so i feel like a total newbie…but i;m not i’ve been playing for about 4 years now, but I just got a clarke orignal the other day, and am wondering is there some secret as to how to play it?? the tone is sounding very airy, not clear at all, I’m assuming its because the mouth part is different then from what i;m used to, so any tips???
thanks
That’s one of the characteristics of a stock Clarke Original. The main tweak with that one is to mash the windway down a bit. Do a search on the forum for Clarke tweak and you’ll find plenty of information. Don’t just start mashing away, you might go too far.
The airy tone comes from both the conical shape and the wide-open windway. The tweak will help a bit with it, and also make the breath requirements a little more manageable.
Hope that helps,
Jason
In addition to flattening the windway ceiling to reduce the height of the windway and bring the air requirement down to a more manageable level, you can adjust the position of the soundblade edge. That helps focus the voicing considerably.
You sight through the mouthpiece with the whistle pointing to a bright background. Adjust the soundblade edge so it’s the same shape as the windway floor and position it so there’s a clear sliver of daylight under it, but more space above it than below it. Experiment with different placements of the soundblade edge until you’re satisfied you’ve maximized the benefit.
These two simple adjustments can turn a very ordinary, breathy sounding, air hungry, off the shelf Clarke Original into an astonishingly good sounding whistle. (Some of them are astonishingly good sounding right off the shelf, btw.)
Best wishes,
Jerry
Get several Clarks, all the same key. Tweaking whistles is a fun passtime but it is VERY easy to overdo your first few tweaks. The difficulty, at least for me, was that the first few mashes and bends produced a dramatic improvement. The next few made things a little better while the mashes and bends after that took the whistle rapidly downhill, never again to sound as it once did. The problem, you see, is in knowing when to quit and the only way to discover “when to quit” is by going too far. Luckily, Clarks are cheap. Buy a handlful and have fun. If a couple dozen dollars sounds too steep, go to your local craft center and price the materials for a dozen hours spent pursueing any other craft - whistles come out cheap no matter how you mash them!
this is what i do , adjust the wind splitter height about 2 mm above the block------------look in it as you would a rifle site-----and make sure the “indent” is centered---------also soak the wood block in oila couple of minutes to swell it
Yeesh, Jerry…Sells tweaked whistles, but perfectly happy to give away the secrets of the tweaks. What a guy.
Why do you think that is?
Is someone at Clarke acting as a secret tweek fariery picking out a few in the production line or is it that the Q.C. it out of wack?
You’ve seen so, so, so many more than me, but I would imagine the the norm is a needlessly air hungry whistle.
At the rate they have to produce them to keep the manufacuring cost effective, they don’t have time to micro-adjust the voicing. However, some of the whistles do end up very close to the best they could be, right off the production line. Others have that potential with a little adjustment after the sale.
I suppose it’s like that with many instruments. Isn’t there some setup involved with a guitar, banjo, (fill in the blank), etc. when you first get it?
I have whistles from the 1800’s. The mouthpiece is metal, somewhat similar to a Clarke Original. I’m sure the musicians who played those whistles had no hesitation about adjusting the soundblade and windway themselves to get them to play and sound the way they wanted.
Best wishes,
Jerry
This part is true. You would have to reduce the air requirement on just about any Clarke Original.
The voicing varies quite a bit among these whistles, and that’s the part I was referring to when I said some sound astonishingly good right off the shelf.
Best wishes,
Jerry
excellent, thanks everyone!