Hello,
Im quite new to the whistle, and i was hoping someone could give me advice on how to clean a whistle, or if you are even meant to do so. I know with other wind instruments its imperative, but how do you go about it with the penny whistle?
Thanks.
I have a piccolo rod that looks like a gun cleaning rod with a looped end. I put a patch of soft cotton in it and run it up the barrel of the whistle. Sort of like cleaning a gun.
cheers…do you bother cleaning the mouth piece as well?
Over 30 years of playing cheap tat whistles I have never cleaned the barrel of one, but I do find that old-fashioned pipe cleaners and water work fine for the mouthpiece, which can get cruddy after some years of play, and can even affect the way the whistle plays.
It can depend on the type of whistle you have. Is it metal and if so, anodized inside the barrel? Is it wood; or the type of wood that needs to be dried and or oiled, just like the wood winds you mentioned. I would say in all cases, it’s not a big deal. Cheers, Cyril.