With the recent activity on the forum about home made and low end whistles I thought I might try out my Low D made from a shower curtain rod at some sessions this past weekend.
I played along with some jigs and got a smile from the session top dog. I couldn’t hear myself so it played in just fine. Then I tried a slow air solo for a flutist and a whistler. Got favorable comments on the sound.
When I pull it out and introduce it as my shower curtain rod I get a big laugh but when I play it the laughter stops. (except for my husband who has to make jokes while I play)
I have been trying out some ‘real whistles’ thinking that I need a grown up one but I really like my SCR. It’s light and easy to play, has a good lower hand and transition to second octave, and is in tune because my husband has perfect pitch and he made it. And I have been telling myself that if I can make this whistle sound good then I must be doing it right.
Oh well, I guess I’d better get more tunes up on the SCR.
I was there for the maiden voyage and others subsequent. Truth be told, low D whistles usually aren’t my favorite, but I like the sound of the “SCR”. It has a chiff to it that makes it sound trad-friendly to me, and packs a lot of character, I think. On a particular air (what was it, BL?), I could hear and see waves crashing on bleak cliffs. And I was only on my 1st pint!
That’s very funny, because Conal O’Grada used to say that low whistles are only good for holding shower curtains! You showed that shower curtains are also good for whistling.
Somegody in my neighborhood has discarded about 6 - 4’ lengths of white PVC this morning, it’s out near our dumpster, not used for plumbing, … I think, some kind of decorative - furnature type - function, with gray elbow type joints … white, about 1" diameter. Maybe more pieces. First thing I thought when i saw it. “Use as Whistle?”. If it conceivably has a salvage use… it’s yours. lemmie know.
Interesting that this tune would evoke such a response from you Nano as it is a sean-nos called Roisin Dubh and is a poetic reference to the Emerald Isle Herself and how she is lost to the singer for now.
“waves crashing on bleak cliffs” Hmm. Guess I’ll keep at it.
Thanks for the positives Nano.
BL
PS I ment to edit the subject line but had to rush off to luncheon with my Marine Daughter and then put her on a plane back to camp. She brought us a captured Iraqi flag (which the Baglord is particularly proud of) and a ‘Most Wanted’ card deck among other things.
Thanks for your kind thoughts Parcour25 but we have a DIY PVC whistle and I am not as enamored of it’s charms. (a little too civilized sound)
Perhaps you have enough material there to make a dulcimer or even a bodhran. I know, I know, Oh, Oh A really great set of Uilliaen pipes. You said you have elbows right?
Yeah, the 1" is perfect for a low D. I got the SCR whistle basic layout somewhere here I think about two or three years ago before it became the Chiff and Fipple Empire it is today. I changed the fipple orifice dimensions a bit based on my favorite Kerry low D, which was about the same ID and length. But then I tried some old white plumbing laying around and made the fipple out of part filing, part melting/bending the pipe to get the leading edge, and then made a shroud out of plastic car modelling body filler (styrene) which fattened up the low E and D incredibly. Then I put a tuning joint in it. It’s a great whistle, better than any other I have except high B is annoying because the fipple is not compromised to get the high end of that octave. It also has a weird thing it does where it goes weak allover for some reason, which I think I can trace to my g finger not wanting to mate with that particular hole and leaking, either that or the windway getting watery.
Anyway, that white 1" pvc works very very well for low D’s.
