So many of you are practicing like mad and many of you may say “enough” .Like you ,I suffer from cramps from too much practice SO ,I use the Chinese Balls and rotate them both ways in both hands.This is a fantastic exercise ,it not only relaxes the muscles ,it also strengthens the fingers.
Colin showed me this many years ago and it really works.I can only use two balls but Colin got up to three without them touching.
Colin,do you still use them?.
Hope you find this a useful tip.
All the best
Phil
PS ,George W Bush IS Porridge.
Just to say that i plan to try them.
I always wondered if they were really
good for something–they’re sort
of attractive for their own sake.
Thanks.
Phil ~ you’ll have to explain how those things work…though I suppose they come with some sort of instructions. BTW..finally got that book in the mail to you today. And speaking of Colin, tried playing my Overton A with the rest of the group tonight and definitely flat. Someone suggested freezing it but think that would be like sticking your tongue on the flag pole. Any suggestions? I know …I should talk to Colin. Gm
I made a point of stretching and warming up my fingers before playing last night’s contra dance. That helped a lot, compared to last month where they were sore for days after.
When you hold the C/Balls in your hand,at first they feel kind of big and cumbersome but as you slowly rotate them they,in time ,feel more comfortable.Never over use them as this came cause strain so swap hands every 30 seconds and reverse the rotation in each hand.When you have finished,spend a few moments in contemplation and calm and then play the whistle and feel the harmony that you have created between you and the universe.
Good luck.
Phil.
Hey Phil, thanks for the tip. I spend an obscene amount of time at a keyboard so my fingers (and hands in general) are almost always a bit stiff. I do have some exercises which help but I’m always looking for something else that might help loosen up my hands so I’ll give those chinese balls a try. Thanks again 
So that was what Humphrey Bogart was doing in “The Caine Mutiny”! Not being mentally unstable at all, just relieving whistle cramps.
Jens
Chinese Balls (are intended to) stimulate pressure points in your hands and fingers, and thus promote not merely strong fingers, but general good health throughout the body, heart, head, liver, lungs etc. A bit like acupuncture without the needles.
The instructions translated from the original Chinese (by someone to whom English does not come readily) have to be seen to be believed, they’ll give your laughing muscles a good workout too. I’ll try to dig them out when I get home.
My favourite set are rather beautifully enamelled in shimmering blue with a red Dragon on the high chime, and a white Phoenix on the low chime; about 2" in diameter. I actually find these larger balls easier to use than some smaller ones I have.
These were quite a fad in London a few years ago, and quite cheap at under £5 a pair, but they’re a little harder to find now, particularly in anything other than a plain silver or gold finish.
On 2001-12-08 23:35, Grannymouse wrote:
Phil ~ you’ll have to explain how those things work…though I suppose they come with some sort of instructions. BTW..finally got that book in the mail to you today. And speaking of Colin, tried playing my Overton A with the rest of the group tonight and definitely flat. Someone suggested freezing it but think that would be like sticking your tongue on the flag pole. Any suggestions? I know …I should talk to Colin. Gm
I think you might try warming the whistle to raise the pitch. IIRC cold metal whistles go flat. Last night I did a little gig with a guitar and fiddle and first I played my well-warmed Overton high D and they tuned to it. Then for Don Oiche Ud I mBeithil i switched to my Kerry Low D. It was horribly cold and horribly flat. Rather than retune guitar and fiddle, I stuck the thing in front of the heater and a minute later it was in tune.
On 2001-12-10 07:44, Martin Milner wrote:
… A bit like acupuncture without the needles.
Acupuncture, of course, is based on proven scientific principles: If you stick needles into someone everytime they complain about something, sooner or later they’ll stop complaining.
Joe (who believes in acupuncture)
i’ll certainly try out colin’s tip with them chinese balls!
when i learn a new tune, sometimes i can’t stay too long at it, my hands get tired. then i just do a few rehearsels,and my hands are ok and i can work at the new tune again.
swapping different keys don’t work for me if i get tired, but the rehearsels in between do! i think it’s not my hands but my finger memory in this case.
but i can’t figure out why i raise my fingers that high 
was going to offer an arch comment on the handling of Chinese balls but thought better of it
I use your stretching tip at least once daily, and do feel improvements, so I’ll definitely try this exercise. Now, I’m yet to find how these translate in French, and where to get the hardware… Not many yoghurt plus zen stores here around.
PS: True, I was born in 'Nam, but not sure it can makedo.
I started reading this thread, and thought I’d add a comment - then as I scrolled down, I saw that I already had!
As I get older (reaching 37 this year) and my memory fades (which it clearly is if I can’t recall a thread from 18 months ago), and I destined to have more deja vu moments like this?
With fading memory, does the world become a new and exciting place again?
With fading memory, does the world become a new and exciting place again?
What was the question?
To the tune of Colonel Bogey March:
Philip… can only use two balls
Colin… does three but very small
Wisely’s… are very sizely
But poor old Teri has nary at all!
This is a vile and baseless rumour. GWB has served no time in prison for his misdeeds - further proof, if any were needed, of the gross injustice of the universe, since his crimes are so much greater than mine. Crimes? Where’s the backspace key? Anyway I am, as you all know, completely innocent of any wrongdoing. I did not have gender with that woman! As I told that pernicious fool of a judge, I was having dinner with Ted. (The bastard.)
Now that I’m out of the slammer and looking forward to a Royal Pardon (that’s from Maggie) you’ll be hearing more of me. A new look, with a redesigned mouthpiece and wide-bore body. And that’s just Mary.
Yours ever,
Archer of Weston-super-Mare
P.S. I’m already planning my new blockbuster novel. It’s set in the exciting world of Irish whistles, way back in the early days of the low whistle, featuring tales of dark doings in the deadly battle between whistle titans for a share of this fabulously lucrative inter-galactic market. The love interest comes in the form of Whistly Galore, a barely disguised portrait of your own Miss Messy Kitten. Watch this space!
Why is it that when I read Porridge’s post, all I can think of is Truman Capote?
Who?
Reminds me of the two English cows talking. The first one asks “What do you think about all this mad cow disease nonsense?”. The second replies “Why should I care, I’m a helicopter”…
Oh, you Vapid Vegetable…