A couple of weeks ago, I inadvertantly started a tempest in a teapot on the Chiff and Fipple whistle board by innocently asking if anyone had ever heard of, or played Serpent whistles which I had seen mentioned on a Celtic music newsgroup. Nobody was familiar with these whistles, but speculation about them, and their maker ran rampant, to say the least. Several people doubted that Serpent Music even existed and posed the possibility that this was some sort of a scam. That is certainly not the case. The maker of Serpent whistles, Bill Whedon, has become a welcomed member of the Chiff and Fipple community, and at my request he sent me 2 of his whistles for evaluation and review.
The two whistles I have been playing are a D in copper, and a C in molybdenum steel ( say it aloud: molybdenum. What a lovely word. But I digress).
I gotta say, these whistles are unlike anything I have ever seen. Bill, by his own admission, makes no attempt to make the prettiest whistles in the world. They display marks of the maker’s hand in the form of hammer marks, less than perfectly smooth filed surfaces, etc. This gives the Serpent whistles their own, unique rustic charm. They LOOK sort of antique- the sort of thing the local blacksmith might have made to amuse the neighborhood children.
These are pretty weighty whistles-- the copper tubing is a thicker walled variety than that of a Parkhurst. They are not tuneable, but they play pretty darned well in tune with themselves, and against my electronic tuner. Bill tells me that he is indeed working on a tuneable design for those whistlers who prefer that option. Fipple plugs are Gaboon ebony, which Bill uses for it’s resistance to swelling when wet, very nicely fitted and fixed in place with a beefy brass pin. The beak of the mouthpiece is fairly steep, rather than being very tapered. At first, I found this a bit odd feeling, but as I played the whistles a bit I forgot all about it. The fingerholes are not prefectly in line, but not enough to pose a playing problem.
Both whistles have their namesake Serpent engraved on the back side near the mouthpiece, and the copper one I received is decorated with what look like sunflowers on the front, with 2 of the fingerholes forming the center of the flowers. Above the flowers and foliage is a rather intricate Celtic knot. All of this decoration will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the engraving is nicely done, so if you fancy a fancy looking whistle, let Bill engrave one for you.
The Molybdenum steel is a bluish gray and looks pretty industrial. If Metallica showed up at a session, this is the whistle they’d bring along. Both whistles feel like they’re lacquered to prevent tarnishing-- I’ve played these over a week now with nary a finger mark. The whistles are very solidly made, and don’t need to be babied. You could throw one in your backpack and not worry about it getting damaged. Heck, you could probably run over the steel one with your car, dust it off, and play it!
Nicest surprise of all is how well these whistles play. They are of a pretty straight forward design, the sort that an aspiring whistlemaker can easily find online eg the Bloody Hand. Several years ago, I tinkered with copper whistle making, and had fair, but not terrific results: whacking a piece of plumbing pipe into a playable instrument is not as easy as it may sound. The Serpent whistles play very nicely indeed. Good solid, but not overly loud sound in both octaves. Easy, predictable octave jumps. Good cross fingered C natural ( or C whistle equivalent). The D has a bit less blowing resistance, and the sound of the C is a bit more focused. I suspect that this has to do with the individual hand voicing of the instruments, rather than a pitch difference. I find myself picking up the C whistle frequently, trying out evey tune I can think of-- I like this particular whistle a LOT.
These whistles are definitely not for eveyone. Those people who want a museum quality looking instrument, machined to exacting tolerances will not be interested. WHOA afflicted individuals, who love the entire range of looks, feels, and sounds that are available in the whistle world should definitely give the Serpent whistles a good look. I get the feeling that Bill is willing to work with the buyer, enabling them to specify the materials and type of decoration for a one of a kind whistle. These would also make a good choice for a relatively new whistler who has been playing inexpensive, mass produced whistles, and would like to dip his/her toes into the world of handmade instruments. Bill tells me that he sells a lot of these whistles to the Renaissance faire market, and I can believe it. I think that they deserve the attention of the whistle world too.
It was suggested that I, as a whistlemaker, might be less than objective about a fellow whistlemaker’s efforts, so after I play these whistles just a bit more, I am sending them on to another member of the Chiff community for his evaluation . Keep your eye out for his review.
