I recently purchased a sterling silver whistle, and I am having difficulty playing it. It is extremely breathy, and the notes sound poorly. My first inclination, of course, is to blame the whistler; not hitting the holes properly, not warming the whistle up sufficiently, etc. However, I want to know from those who have had experience with silver whistles, whether there are characteristics of silver whistles in particular that I need to be aware of, that would make playing one more demanding than, say, a brass or wood whistle. Do they require a longer period of warming up, etc.? Any enlightenment you could send my way would be appreciated.
Who made your silver whistle?
Fipple construction style and to an extent body configuration (cylindrical or conical) will most likely play a much greater role in the “breathiness” of the whistle. If it is a Shaw, (nickel silver I believe), then they are well known for having relatively greater breath requirements. A photo or two will certainly help if you don’t know the maker.
If it is a Copeland, then it probably just isn’t for you and you need to sell it to me ASAP 
The whistle is a Tully. (I should only have a Copeland! 
)
I have owned one Tully, and I think it was a C. I do recall it being a rather elegant sound and look.
BUT, it was breathy - some whistles just are, largely due to design, and the one I owned had a big windway and a wide mouth, much like a Clarke or Shaw. You might be able to contact Eric Tullberg, though I don’t believe he makes whistles at this point in time. Good luck!
Reg
Embouchure?
Some whistles sound pretty good if you just blow, but with others you need to shape the sound. Tighten the mouth; lift the tongue; open the throat; huhh rather than blow… I’m not sure if words can explain it properly.
You can change the quality of sound even with a cheap whistle.
Well, it sounds better to my ears; I’m not certain about someone at the audio far-field.
I thought that the most valuable advice I’ve ever run across was from Grey Larsen in "The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle. It was that the reason you only place the tip of the fipple into your lips is so you can narrow your lips to get a smaller airstream than that of the fipple. This is the way to reach the second (and third) octave. Not by blowing “harder” as 99% of instructional materials say. Instead you blow faster - same amount of air going through a narrower hole.
Suddenly the second octave on all my whistles sounded a whole lot better when I read and applied that advice.
It’s nothing more than what flute players have always done, isn’t it?
Thanks everyone for the helpful input. I will work on my embouchure for this whistle as was suggested, and see what improvements may come. I’m still a newbie learning the whistle, so advice like this shared by experienced and knowledgeable people is invaluable, and one of the main reasons I got on the Chiff and Fipple website in the first place. Thanks again!
I have found that some Tully whistles play with more chiff than others. The tone of the one I own now is not as pure as one I sold several years ago but some prefer that.
Brian Howard has made at least one high D silver whistle, it was pretty easy to play.