Hello, all. This question springs from ignorance - I’ll admit that up front. I’ve only been at this a couple of months.
I bought an Alba Low D on eBay. I love the way it sounds in the first octave. It’s much easier to control there than my Howard Low D. However, when I get above the D that is one octave up, the whistle generally sounds extremely breathy and I find that I have to blow so hard to sound the notes and keep them close to in tune that I can barely get through two bars of music.
Is that a characteristic of the Alba Low D whistle? Or (and this is probably more likely) is it the result of bad technique? I’d really like to figure this out because I love this whistle. Thanks for any insight you might be able to offer.
Bill
Albas are known for their high breath requirements. Practice should help a lot here. Tell me, is the blade curved or straight? The older ones have straight blades.
Try experimenting with the angle at which you hold the whistle as that affects the airflow. The breathiness and having to blow harder in the second octave are normal.
Generally, it’s probably as good as any time to learn to breathe properly. Do you have someone who could show you? A brass player would be perfect. You want to breathe from the diaphram and fill you lungs completely. Makes a big difference, as you are probably just breathing into your lung tips right now.
Personally I’d also consider fipple-corrective surgery. I’d start by cutting one or two matches to size and reducing the size of the wind way on either side. Best if you can get it to be slightly smaller at the window side of the windway. It will take some fiddling and may not work at all (that is, the whistle doesn’t sound good afterwards). But worth a try.
Thanks for all the good advice. I’m just glad to know it’s probably me and not the whistle. I’ve read several posts here regarding “old” vs. “new” versions of various whistles and the differences in their playability. I was a little nervous about having purchased an old design. The Alba I have has a curved blade, so I assume it’s a more recent iteration.
You’re right about the breathing. I’m a lapsed trumpet player, and should know better, but I slipped into the assumption that it wouldn’t take as much air to blow a whistle. Time to renew old habits. I’m assuming that it will be possible to control the “strident” tone of the higher notes with some practice.
I have to admit I don’t know the terminology well enough to be able to make sense of your tip on narrowing the windway, but I might experiment a bit.
Appreciate your patience!
Bill
Of course, I lurv my Serpent Python Low D more, but my Alba Low D do run it a close second, and is louder in the lower register.
If your fipple plug is brown, then the matchstick tweek may help. If you simply cannot get it to work or sound the way you think it should, then don’t mess around with more tweeks - go to the whistlesmith, Stacey O’Gorman, whose knowledge will help you find the right answer, or she’ll take the whistle back and beat it into submission with horn of unicorn and a milling machine. Just like I would! Stace is a lurvly lass, and will have the right answers for you.
albawhistles.com is the place to go!
serpent
Thanks. I’d wondered about sending it back to its birthplace, but figured I’d be pretty embarrassed if it turned out that only the nut behind the fipple (me) needed adjusting. 