Well, after only a few weeks of playing the whistle, I’m thoroughly hooked and showing signs of WhOA. Following the C&F guide I tweaked my Perri (yeah, the nuclear orange one), then only days later broke down and ordered a very small bore Susato D (along with the Whistler’s Pocket Companion). I figured I needed it’s quietness for my late night practice (yeah, that’s the ticket).
The Susato plays very nicely (much easier overall to play than the Perri, although a much different tone) and it is nice and quiet through most of it’s range. After finding a suitable pressure for the low D, it’s not too hard to maintain a fairly even volume as I play up through the scale.
However, at the high B there’s a kind of a pressure hump where I have to blow quite a bit harder than on the high A. The B (and the upper C# and D) also have a much different tone, bigger, like there’s a much stronger harmonic note along with the fundamental and seems a LOT louder (almost ear damaging). I had heard some of this at the high C# and D on the Perri, but it’s much more noticeable on the Susato since that whistle is able to play most of the upper octave at a quieter level.
I’ve played around a lot with my embouchure trying to figure out if that was the problem and certain positions seem to help, but none make the problem go away. I also regularly clear the air ways.
So is this a newbie problem that will get better with practice? Or is it something that is just part of how a(n inexpensive) whistle plays?
In my humble experience, this is a pretty common problem, that affects even some of the expensive whistles. You could try an O’Briain “improved Feadog”. It may be harder to play at first, because it will require more breath control, but it shouldn’t have this problem.
Out of about a dozen high D whistles, the ones that are the best in this regard are a Sindt (brass, narrow bore), a narrow-window Hoover Whitecap on a Feadog shaft, and a Jerry-tweaked Generation. All three can go right up to second-octave C# without shrieking, although the Gen and the WC-Feadog sometimes require a little more attention than the Sindt.
Several of my more expensive whistles can’t make it quite that far, and some of the cheap ones aren’t even happy with the second-octave B.
I think I may have increased my existing high-frequency hearing loss (from years of shooting without ear protection) when I first started out at the beginning of the year. I was playing scales and seeing how high I could go. Then, I developed a ringing in my right ear that lasted for about a week. Now the high notes don’t bother me so much.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Susato’s.
If you want a quiet whistle I’m recommend a Hoover.
For volume I’d recommed Silkstone metal. Expensive but worth it.
Thanks for all the tips and info, folks. If I persist with the upper register arpeggio work I will definitely be using plugs. As it is, I think I’ll just avoid those notes until I get a whistle that will play them below ear damaging volume. My Bingamon practice low D arrived today and I’ll be spending more time with it than with my current high D’s. As it happens, my new low D also suffers from the same pressure/volume/extra loud harmonic at the upper B!
this is a pretty common problem, that affects even some of the expensive whistles…
Several of my more expensive whistles can’t make it quite that far, and some of the cheap ones aren’t even happy with the second-octave B…
If this a fairly common trait, it’s interesting to me that it’s not mentioned (or at any rate, emphasized) in any of the tutorials I’ve seen. Do people just see it as quirk of the instrument that they work around (or with) when playing? An integral part of it’s “folkiness”? For myself (not too concerned with the “tradition”), it drives me crazy to not be able to play a relatively even volume scale from low to high. Particularly since we perceive higher notes as louder anyway (Fletcher-Munson Curves).
I have no problem with my Oak going up there…I don’t really find the highest notes shrill or that they jump out at you. Might consider trying one of those!
I just got a set of Syns and was very pleasantly surprised to find that the D, C and Bb bodies all go right up to that top note without a push like you describe (and I have experienced in my Susatos of various size and my Kerry Low D).
The Syn C in particular just goes right up with no fuss and a relatively pleasant sound not unlike my Perri C.
Just another relatively new and quite inexpensive ($30 for the head, $5 each for bodies, $5 for shipping from Australia) alternative…
You might also consider lower pitched whistles like a Bb. Also consider your playing environment. If you sit with your back to a bare wall, or in a small room, you’ll get a lot more ear drum hammering than outdoors. When I’m learning a new tune that has those high notes and I’m going to be playing it over and over for the memorization, I use a Bb or A.
For myself, I never play above the high cnat, and that, only sparingly.
Tony
I finally got a solution for the problem. Renee, my wife, normally complains terribly about High whistle playing in the second octive above D or E. I recently came into a D/C O’Riordan Traveler set. Last night I was playing the D quite a bit in the upper register with nary a complaint from her. The Lancewood Syns I got are OK with her up to about second G.
I think the Walton’s C has a very mellow upper register - if you’ve got one, give it at try. (And at $5, why don’t you have one?)
Although my Dixon D isn’t terribly quiet in the upper register, my Dixon Bb (same bore size as the D) is. Probably my best high whistle for late-night playing, though the Walton’s C comes close.
My Chieftain Bb is not “quiet” in the upper register, but it doesn’t have that eardrum-piercing edge either. Not a good late-night don’t-wake-the-kids whistle, but I can play it for hours without the high notes bothering me (or maybe it’s that once it’s warmed up, in tune, and not clogging I hate to let it cool down - its one annoyance that since it’s an all-metal whistle it needs a while to warm up).
There you go - three alternatives, going from cheap to medium pricy.
Even worse, I was sitting about twenty inches away from a hard, reflective surface (computer monitor) and playing directly at it. Hey, I learned to play from the online tutorials, so I fell into the habit of practicing at my desk.
Lot’s of other good tips and recommendations, thanks a lot to everyone. I may be starting to get this figured out:
Some whistles apparently do maintain a fairly even tone and volume through the entire second octave. Almost none of the ones I’ve tried can get past the upper flat seventh (using a half hole) without howling. So far, I’ve tried 5 of my own (yeah, I gave into WhOA) and another half dozen from a friend. Some hit the wall at the sixth. Two can do an Major seventh (An old Bb Generation and a no name semi cylindrical with a long wood block and a tiny wind opening).
Lower keys aren’t as harsh even if they shriek a bit up high. My new C Sweet Tone is much easier on my ears.
Tone has as much to with perceived quietness. A whistle with a “soft” sound will be perceived as not as loud as one with a “hard” or edgy sound. There’s no doubt that my VSB Susato can be played so it is is not as loud as my Perri, but it seems louder because of the different tones.
Finally, several folks recommend Hoover, either original or Whitecap. The question is, do these consistantly maintain their quietness through the upper octave? Or is it that they so quiet in general that a little extra loudness up top doesn’t matter? Or does it depend on the model and key?
Well, not long after getting the good advice from folks, a [u]Hoover[/u] Bb in pvc came up [u]for sale by mysusato[/u] at a good price. This fit several of the recommendations, so after a very easy business transaction, I found myself the owner of a solution to my problem.
The whistle can play very quietly through the second octave and even when pushed, the lower key helps keep the high notes from from being so piercing. It’s a little hard to get started on the lowest couple of notes, but practice makes it fairly easy to get control of the small amount of air needed for this whistle. It has become quickly my main practice whistle.
My thanks again to the folks who contributed to the thread and to mysusato for letting go of this sweet instrument (and shipping it in time for my road trip!).
It’s relatively quiet–about halfway between my quietest and loudest Whitecaps, but not as pure/sweet as the quietest one. The finish leaves something to be desired–scratches and such, but I enjoy the sound very much. I think I’ll let this one develop a full patina, just to see what it’s like.
Actually, the sound was a bit rough until I swabbed it out with a soapy swab. That seems to have fixed it right up.
Since I don’t have to worry about protecting the finish, as I tend to do with the Burke and the Sindt, I keep it loose on top of the computer along with the Busman Delrin. Which one I pick depends oh how much energy I feel like putting into my playing, as the Busman requires more of a push in the upper octave.
Thanks for the info, Mike. I’m may be slowing down in my low whistle WhOA, so I’m looking harder for a high D that is both responsive and (relatively) quiet. A recent post by rh on the Alba Q1 (“never piercing, no ear fatigue”) has me considering it, as well.
Hey, I learned to play from the online tutorials, so I fell into the habit of practicing at my desk.