I have a neighbour with a new baby, so trying to be considerate, I have discovered online that I can put my whistle under my bottom lip, breathe across the top of it, and so hear the notes but disturb no one…especially the new Mum next door who might be trying to catch a few minutes precious sleep. This works really well with my Clarke Sweetone, but not so well with the Feadog.
A couple of times I drove to the side of the local park and sat in my van playing. And now I think I’ve found a quiet place in a lane nearby where I can park up and play to my hearts content.
But I’ve started wondering what other whistle players do if they have neighbours who could be disturbed. Do you still play at home and not worry? Do you drive or walk to somewhere quiet to practice? Do you use the breathing over the top of the whistle quiet playing?
I use that top breathing technique a lot when my wife is sleeping. I’ve literally stood ten feet away from her and played a tune without waking her. Our basement stairs are at the other end of the house, and whistles sound terrific in there. I test all of the whistles I make in that stairway. Just enough natural reverb. If I close the cellar doors, I can play there without disturbing my wife. We have a front porch that I can use too.
My best whistle(s) are wood, so I don’t leave them in my car for impromptu playing.
A soft furnished room, such as a bedroom, will absorb a lot of the sound.
I too, am fearful of disturbing my neighbours, but I also have the right to do what I want, within reason, so I only play for short periods, 10 ~ 20 mins at a time, & usually in the afternoon, when most people are out, hopefully.
I have been considering going to a local park, but most people go there for peace & quiet, so I’m not sure about that yet, & as I don’t really know any tunes, it could be annoying practicing over & over the same tune or two.
That exactly how I feel. There’s an old pit lane only a street away from here that would be ideal, but it’s walking only and, as an elderly female it isn’t one of the safest places to be alone. The park seems the favourite place but Im still trying to think of other suitable places.
I have an arduino board and a few electronic part, the idea being to make a “silent whistle” that you could use with headphones. So far it’s defeating my extremely limited programming skills.
I feel like the various methods of muting the whistle compromise the sound too much. I try to practice when no one else is home or I hole up in the basement. Tonight, for example, my wife and daughter will both be away and I have a good long practice agenda all planned out. I also have a whistle in the car and practice at traffic lights and in parking lots
I think I need to explore the car park thing. Most evenings they would be empty, ideal for me to give both whistles a good run through. I do love the full volume sound, so need to get somewhere sorted out for an hour each evening, while maybe playing the quiet way at home
Parks whistles come with a “tone ring,” quite a clever idea really, that you can turn to change the timbre or quiet the whistle. Its; a very simple thing but effective: the whistle can go from a very smooth and open sort of recorderish sound to a more airy and breathy, traditional whistle sound. If you close up the windway nearly all the way it gets very quiet although the second octave is hard to blow.
They aren’t expensive but the one I got needed a fair amount of finish work from me–the mouthpiece end was 3d printed and needed to be sanded smooth
One author says he used to play under an overpass - there was so much traffic noise, he writes, that one could have practiced highland pipes without disturbing anyone. I’m lucky, my nearest neighbours are at 200 m - and my cockerels make a lot more noise than a whistle (or any other instrument).
I practice in the living room while my wife practices her accordion in the bedroom–there are 4 doors in between. Some songs we also play together after I bought her a songbook with Irish trad for accordion. Neighbors are no problem. Enough space between the houses and they have soundproof windows as they are both professional musicians and don’t want to disturb anyone while playing–happy coincidence.
I primarily practice in my garage. It has really good acoustics for some reason and if the door is shut then it’s fairly sound proof. On the other hand, if the bay door is open it acts like an amphitheater. So far my neighbors are cool with it. Otherwise I play in the car. I keep a whistle in every glove box.
One of the reasons I eventually decided to buy a house and not an apartment (the price difference wasn’t much) was in order to not have to worry about the neighbours. Among other factors, but in the end the two points that tipped it: A little more space, and being able to practice or play whenever I wish (with wife and friends).
Im in a 1890s built cottage and the wall between my neighbour and myself are one single brick thick. I can hear her talking or the baby crying. I don’t feel I can play at a normal level in the house. I envy people like yourself who can
I had sat in my van on the drive…then discovered the old lady in a bungalow next to me isn’t well and her bedroom window is near to my drive. So that’s another good idea gone till she is better.
I’ve considered for a long time selling my house and having a detached bungalow built on my land. I’ve kept putting it off for various reasons…and now it might be playing the whistle that makes me do it
