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Re: Hello!

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2018 2:37 pm
by DrPhill
And remember that when you cover the window and blow, indeterminate quantities of gunk will fly out of the end. Be careful with your aim.

Beginners should try for the piano-accordion, but experts should be able to hit the shakey-egg (extra points if it is moving).

Re: Hello!

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:34 am
by Tasha
Thank you all for your advice. Sadly enough, none is really working for me :sniffle:
Determined not to give up, I will try other methods.

Cheers y'all!

Re: Hello!

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 6:07 am
by pancelticpiper
two things

1) I've spent 40 years in Highland piping circles and all of us pipers know that some people are "wet blowers" and some people aren't. I don't know why, but humans differ that way. Some pipers struggle with their pipes due to their reeds always being soaking wet. It's why many pipers use Moisture Control Systems in their bags (canisters of Kitty Litter etc).

There was a fluteplayer around here years ago that, when he was playing, gobs of "pure water" would nearly continuously pour forth from the end of his flute. It was disgusting.

2) You can't simply choose to blow a whistle at any pressure you wish; each whistle only plays in tune at the exact pressure it was designed to play at. It's due to where the octaves are set. So, with my Dixon Low D, yes I get better tone out of the low register if I "fill" the whistle with strong blowing... but then the low octave plays at a pitch too high for the 2nd octave to achieve. So, the octave tuning of the Dixon (a flatter 2nd octave) forces the player to underblow the low octave, giving less volume and tone than the low octave, in isolation, is capable of, in order to keep the pitch of the low octave low enough for the 2nd octave to be able to match.

Likewise on the MK you have to blow the low octave very strongly, indeed not far from its breaking-point, in order to make it sharp enough to match the (somewhat sharp) 2nd octave.

Re: Hello!

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:28 am
by Chifmunk
Pancel- very interesting points in your post, in 2) especially. You always explain things so well, in terms I can understand. Your valuable insights lead to better understanding of how our instruments work, and of course that leads to better playing and more enjoyment in playing music. Thank you!