put the fipple in warm water for 10-20 seconds then adjust it.
The warm water softens the glue/sealing.
2-Nothing
3-The drops in the bore, shake it out.
The build up in the windway, either blow hard into the whistle (put a finger on the “window” of the fipple to do it without 3rd octave 100dB) or “suck” it fast for a fraction of a second.
Stella: Welcome to the board. You will find it to be lively and informative…You are correct, the holes should line up with the mouthpiece.
All of your questions can be answered by going to the top of this page, under ‘search’, and putting in key words. It will access the archives…Long threads have dealt with all of your concerns. On the main website, look up the section on the tuning of ‘non-tunable’ whistles, and you will learn how to soften the glue on your Walton, and move the mouthpiece. An extra added bonus will be that you then have a tunable whistle… A friend brought me a Walton from Ireland, last week - same problem…
Good luck with your endeavors.
Cheers.
Byll
‘Everything Matters…’
Lisa Diane Cope 1963-1979
[ This Message was edited by: Byll on 2002-09-08 10:43 ]
What I keep my whistles in. . .a large mug upstairs holds a Meg, a SweeTone and a Clare. Downstairs has a metal mesh file box with my current tune and song books, a Doolin and Walton’s C. By my chair is my latest creation. . .the inside padding of a removable leg cast inwhich I have the remaining whistles, some in their cases, some loose.
Welcome to the board! have lots of fun with your music, and keep your sense of humor handy.
Hi Stella, and welcome to the board. All your other questions were answered well - but I will tackle this one. I keep my whistles in a drum stick bag. Either the tube kind or a roll or zipper case. They will fit up to a low G, but after that you will have to get something else. Make sure that you let your whistles dry out after playing them before storing them in anything - so they don’t get grody.
Welcome to our merry, and occasionally contentious, family.
The whistles that I like to have handy I keep in a small ceramic crock (about 1/2 gallon volume). I bought a few golf club tubes (about a buck each) and cut then into tubes anything from 6" to a foot long. I then put an old dishtowel in the bottom of the crock to cushion the whistles and facilitate drainage, then put the tube in and the whistles stand on end in the tubes.
Welcome! You’ve already received some good advice, so I write mainly to tell you not to try the stick-and-cloth technique to swab out your whistle. (I did this – the cloth came off and got stuck Although you can loosen and straighten the mouthpiece with the techniques mentioned, with this type of whistle you have some risk you’ll get it out of tune. IMHO it’s not going to hurt anything to leave it out of line with the holes. I keep my frequently used whistles in a vase. When traveling with them I use a felt holder with numerous pockets a friend made for me. Steve
[ This Message was edited by: Blarney Pilgrim on 2002-09-09 11:53 ]
Im from Palmerston North.
Do you know of any good shops in Wgtn that have…whistle stuff? I tend to go there reasonably often.
Thanks so much for all the info and welcomes, guys!
As for the lingerie drawer: well, at the very least the whistles would be quite happy when you come to play them for recieving such good treatment Im sure they would try and give you a good sound!
I lived in Palmy up until a couple of years ago. Small world. Well, small country anyway.
I don’t really know where to find whistles in Wellington. I bought my first whistle (a feadog) from the Music City (?) store in Petone. Unfortunately it was a real dunger and almost put me off for life.
Thankfully I was saved by a Clarke’s Original D I spotted in the window of the music shop here in Oamaru. I’m in love.
I’m in the process of contacting a few musical retailers around the country to find out what they have available in the way of whistles. I can pass on my findings if you’d like.
Leto…is that you on Trademe, the Oamaruvian looking for whistles?
Do let me know what you find.
The only thing I can add to your list is The Celtic Shoppe in Palmy has Walton’s Irish D whistles for $19.95. Probably a little more than I could have got it for, but I want to support The Celtic. They dont have music or instruction or anything.
Buying my second whistle was such a huge revelation to me. With the first (feadog) I couldn’t play any of the high notes at all. Just horrendous shrieks, and no matter how much I practiced it never improved. Not knowing any better I just assumed it was me, that I was useless and that I’d never be able to play the whistle.
Now with my Clarke I find I can play those high notes without much problem. Today I was playing a tune with lots of high notes and being able to hit them seemed like nothing short of a miracle.
Now I’m hankering to try out lots of different whistles. I fear an obsession may have begun…
