Had a chance to play with a group at a Chili Cook-off yesterday morning (subbing for the fiddle player) and had a hard time keeping my whistle in tune. The temperature in the mid-40s. Was playing my Dixon D Trad. It was fine while I was playing, but if I sat out a song, it would be out of tune on the next one I played (sometimes by a lot). Are there whistles (metal / plastic) that stay in tune better at the cooler temperatures?
My Burke composite narrow bore D is unaffected by temperature shifts as far as I can tell…
I somewhat noticed that heavier or whistles with more volume will need to be re-tuned much more than most ‘light’ whistles. For example, I always keep my narrow bore burke (alluminium) warmed up, I sit on it when I’m not playing, so that it keeps its tuning, but I don’t need to do thay with my modified Feadog.
Try keeping the whistle warm in between tunes. There are a variety of options - a convenient armpit, heated pad, microwaved wheatie, etc…
are you sure it was you out of tune??
Good point. It might’ve been everyone else!
Dixon Trads are an odd beasts, IMHO.
Sound&play beautiful on their own, but they seem to be somewhat out of tune with any other whistle.
In my experience they aren’t (weren’t) compatible with tweaked Gens, Sweetones and Chieftains. Not to mention the Waltons’.
Which is kinda understandable, considering the fact that it has the longest head of them all, and quite a bore as well…
The problem with tuning in the cold is that whistles go flat and strings go sharp. Whistle tuning is a combination of breath temperature, the type of material and the hands covering the instrument.
Wood or Aluminum is better than brass for outdoor playing because of tuning.
It’s easier to blame myself, since there were more of them (3 - guitar, mandolin, stand-up bass). I’ve noticed it takes a little while for the Dixon to get in tune when playing with fiddler from the group. Once it warms up, it’s stays in tune pretty well. Fortunately it was the last outdoor community event of the season, so it shouldn’t be an issue until next year, if they invite me to play w/ them again. There’s not many opportunities in this small town for whistle players to toot in public (at least by invitation).
I almost thought of bringing along my Blackbird as a backup. Next time I"ll bring a couple extra whistles to see what works the best.
Daniel, I was looking at your cigar box mandolins today. They look nice. If I ever get some extra jingle, I may have to get one.