Okay- practice, yes, and I continue to do so, but it is not the fingerings, breathing, or technique that I am having problems with- though I am still learning and working on those altogether. It is the sound- the tone- I know the tin whistle is a shrill, sharp, âtinnyâ (for lack of a better word) sounding instrument- and I have listened to many whistlers- but why does my Clarke in D sound so bad? This is particularly true with high D. I played concert flute for 7 years and wasnât that great, admittedly (it wasnât anywhere near as much fun as the whistle), but I was always told that I did have a clear, strong and steady tone. Never airy or breathy. Tone quality was my strength- so I am disappointed, to say the least, that I sound NASTY on a tin whistle. What can I do? I have picked the simplest song I can find and continuosly play it very slowly, trying to make each note sound its best and the low ones are always prettier than the higher ones, but the D fingered with only the top hole open is always horrible. Could it be the whistle? Can they be damaged by oh, say, being dropped- even if you canât see any dents? And what about the change in sound after playing for an extended period of time? Does the warmth of the metal and the buildup of moisture affect this and if so, what do you do about it?
I know I must keep practicing- but I am still puzzled by why that note is always so sour despite my best efforts to play it strongly, making sure all of the holes are sealed.
Iâm sorry you are having trouble with your playing. I started with a Clarke Celtic whistle and also played a woodwind priorâŚI played clarinet in high school (a few decades ago). Maybe you are trying to blow into it too hardâŚalso, warm up your whistle by breathing into it and grasping the metal with both hands. This will cut down on condensation and clogging. Dale has some great articles on the main site about this..how to prevent it. Try just going on the scales with a slighter breath and see if that helps.
I wish you good luck in your practicingâŚjust keep doing it and it will get better and the sound will improve! I donât think there could be anything wrong with your whistle..unless the fipple was damaged.
Thanks for posting..Iâm sure other more experienced whistlers will chime in! Please let us know how you are progressing!
Oh gosh. Hard to tell whatâs going wrong unless youâre brave enough to post a sample. Yes, there are duff whistles out there, but youâd be unlucky to pick one up as your first whistle. Some people donât like Clarke whistles much - is this a Sweetone or a Meg? Maybe a straight rather than a conical whistle would be easier for you, but thatâs pure guesswork.
Do you live by anyone who plays the whistle? The folks at your local music store might know how to play the whistle and might be able to give you some hands on feedback. You donât list a location in your profile but chances are that you probably live close to another chiffer.
Also, you just might need to learn the character of your whistle. Just because you can play one type of instrument or one particular whistle doesnât mean that there still wonât be a learning curve with this whistle too.
(I was given one of those fifes that they sell at Williamsburg, VA. Although I never had much trouble at all making flutes and other fifes make music, this particular fife is on my last nerve.)
If this is a Clarke original (conical tin body all the way, with wooden plug), try gently squeezing the windway to flatten it out a bit. I love Clarkes, but most of them out of the box have too tall of a windway, and a bit of a mash with the thumb often helps. If you mash it too far, a small screwdriver or nail file slid in the windway can push it back out a bit.
Sounds to me like youâre making exactly the sound youâre supposed to make out of a Clarkeâs.
⌠or to put it a slightly less unhelpful way: some people are fans of Clarke whistles; I, and many others, are not. They are always breathier than other makes, and I canât stand the sound they make. Having said which, I have - once - played some sort of special version of a Clarkeâs which still had that âchiffinessâ but which sounded great. Thatâs the only one I could put up with.
I would suggest - theyâre really cheap, after all - that you try a couple of others. Say, a Generation, both nickel and brass, and a Feadog. See what you think of the different sounds that these produce. Then, when you get really fed up of cheapness and nastiness, for not a helluva lot more, you could get a Dixonâs trad (for a great metal whistle sound) or - my current revelatory sound - one of Carey Parksâ great Everywhistles. No problem with the high notes there.
Good luck!
[Aficionados will note my effort to instil a proper sense of WhOAD into a potentially susceptible newbie ]
You guys arenât so bad- I donât care what everybody says about you (hehe-just kidding); anyways, the whistle I have is indeed conical, the âCeltic tinwhistleâ by Clarke in D which has a plastic mouthpiece (fipple?), so I canât alter that any- I was thinking that maybe I should try another whistle eventually, that is if I could find one. I live in Cocoa, Florida and donât know any other whistlers, unfortunately. It would definitely be great to consult with someone else in person, though- I watch PJ, the tinwhistler (his channel name is Failte) on Youtube a lot- anybody know him? Is he as awesome as I think? Anyhow, I might make a trip to a music store and see if they have any other types I could try out and if I sound any different on them, Iâll let you know. I have noticed that I sound a little better when I play faster; perhaps I am blowing too hard on each note and I will âwarm it upâ before I play from now on as well. Thanks so much, Iâm still quite excited about this instrument and I will just keep practicing!
Actually an easier way to calculate the final number of whistles is thusâŚ
What keys are you interested in. (Some of us are only interested in keys useful for a particular type of playing.. if so, your spouse should be glad). we will call this number K.
Do you have a particular prejudice in whistles? i.e. do you hate plastic whistles? Or refuse to play a whistle more expensive than X or less expensive than Y? Use this answer to calculate the number of makers out there that meet you needs. We will call this number M.
How much money is in your bank account? We will call this number $ .
So the simple equation is (K*M)/$⌠So in absence of other factors, just use this formula, and if the number is less than 50, you have obviously made a mistake somewhere .
I too, am a total newbie - about a month of learning.
I quickly discovered the advice to learn on just one whistle - a cheapie - and get to know the instrument and all its flavours. Because I am an obsessive/compulsive and whistles are relatively cheap I purchased a number of them cos I just had toâŚ
Based on this boardâs recommendations I purchased some quality cheap whistles; a few Freemans and a Dixon Trad. This has helped in the sense that I have learned the differences between whistles even though they all sound âbadâ because of my inexperience.
I have picked one main whistle (Dixon Trad) that I use as my practice whistle. I made a decision of preference based on balance of ease of high octave, ease of back to the low notes, and overall volume. Most importantly, I flushed away any sense of âmaybe I have a bad whistleâ.
Please tell us that you keep the whistles in different places, like your car, purse/backpack, sitting porch etcâŚso that there is always a whistle handy when you need one.
Please tell us that you keep the whistles in different places, like your car, purse/backpack, sitting porch etcâŚso that there is always a whistle handy when you need one.[/quote]
This is more good advice although in a few weeks in these parts it will be more like in pocket of parka or beside snow shovel.
HeeHee- No way! Iâm obsessive-compulsive, too! Could it be that the tin whistle appeals to our anxious nature in that it is both stress relieving AND producing? Actually, I ordered two to start with: the Clarke in D and the âoriginalâ Clarke in C. The C has a wooden piece in the fipple(?) and sounds a bit better if only the Irish tunes I wish to play were in that key. Hmm⌠could have yet another collection coming on⌠my husband will soon hate you all.
Weâll have to agree to disagree on this- I have seen and heard people who, after first learning an instrument, never practice yet can pick up that instrument on very rare occasions for years afterward and sound absolutely wonderful without effort. These same people can often pick up a minutely similar instrument and immediately play it- although it may not sound as good as someone who has properly learned it- they wonât sound bad, either. I count true âtalentâ as but one of the many God-given gifts. Someone without that gift can, with enough practice, eventually sound as good- but it isnât the same. It doesnât âcome naturallyâ. And I donât think someone without it could surpass the level that someone with it could- if they both put forth the same effort. But donât think that Iâm trying to discredit the virtues of practicing!
I am a firm believer that the right whistle makes a lot of difference. I canât tell you what I whole new world opened up when I got my first good whistle⌠Now I, of course, make them, and so I am even more convinced that the right whistle makes a difference.
Also there is a lot of muscle memory involved in playing a whistle right. When learning the instrument it is always good to carry it with you everywhere and play it as much as possible. if your hands hurt then you are doing something right. for a little direction and some good muscle memory building tips see my web site tutorial http://www.ethnicwind.com/tutorial.html
If you happen to see a whistle you like there I wonât feel bad either. I make an acrylic and brass high D that is very mellow and not shrill yet still pleaseantly breathy. A lot of players who havenât been playing for a long time have really liked this whistle, although you do get to see moisture build up because itâs clear. (or I could paint it for you!)
I think the basic problem is that talent is being used in two possible ways here. The first is the simple ability to quickly develop the basic skills or to recover them, that are needed to play an instrument with a basic level of competence. I do believe that some people have this⌠though I suspect that most of them who fall into the category probably play at least one instrument on a regular basis.
The second issue is the sort of talent that takes you beyond basic competence. In my experience, without exception, anyone who has truly mastered an instrument spends time practicing regularly. The practice might be attending several sessions a week.. but ultimately I suspect that they seldom let a day go by where they donât give an hour to practice.
The two sorts of talent do not necessarily overlap. I wish I could remember the article, but I remember reading that amongst classical musicians there was a direct correlation between the amount of time spent practicing and the level of achievement obtained and this correlation did not exclude prodigies.
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