I hope elementary questions from new whistlers are Ok.
I recently saw Eammon Dillon at a concert and right away I knew I wanted to play the whistle. I started with an Oak, but I had great difficulties playing nice low notes. My whistle teacher tried it and said “Get another whistle!”, So I just got a Harper. I can now play very nice low notes, but not the higher notes in the second octave. If I don’t blow strongly enough, the note drops to the lower octave and is REALLY loud. Any suggestions, or do I just have to persevere until I get the hang of it?
[ This Message was edited by: Lizzie on 2001-10-21 12:53 ]
Any suggestions, or do I just have to persevere until I get the hang of it?
[ This Message was edited by: Lizzie on 2001-10-21 12:53 ]
Hi, Lizzie, when I started playing the whistle last winter, I thought I was hopeless! There’s no teachers around here at all, and I was getting teased by my neighbors and howled at by the St. Bernards behind the garage, and told by friends that it sounded like I was strangling weasles. One day it oocured to me I needed to BLOW on that sucker, and then had one of those lightbulb moments, and Voila!! I was playing. How well is another thing all together. Tweek cheap whistles and persevere! Don’t give up! We’ve all been there when we first started! Not even Mick Woodruff started as an instant expert, no mattter what I think! Best thing you can do for yourself as far as learning to play the whistle is to hang around with C&Fers! They’re just really grand folks, who’ll encourage you. Be careful, sounds like you’re already on the way to a gonzo case of WhOA! I still don’t have a teacher, and probably won’t have, but there’s a lot of great players here to emulate!
Let it shine! Anna “Ain’tNoMouse” Martinez
[ This Message was edited by: Anna Martinez on 2001-10-22 11:36 ]
Hi. It may be the whistles.
I like the Oak a lot, but it may be
that the Oak is a bit finicky
on low notes. I believe the
Harper has a reputation for being
tough on high notes. If you have
access to whistles, you might just
get hold of cheap whistle of
another brand–e.g. a Sweetone,
which is pretty popular and easy
to play–and
see if the problems go away.
If later you’re wanting advice
on high end whistles, you
might post again. Hope this helps.
Best wishes…
Welcome to the forum Lizzie.The problem with cheap whistles is inconsistency and a necessity to tweak them to get a half decent sound out of them.The only low priced whistle I’ve ever owned without the need to tweak is a Susato and they are actually well in tune and play easily in both octaves.While a modified re-built,re-tuned Generation is still my favourite tone,the Susato is unbeatable in almost any playing situation and until the mythical good Generation comes your way a Susato will help you to recognize it when it does.Peace, Mike
Welcome Lizzie, to a wonderful message board.If you go to the Chiff and Fipple main you will find information on “Tweaking” whistles and playing.
I to had trouble when first starting in getting a good low D on a whistle and then getting crisp clear high notes at the other end. It takes time to learn just how much air is really needed play. It just isn’t the whistle all the time.
Anna what is a “Lightbulb monet” I know the impression painters changed the world and how we see it with their use of colour and light in their paintings. But being an art librarian I have never seen a painting of or by Monet on a lightbulb.
Mark
“In any corner of the earth where solitude and imagination go hand in hand, people learn soon enough to love music.”
Stendhal (1783-1842) Life of Rossini
[ This Message was edited by: MarkB on 2001-10-21 14:15 ]
Ask a dozen whistlers and you’ll get a dozen different recommendations. I own some Susatos and some Dixons, and while the Susatos (recommended above) are nice I think the Dixon is far easier to play. Pick yourself up a Tony Dixon nontuneable D for $16 US from http://www.thewhistleshop.com or directly from Tony himself, and give it a go.
Whatever you get, find someplace away from complaining people and pump as much air as you can through the whistle to find out how much is the right amount. The second octave will always take a lot more than the first. The higher the note, the more energy is required.
Does anyone know of any Toronto Sessions where Lizzie could go hear some different whistles? You’re welcome to come to the second-friday-monthly Rochester NY one (where I am) but it’s a few hour trip.
Hi Lizzie,
Welcome to the board and to the wonderful world of whistles…
With the Oak and the Harper you’ve got 2 entirely different beasts.
I have an Oak, which i enjoy a lot. For one thing, it’s an inexpensive whistle that is in tune. Filling the cavity under the windway with sticky-tac (see link above to the tweaking section of C&F) will stabilize the tone a lot. So does ‘blunting’ the fipple blade. The Oak is a bit more touchy about breath control.
The Harper on the other hand is a great tooter at the loud end, and requires a very different approach. I played one in the Hobgoblin shop last time I was in London - but not for long, it’s a small shop you know
Whistles have different personalities. Once you get to know them better, you can work with them (or at least, most of them )
Hi Lizzie. Definately try other whistles. The best of the inexpensive whistles are the Clarke sweetones, IMHO. The C whistle is the best of the two, but the D ain’t bad either. Take a punt on a generation whistle as well - you might get lucky and get a good one. Waltons little black D’s are highly recommended, but the barrels are made of thin aluminium and bend real easy. Susato’s sound good on the lower octave, but are way too loud on the upper octave.
Thank you SO much for all the help and encouragment. When I started, I thought a whistle was a whisle was a whistle…now it seems these little suckers have personalities…I am persevering with my Harper and I AM getting better…I can blow almost the whole 2nd octave without succumbing to apoplexy. And I do love the sound of it better than anything I have tried so far.
Thanks for the advice about whistles…actually, I have Dixon on order, but it seems to be lost in the mail…also, my teacher highly recommended a Sindt, but I have to wait 7 more months for it…
The Sindt D is very good. Another
good whistle, but a more woody sound,
is the Water Weasel, which is made
of PVC by Glenn Schultz, and is
a lot more readily available. I think
it’s about 70 bucks or so? Also
if you buy a D whistle you can
get a C tube from Glenn for cheap,
so you get two whistles.
I agree on the Susatos and Clarke Sweetones, I love mine and am now venturing in to Susato low whistles. This forum is a great source of information and support. Everyone above has given great advice, and they’re right, just PLAY,and often, and don’t be afraid to mess up. As someone once said, “God doesn’t mind a bum note.” Just find some tunes you like and keep playing–do some every day, and you’ll be surprised in a short time. Good luck, and welcome aboard!
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