Many thanks to everyone who’s advised me on whistles high and low. I got my Feadog Hi-D and Howard Low-D today - what joy.
The Feadog is a bit nervous and squarky, but the Howard Low-D, well it’s just gorgeous. This from an absolute newbie I hasten to add, but I blew every note over two octaves on the Howard from the minute I picked it up. It looks like a police baton, and has holes you could stick a banana into, but heck does it play easy and sound beautiful. Seriously, I can just pick it up and play the bell note perfectly - it’s like the thing is playing itself. I’ve experimented with half-holing and slurs, and can slide and switch notes easily.
Who says the low notes are a bitch to get? This is wonderful and as easy as blowing dust off your shelves. I love the breathy, flutey sound of it, one of the main reasons I chose the Howard. £80 for a bit of brass tube with a plastic end sounds expensive, but I can see I’ll have years of fun with this!
The Faedog is a different matter, and may require some tweaking. One cup of hot water and a blob of bluetak coming up…
Sure peeplj, I won’t hack the cheap little Feadog up until I’ve tried it some more to see if it just requires careful attention from me. The chap at the instrument store says pros of all kinds walk in and squark the 'Dogs for a few moments then make them sing.
There’s such a lot going on with whistles and people, it seems to me. I just love the woody tones of my newly bought brass Howard Lo-D, and am amazed that I can already slide notes all over the place with a slip of a finger.
Maybe large holed Low-D’s are easier than tiny Hi-D’s? I don’t know, but as I thought, the big honey is the one for me right now.
Of course getting notes out of it and actually playing are two different things. I think I’ll practice in the car for a while so as not to upset birds and cats…
