Hello everyone, I have a Jerry Freeman tweaked Shaw D. Plays nice and all that but I have a problem. When i go down the scale to the D note I keep screaching in before I hit the note. I can start in the low D without much problems but when I come down to it I keep popping it. I have tried going without tonguing it. I have tried different tongue shapes. I go with barely a hint of air but it still pops up into the next octave befoe it levels out into the low D. I have had other issues that have been solved with tonguing and the such but this has me stumped. Perhaps the whistle needs more tweaking. If is such the case I’m outta luck because I have no idea how to do that. Any ideas?
I haven’t played the Shaw so can’t speak to your issues, but Jerry has a good reputation for standing behind his whistles.. If you don’t get much help from others here, then I’d recommend emailing him.
Jason
Breath control is essential on the high whistles. To an inexperienced player, it might seem that you are blowing very gently, but these whistles are very responsive to very slight changes in air pressure.
Only thing to do is to practice. Practice scales, long notes, even practice a few simple tunes. It will take a little time for you to be able to sense just how hard to blow to keep from jumping an octave inadvertantly. Like any skill activity, it takes time for the feedback to bring benefits. I would not worry about the octave popping for now. Just play, practice, and learn breath control. I would recognize looking up some of the online whistle instruction sites. There is a lot of good advice to follow there. Just give yourself some time.
make sure all the tone holes are well covered, too. I’ve noticed if you have a hair crack, you can sometimes cause the whistle to screech on the bottom end.
Is there any way that you can get to a shop that carries other whistles to try out?
One of the first whistles that we bought was one just like yours. My family had a very hard time learning to play it.
Now, I keep it around and if the kids misbehave, I threaten to take away their Sindts, their Chieftain and their Susatos and make them play their old whistles all of the time.
Which is a complete bluff, because I couldn’t stand that racket. 
In reality, I keep the Shaw (and a tweaked Clarke Sweetone that we bought at the same time) to show people why we call them “tinwhistles” or “pennywhistles.”
To me, being able to smoothly control going between octaves is one of the truest differences between good whistles and bad ones.
Several years ago, Dale (the cat who runs this place) wrote](http://www.chiffandfipple.com/copeland.html%22%3Ewrote) a review of a Copeland whistle where he really nails the irony of beginners trying to use cheapie instruments.
“This expensive whistle is much easier to play and to play well, than a cheaper whistle… I’ve allowed {my children} to try out my Copeland (under threat of death, etc.) and all have been astounded at how quickly they can produce clear notes. Their fingers fill the holes better. The breath control is easier to manage.”
That describes our experience exactly.
Of course, you need to stick with it. Keep playing. Yes, with lessons and practice (practice, practice) you WILL get better.
But I hope that you can get a chance to try a better instrument sometime soon.
Make sure your airway is clear of condensed breath moisture-- that is especially bad for the low notes.
Try covering all the wholes and blow the low d.
Then blow the high d while still covering the holes, and change your air pressure passing from one tone to the other. That’s what i do to get used to my whistles.
One thing i used to tell myself to make it easier is to “blow the high d, breathe the low d”.
Maybe a dumb question, but you’re not trying to play low D with oxx xxx fingering, are you?
Here’s a hint which helped me tremendously with low D and E when I was just getting started. I wish I remembered where I saw it, so that I could give credit.
It’s a simple change of thinking. Don’t “blow” low D. Instead, “breathe” it.
That got me over the initial hump. Now I don’t have to think about it at all anymore.
I have to disagree with the notion that the problem is/could be your instrument. Breath control is important with any whistle, and a whistle which requires less breath control to get the note right isn’t really doing you any favors. In my humble, beginner’s opinion, anyway.
-Craig
a whistle which requires less breath control to get the note right isn’t really doing you any favors
So in the alternative, if it jumps octaves unpredictably and is difficult to control it’s “doing us a favor”?
I’m having trouble with the low D when playing with my Generation ‘Shush’. It’s tweaked to be really quiet and requires VERY little air. The low D requires almost no air at all. Practicing is the key I think, play tunes with a lot of low Ds or do exercises if you like those more. It can be a tricky note 
Thanks for all the advice. To answer a few questions that popped up. I do not have a local shop that sells whistles, so trying out different models is out of the question. I have ordered another Freeman tweeked whistle, a Mellow Dog or something like that. As for the hole configuration, I am covering all 6 holes. I have noticed a difference with the amount of time played during each session so condensation might be an issue. I will keep at it. One of you mentioned online lessons? Any suggested links? Thanks in advance.
Yes, exactly. Training wheels are useful when you first climb on a bicycle, but you don’t want to keep them on forever.
If a whistle with lower back pressure forces you to develop the breath control to be able to make it sound good (which demonstrably can be done), instead of facilitating not improving your breath control, then I think it is doing you a real favor. Even with a whistle which doesn’t jump so easily, you can hear poor breath control — it’s just less obvious to the new player, who might think [s]he can get away with it, if they notice the problem at all.
As a new player, I didn’t realize how poor my breath control was until I played at 7000 feet over sea level. That drove the point home pretty hard.
Again, in my beginner’s opinion. Your mileage may vary. Past performance does not guarantee future results. & c.
-Craig
Condensation is definitly an issue. To help prevent this to a certain extend regularly take your whistle by the upper part with the bottom end sticking up (like a baton or something) and swing it very hard a couple of times. This will send spit flying all over so do it through a window or something 
Or if you have several whistles, just switch whistle when practicing.
I’ve just encountered a similar problem, but with a low D (hoover). I’ve played high D’s on and off for a few years and the problem seems less important with them, but after the first few minutes of playing my hoover, I can’t seem to hold the low D without it squeaking away. I’m assuming it’s a breath control issue and not the whistle…
The tip about “breathing the low D” works great when I’m playing slow things, but what do I when I’m playing quickly? With both the low E and D, it’s difficult to get a solid low note when playing at speed. This is particularly troublesome with things like Cooley and Tam Lin where there are those phrases that go lowD-high thing-lowD-high thing at high speeds.
Any help would be appreciated!