After I’ve been playing either one of my whistles for a while, it starts to sound screechy and out of tune. Do cheap whistles get too warm and moist from continuous playing, or is it just me (fingers getting tired, sloppy breath control, etc.)? If I put it down for a few minutes and then start playing again, it’s fine for a while, but that could be explained by either phenomenon.
Are you clearing the windway by covering the window and blowing really heard? Even if the whistle doesn’t actually clog, some “moisture” build-up in the windway can make the sound thin & screechy, and unstable.
Whenever you blow through the windway to clear it, tap the window into your palm to clear small drops from the fipple plug just below the airway. Small drops there will mess up the air stream and sound, also. (But, you knew that.)
Tony
What they said.
Most whistles clog with moisture after playing a while, and it’s often worse with expensive ones. Whistles with metal mouthpieces are often even worse. Clarke Originals and shaws with woodblocks in the mouthpieces seem less vulnerable, but probably because the wood is absorbing some of the moisture, and the windway is usually larger.
Even humble Feadogs and Generations will clog, but a quick blow/shake/wipe soon clears it.