I was learning the tune Si Beag Si Mor, on Cathall McConnell’s CD tutor, which has lots of upper notes in the second octave. Although they were shrill, didn’t seem damaging at the tme. I knew that third octave notes are supposed to be cause for concern in terms of hearing damage, but 2nd octave seemed pretty safe. (I have a Clarke D whistle)
A little while after practicising, my ears were starting to hurt, and now a day later they still do. Hopefully it’ll go away…But how do I learn these tunes with high notes in them without causing long-term damage? Has anyone else experienced this problem? Maybe I should go to a Low D whistle! That would probably solve this problem…
For the upper octave B I have to wear earplugs. For the upper octave A I have to have an earplug in the right ear because I spent too much time playing upper Bs without earplugs.
Another suggestion. Since you’re looking for another whistle anyway, why not get one which is fairly quiet throughout the second octave. The Burke Brass Pro Narrow Bore D is like that and probably some of the Hoovers also.
If I play in my kitchen, which is all hard surfaces,
I get lots of bounce back.
Low whistles really sound great in there because
the whole room seems to vibrate.
If I play in the room with carpets, soft seating etc,
then the sound is different, with no reverb’ at all.
When I’m just trying out a tune on whistle or practicing it, I mostly drop
the high notes an octave down until I’ve got the hang of the fingerings.
Then when you know how to play it and go back up, it sounds better.
Hope that helps, Lesl.