I went down to one of the local music stores today, looking for a Generation Bb. Turns out they didn’t have any except a C one – and nickel, to boot! – but they were willing enough to order a few. So I ended up ordering two Bb’s. Partly because of Generation’s reputation (i.e. you have to be lucky to get a good one), and partly because I’d like to turn one of 'em into an A whistle, if possible.
With that totally pointless background story out of the way, let me get this straight: if you try to adjust the lenght of a whistle to change the pitch (by moving the fipple, for example), intonation goes to hell because the position of the holes will no longer be in proportion to the whistle’s lenght, right? My modest grasp of physics tells me this ought to be the case, I’d just like it confirmed.
If so, what can be done to fix this problem? I’ve read about people filing/taping holes and stuff, but how good results do you get from that? Taped holes look uncomfortable and not very reliable, IMO.
In fact: might it be better/easier to get myself a lenght of copper tubing of the proper dimensions, pluck the fipple from the Genreation and create a new whistle body from scratch?
A whole bunch of questions, I know. Sorry. It’s just that the whistle community seems very modding-friendly, and that makes me want to try out some experiments of my own
Yes, there is no way you can beat Murphy’s law no matter how hard you try…
Yes, that’s right. A whistle will only be in tune with itself and have correct intonation for a single pitch.
There is a lot of info out there and you should be able to tweak your Generation but you might get better results from making a new body. The normal copper piping used for plumbing may not have the proper diameter or wall thickness. You may be able to find brass or aluminum piping of the proper dimensions here: http://ironbill.se/
It seems you already are on that slippery slope of making whistles of your own. You’ll never look at a length of pipe the same way again. Just about anything pipe-like can be turned into a functioning whistle…
Right. You might also contact Richard Cook (pancelticpiper) here. He’s successfully done these kind of modifications to his Gens, and he can describe the details.
Thanks for that link. That sure looks more promising than the plumbing stuff I’ve found in various stores.
Tell me about it. Ever since I read Doug Tipple’s flute-building guide, I’ve been eyeing our shower curtain rod with a thoughtful expression on my face
Thanks! That was exactly the posts I was thinking of. However… “put a bit of Blue Tack putty in the bell end of the tube to act as a choke” – won’t that stuff just fall out again?
That’s good to hear. Maybe I’ll buy a few more in different keys while I’m at it, after all they’re incredibly cheap.
I can’t watch that video, might be my agressive adblocking. But you’re right: looks is of no importance. As long as an instrument sounds and plays nice, I’m happy.
No, not really, it’s pretty sticky. First make sure the bore is dry. Make a putty ball about 1/2 the diameter of the tube and insert it in the end. Then squash it down against the side of the tube until the bell D note is in tune. It should last for weeks until it begins to look like an alien life form and needs to be replaced.
Well, my incessant drooling might loosen it long before that
Seriously though… the putty is simply for making the bore smaller at the end of the whistle, right? If so, wouldn’t it be possible to use either a) drill a hole in a wooden (cork?) plug and insert it, or b) use some sort of rubber washer? Both solutions would seem more durable than putty.
Or you could try blocking the end of the whistle with your little toe. Not to be confused with the basic beginner’s error of trying to cover a tone hole on a low whistle with a toe…
Sure. Putty is easily adjustable for tuning the bell note just right. But if you devise something else that works, why not. It doesn’t take much cross-sectional area to lower the pitch. Or lengthening the tube by attaching a small tube extension to the bottom of the tube is a more elegant solution.
I saw an alternate “fingering” for the recorder that involved partially blocking the end with your knee…while standing. The inventor refered to it as The Crippled Stork Position.
Almost anything can be used to extend the tube. A recent thread (which I cannot find) mentioned using a rolled up business card held on with a rubber band as an adjustable extention. I have used a short length of rubber tubing.
Since you are going to need to lengthen the whistle, consider cutting the tube above the finger holes and using a telescoping slide to make it tuneable.
Oh heck, just order a length of tubing and make what you want. If you buy enough you can try several things.
Extention of the tube (At the top!) will lower the keynote, but the spacing between each tonehole needs to be increased slightly. This isn’t too big a problem between Bb and A (smaller interval). Tuning individual tonholes isn’t difficult. Slightly larger = Sharper/ Slightly smaller (clear nail polish) = Flatter. Nail Polish Remover and a Q-Tip for adjustments and clean-up.
Why don’t you play around with Tonehole sizes, bore diameters and lengths at Pete Kosel’s “Flutomat” site…?
Incidentally, today I spied something interesting at a discount store. Cheapo brooms (20SEK/~€2) with hollow aluminum handles. Looked like fine material for a low whistle or flute…
Funny thing is, those handles had a really tacky paint job: glossy black and studded with white (or possibly silver) stars. Wouldn’t that make one great looking instrument?
My very favorite whistle is a Hoover low G made from a garage-sale ski pole. Looks goofy as all git out, but the sound is remarkale. I have often struggled with whether to sand off the fuschia paint…so far, it remains.
