I studies classical guitar in college. I once told my professor that I loved how the guitar sounded when I practiced late at night in the stairwells. He told me any fool could sound good in those conditions, and if I wanted to develope great tone, I should work in the practice rooms which were specifically designed to be dry and unforgiving to tone production. He said that once I had learned to have good tone there, I would have learned to have good tone! It was true and the hard work of actually listening to the tone coming out of my instrument, without the false help of stairwell acoustics, made me a better player.
For what it’s worth.
bit of a spoilsport, ain’t ya!
let’s try to keep the reality checks under control, eh.
sorry 
it’s okay…there’s always an off topic post or two 
…and back to Singing in the Shower!
The dry and unforgiving is hardly the stuff of nature where our music finds genial rapport. It is good to develop good tone just as well as to relish its echo. Though food tastes better when one is starving, memories of hunger can starve our capacity for optimism. Therefore many eat with relish frequently. Tell your professor that the “fool” who enjoys his music honours it just as much as the “hermit” who perfects his tone with the “false help” of a dry chamber.
I’m a fool and a hermit, who likes whistling every which way…
Talisiga- I don’t think my professor was saying it was foolish to enjoy music, as I know of few people who enjoy music more then he. I told the story because it taught me the lesson that improving the craft of music is not always done by pleasing oneself. If you want to revel in reverb, knock yourself out! I found his insight to be a good piece of advice that showed me a way to better reach my goals as a musician. In that spirit I passed it on. Respetfully- Mike
In the for-what-it-is-worth department.
I found that playing in my kitchen has helped me when I have wanted to work on my tone (more flute than whistle). There is a feedback which allows for a better loop from playing-to-embouchure-adjustment. The impact of small embouchure changes can more easily be heard and therefore help to focus the air stream in a productive way.
Having said that, moving out into the living room is also important so that you can try to create and maintain a better sound without the extra aid of the feedback. When playing in groups or with microphones you never get that really detailed feedback, so you need to “know” that you are in good shape without hearing it as clearly.
…john
I would rather you got my pen name right then pay me respects.
I am rather fond of my pen name and the great disrespect that rises
from its graffiti.
As a counterexample to the dry room recommendation … I sometimes find myself performing in settings with either natural reverb, or a PA with reverb added to compensate for a dead room. The goal being to please the audience, not one’s punctilious music teacher.
In any case, I find that practicing with reverb can actually be very helpful for those situations. Techniques which may sound fine and perfectly “correct” in a dry setting may sound less than optimal in an acoustically live venue. Portamento, ornamentation, and articulation may end up sounding muddy unless you compensate with simplification, crisper articulation, etc.
The point being that there’s a place and reason for both types of practice. I suppose a good chef knows when to let the natural flavor of a dish speak for itself, and when to reach for the spices … and trains for both possibilities.
At home, the bathroom is my echo chamber of choice, and there’s always a convenient seat! I do sometimes wear hearing protection though, because it can be too loud. More formally, practicing with a microphone and closed headphones through a sound board (or computer) with reverb works well. You can control the wetness from none to mega-reverb, and experiment with technique accordingly.
Miserable 'owl git of a teacher!!! - what’s wrong with a bit of
encouragement. If you extend that sort of logic - you should
use the poorest instrument you could find and go play in the
coal shed (or Talasiga’s sewage tunnel - without the reverb
of course) for added discomfort.
I know I need to encourage myself by any means possible -
otherwise I would just walk away from playing. If using a reverb
or playing in a stairwell works to encourage more practice and a
love for playing - I say go for it - and bollix to the hairshirt brigade.
Why are people being so hard on Plunkett5? He didn’t say that playing in a stairwell was bad.
A resonant stairwell is a space in which the ear is not likely to be able to make fine distinctions between tiny gradations in one’s tone – that’s why it is such a forgiving and inspiring place to play. It has a way of “leveling the playing field,” so to speak. (Sorry about the bad pun!)
Plunkett’s teacher’s advice was right on the mark for someone who wants or needs to to make fine distinctions between tiny gradations in their tone, and subtly refine their body’s response to that tone. It’s a kind of refinement classical musicians have to care about, but folk musicians may or may not care about at all.
Ultimately, like MTguru said, it’s best to understand what it’s like to play in a variety of acoustic environments. Honestly, Plunkett’s teacher’s method will make you a better musician. But it won’t be as much fun, and sometimes we need the confidence boost, or the fun and pleasure, of playing in the stairwell. If you are a folk musician, you can rejoice in your freedom that where you choose to practice/play, and what you choose to take away from that practicing/playing, is totally up to you.
BTW Another thought just struck me about
playing in acoustically reflective places. It
happened while I was playing my Doug Tipple
in the kitchen.
Doug Tipple you say??
Does he make whistles?
Not AFAIK.
Yes I have gone over to the other side
and started the flute.
Anyway, as I was saying, while playing my flute in
the kitchen, I was drawn to the tiled corner and I
started to think why.
The answer is simple, I can hear myself much better
because the sound is reflected.
Why do we comb the hair (if we have any) or tie a tie
(if we have any) in the mirror, because we can see
what we are doing.
Same for playing in the kitchen for me. Of course, there
is an added bonus in places with a nice warm resonance
and a long reberb time to smooth over the cracks.
Beir Beannacht!!
Works really well for blues harp as well 
I played in the pedestrian tunnels that pass under the bridges in London and I think it’s wonderful. The subway isn’t bad for acoustics either if it’s quiet and not too crowded. It was different to hear the sounds amplified and coming back to your ear. Very pleasant way to play.