What does one do when right in the middle of a tune your whistle turns soggy? (Actually is was nearer the end.) Do I take antihistamines or diuretics or what? Could one electronically keep the whistle at a set temperature ie small battery operated heater or something? Have a gadget that shuts off all the notes and one could give a BIG blow and clear it out?
Soggy? pictures limp noodle whistle
Do you mean the water in the windway is strangling the sound? Typically called “clogging”. I’m sure you can find a lot about clogging in the archives. Typically I cover the cutting blade with my thumb (but not blocking the entire fipple opening) and blow hard. My thumb prevents any noise from being made (Well, usually) and the water is blown out.
Alternatively, you can “flick” the whistle, hold one end and shake it down as if you were casting a fishing line.
Alternatively, you can suck IN through the mouthpiece while playing. The appeal of this method is rather less and depends on your personal definition of exactly where that water COMES from, but it is moderately effective if you are in the middle of a tune.
[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-09-13 20:50 ]
I must blow pretty dry, since I don’t usually have a clogging problem, but there’s the old trombone trick. If you’re playing with others, just drop out for a measure or two, place your finger over most of the tone hole and blow the moisture out.
If solo, I dunno. Suck hard between breaths maybe?
My laughing clogs pretty easily in humid areas. It’s been fine in Boise but every time I go to Salt Lake it clogs like crazy. When it clogs I can sort of feel a change in the pressure I need to use to get a note, it feels like a backpressure in the second octave. This means I either need to blow harder (and more controlled, which is tough) in the second octave, or quickly clean it out. I have a few seconds from where I start to notice it before I lose the note completely.
I’ve always wondered what kind of panicked expression I must get when I feel the clog, hehe.
[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-09-13 21:10 ]
Soapy water down the windway. . .let it dry. Repeat as necessary.
or
One good quick inhale as necessary (the condensation comes from me, to me it can return).
or
Blow through it and deal with it later.
or
Get a whistle that doesn’t have that particular problem. I think the composites and delrins are less likely to clog.
Peltier device attached just under the belly and just behind the tone-hole! Power comes from a car battery in a back-pack. Or look for a very small ceramic heating element, and fasten it just forward of your lower lip.
While playing:
Don’t drink beer.
Don’t eat peanuts.
Don’t eat chocolate.
Don’t eat anything.
Don’t drink anything.
The fastest way I’ve found to clear a clog is to quickly turn the whistle and blow HARD in the tone hole (blade opening). Then grab it by the barrel and shake it out HARD!
A small butane torch, perhaps???
Good luck!
Bill “Serpent” Whistles
Serpent Music
http://busapca/certsrv
[quote]
On 2002-09-13 21:05, Chuck_Clark wrote:
I must blow pretty dry, since I don’t usually have a clogging problem, but there’s the old trombone trick. If you’re playing with others, just drop out for a measure or two, place your finger over most of the tone hole and blow the moisture out.
You made me curious. I’m a professional tromboneplayer, never heard of such kind of a trick. What do you mean with it? Tell me all about it please.
cheers
Thanks for all the tips. We live at about sea level on an island so that may have something to do with the clogging. My husband said he would prefer I leave the battery in the van, so I think I will go with the suck (Yuck!) blow methods. Now about the wind problem when playing outdoors…I believe Sandy in working on that, but in the meantime…
Just had another thought, (Wow, two in one week!.) I was playing a Sweetone whistle, when it went soggy, OK clogged,(Sorry Sandy, I left my Elfsong on the piano.) I wonder if the pointy end has anything to do with it?
Lol!
Call me crazy, but I don’t think the suck method is gross…
However, I find that most woodwind players (ie. Sax, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, ect.) are taught to suck moisture out of their mouthpieces, make rattling noises w/the moisture in the mouthpiece, and empty “spit-valves” in a “water-projection” method since day one…
I usually put my finger over the fipple and blow the moisture out.
The peltier effect thingy sounds cute, but then you’ll need a servo system connected to the tuning slide to adjust for the new temerature. This should only increase the weight of the whistle by 10 pounds. 
On 2002-09-15 17:27, Daniel_Bingamon wrote:
I usually put my finger over the fipple and blow the moisture out.The peltier effect thingy sounds cute, but then you’ll need a servo system connected to the tuning slide to adjust for the new temerature. This should only increase the weight of the whistle by 10 pounds. >
Please! The Peltier device is a solid-state bulk semiconductor junction, and has very low weight. However, they are kind of power-hungry, and want a pretty big heat sink. But you can put the battery (I suggest Mercedes 60AH, 12V) in a backpack, and cool the heat sink with recondensed saliva recovered from the barrel. That should only increase the whistle weight by a mere 2 pounds! You can probably use the servo system out of a relatively inexpensive autofocus video camera, and those are quite efficient and low in weight!
Cheers,
Bill “Serpent” Whedon
Serpent Music
http://www.serpentmusic.com
[ This Message was edited by: serpent on 2002-09-15 23:36 ]