If one thinks one has found the perfect whistle what one has really found is the ability to compensate for whistle inconsistencies.
Compromises and whistle makers’ secret skills sort of make up some (hopefully most) of the inconsistencies of the whistle
Whistlers’ skills and secrets the rest (hopefully).
All of it is pure magic to holder and beholder.
The perfect whistle is the allusive dream of both maker and player.
But still we try.
We buy and sell
And R&D with hope and plea
And know quite well
Though good we get
There’s someone who is better yet.
Haha, good one Mack!
Don’t forget what happened to me (and is bound to have happened to others) The case where i made my first ever uilleann pipes chanter reed, in tune through both octaves, strong tone… and never to be repeated. I still can’t believe it. Must be the ultimate beginner’s luck.
I have a friend who decided to start making Native American-style flutes. His first three came out beautifully so he kept the same pattern and never varied it a bit. Named his line “Lucky Bstrd Flutes.”
[The C&F editing machine won’t let me list the full name apparently.]
In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as the perfect whistle, as there is no such thing as the perfect person.
Whistles do different things for different people, so lets be thankful that all whistles are not " Perfect " as this would only satisfy a small minority of players.
To quote Paul Lowe’s grandmother, “perfection is boring” – the little quirks in a whistle give it personality and differentiation. Some makers/models are (much) better than other and should be recognized as such, but I for one am glad there is no one perfect whistle or any consensus amongst us on that topic. To bastardize Twain (I got mine in, Steve), “it is the difference of opinion that makes Chiff board discussion topics.”
'Tis not whistles, only… Two hammer dulcimers made from the same tree, will have different timbres. Always. Neither is perfect. Pianos are all subtly different - even when sitting in the showroom at Steinway & Sons, in New York. None are perfect. Even relatively mass produced instruments sound and play differently: When I was young, I played French Horn. Finally got the bucks to buy one, and tried a half dozen, before I found ‘my’ instrument… It was not perfect… And neither was the player.
I figure that what it all means, partially depends on where one is in their musical journey. We buy whistles, we sell whistles - just like Mack says in his verse… The results after much money and many instruments change hands, is - if we are fortunate - that we find a few instruments that really suit us. And maybe one or two overall that are truly ‘our’ instruments. And we hold on to them, very tightly…
The perfect whistle always seems to be the one somebody else is playing! As you say, it’s superb musicianship which gives the illusion of perfection. Somehow when I play that same whistle it ain’t so perfect!
An old friend, a professional tuba player, whose instruments cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, says “the perfect wind instrument cannot be made.” Every instrument requires adjustment/compensations by the player.
With all whistles we’re faced with the problem of a fixed tone-production mechanism. A whistle or recorder can never do all the things a flute, clarinet, oboe, sax, trumpet etc can do, because the tone on these is produced by human musculature, almost infinitely variable. That being the case all whistles are a bundle of compromises. Add to that the fact that different players want different things from their whistle!
For me the perfect whistle would
-play a four octave range, going as low as a contrabass flute
-have the finger spacing of a C whistle
-have a full dynamic range on every note from whisper soft to loud enough to overpower ten accordions
-be able to change timbre at will
-always play in tune regardless of poor blowing, yet be capable of bending any note anywhere
-be indestructible
-float if dropped in water
-be extremely lightweight
-be small enough to fit in the pocket, but still never get lost
-look really cool, like a ‘real instrument’
-cost $10
A few years ago in some music shop I spent an hour or so noodling on something like that, a Yamaha MIDI “wind controller”.
It was pretty cool, because you could set it on “flute” setting and it was breath–sensitive. (It had a “reed” setting that recognized pressure on the sax/clarinet style mouthpiece.)
A simplified one of those, made to use whistle fingering, would be pretty cool.
Thanks for this topic and particularly your first post. That may be the best topic opener I’ve seen on C&F.
The perfect whistle had eluded me for years until I discovered, or more accurately I finally accepted, that it’s all about “horses for courses.” IMHO some whistles sound better on some tunes. Some players have something to do with it too but for me, I so far have six different high D’s that I favor in one way or another on certain tunes. They’re all perfect you know?
I’d love to see that perfect whistle pancelticpiper described.
They are getting simpler. Depends on what you think simplified means, I suppose.
The Yamaha WX5 (~$550 for the controller only) is pretty much the same product as it has been for a while, and that’s probably what you played.
The now extinct Casio midi “horns” had a recorder fingering option - still not simple system whistle fingerings.
The Akai EWIs have the flute fingering, like the Yamaha, but do not yet have a whistle fingering AFAIK (or user defined fingerings). Some creative midi mapping could solve the fingering issue. But who’s gonna sit down and do that? I don’t find the flute fingering too strange.
The EWI 4000 (~$550) has a tone generator built into the instrument. So the 4000 dispenses with the need for the outboard synthesis connection. It has a line out connection for common PA amplification. That could go wireless if you like. You can play it with wireless midi too. Look Ma no wires. But it’s still a more complex setup compared to an acoustic instrument.
The EWI USB is even cheaper (~$250ish) and simpler in that it connects to a computer via USB and can play through and virtual synthesis tone generator (of which there are scads available). A soft synth comes with the instrument but you can use your favorite as well. So it still needs a tone generator but it is much more affordable. And USB to midi is pretty much the standard OP at this point anyway. But it does nothing without the computer connection - the USB link provides power. But computers, tablets, etc. are an integral part of a lot of music these days.
I’m waiting for the perfect whistle in the form of the forthcoming Mountain Extended Range Ocarina. This instrument has been in development for a long time, but it’s expected soon. I hope.
It will have a two-octave range, and it will be durable, like all Mountain Ocarinas. Since ocarinas do not “break” to the second octave, all notes will be on the less shrill fundamental tone.
It might float, although Dymondwood is pretty dense. But if it sinks, it’ll sink slowly!
It’ll be chromatic, with overlap at the octave break.
It should be able to play most ITM for a D whistle as written or a whole tone lower, since the range will be C5 to C7. You’ll just have to get used to Boehm flute fingering for F#.
It’ll be loud enough to be heard in session play.
You’ll be able to bend notes like crazy, since ocarinas are great for this.
You can cut just about any note with any finger.
The only real drawback is, it’s not available yet.
