“The perfect busker’s whistle?”
Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 4:00 pm
So says the copy for the “mezzo” (high) D whistle on the Chieftain/Kerry website. Today, I put that to the test.
Admittedly, this is a wholly unscientific experiment. But since I like to busk, I figured I’d take a chance on a whistle I could leave in the car (all-metal construction), busk on, and maybe even fend off aggressive undesirables with if it came to it (seriously, this could be used as a weapon).
I took it out to Boston Common this afternoon, a lovely day with plenty of people around thanks to the Pride parade. I’ve tried to busk there with my Killarney I the past, but the sound gets swallowed up since it’s all completely open air. The first octave is all but inaudible, and while the second octave does carry better, it is likewise hard to hear even a few steps away. It’s ironic, because what pushed me over the edge to buy a Killarney was the lovely sound a busker got out of it in Dublin, but she had the walls of a nice narrow pedestrian street to bounce her sound off of.
Anyway, back to the Chieftain. It has a much, much wider bore than the average D whistle, and is therefore much, much louder. The first octave in particular is beautiful, nice and round with enough chiff to avoid the recordery sound that Susatos (the other common “loud whistle”) are famous for. Because of the enormous amounts of breath it takes to play, you have quite a bit of leeway when it comes to fine-tuning each note, but it doesn’t need much of that anyway as the intonation seems spot on (to just temperament, so it looks slightly off in spots on your standard guitar tuner).
Did I mention the breath? Holy Jesus, Mary, and Joseph this takes a lot of air! As a flute player, I always feel like I have get rid of excess breath when I’m playing my Killarney. This whistle, on the other hand, takes just about all I’ve got and more. The second octave in particular is tricky, and quite honestly I haven’t been able to consistently hit the high B. I’m sure it’ll come with some time spent playing, though I wouldn’t recommend this whistle to anyone with breathing problems or to beginners starting out.
Because of the issues controlling the top of the second octave, I stuck mainly to tunes that hit high G and below. This cut out a good few jigs, reels, hornpipes, etc., but I soon found that they were no great loss. People seemed to respond much more to waltzes, airs, and songs (Ook Pik, the Banks of the Bann, Dublin Airport, Ar Éireann, etc.).
Overall, I was very pleased with how the whistle sounded and handled. If I can get the top notes under control, it would open up a lot more possibilities, but the real sweet spot in this whistle is the first octave. I ended up switching so many tunes that I play in G down to D to take advantage of that sweet spot, and the passers-by seemed to agree with that decision.
I would absolutely not recommend this whistle for playing in a session or really anywhere indoors. The second octave in particular is just too damn loud, and there’s not much play up top to try to finesse or soften the sound. Also, as I mentioned before, the whistle takes a lot of breath. I’ve been playing whistle for 5 years, flute for 4, and I feel like a beginner again, running out of breath in the middle of phrases I normally fly through. I haven’t had the whistle very long at all, so I’ll get used to it, but it would make a tough beginning instrument.
One last strange thing to mention is that the tuning slide gives a remarkable range. Pushed all the way in, it’s practically an Eb whistle, while pulled out it’s almost a full tone flatter. Intonation is best right in the middle in the indicated key of D, but I was surprised by just how far sharp/flat I could push it.
All in all, a lovely day spent outside in lovely weather. Takings weren’t bad either, $20 in an hour and a half. Could do better singing and playing my banjo, but after a morning of public radio pledge driving my voice was a little hoarse.
So, the “perfect busker’s whistle?” I don’t think perfect, but I do think that it was made to be played outside. So much so that I think it’d be better not to bring it in!
Admittedly, this is a wholly unscientific experiment. But since I like to busk, I figured I’d take a chance on a whistle I could leave in the car (all-metal construction), busk on, and maybe even fend off aggressive undesirables with if it came to it (seriously, this could be used as a weapon).
I took it out to Boston Common this afternoon, a lovely day with plenty of people around thanks to the Pride parade. I’ve tried to busk there with my Killarney I the past, but the sound gets swallowed up since it’s all completely open air. The first octave is all but inaudible, and while the second octave does carry better, it is likewise hard to hear even a few steps away. It’s ironic, because what pushed me over the edge to buy a Killarney was the lovely sound a busker got out of it in Dublin, but she had the walls of a nice narrow pedestrian street to bounce her sound off of.
Anyway, back to the Chieftain. It has a much, much wider bore than the average D whistle, and is therefore much, much louder. The first octave in particular is beautiful, nice and round with enough chiff to avoid the recordery sound that Susatos (the other common “loud whistle”) are famous for. Because of the enormous amounts of breath it takes to play, you have quite a bit of leeway when it comes to fine-tuning each note, but it doesn’t need much of that anyway as the intonation seems spot on (to just temperament, so it looks slightly off in spots on your standard guitar tuner).
Did I mention the breath? Holy Jesus, Mary, and Joseph this takes a lot of air! As a flute player, I always feel like I have get rid of excess breath when I’m playing my Killarney. This whistle, on the other hand, takes just about all I’ve got and more. The second octave in particular is tricky, and quite honestly I haven’t been able to consistently hit the high B. I’m sure it’ll come with some time spent playing, though I wouldn’t recommend this whistle to anyone with breathing problems or to beginners starting out.
Because of the issues controlling the top of the second octave, I stuck mainly to tunes that hit high G and below. This cut out a good few jigs, reels, hornpipes, etc., but I soon found that they were no great loss. People seemed to respond much more to waltzes, airs, and songs (Ook Pik, the Banks of the Bann, Dublin Airport, Ar Éireann, etc.).
Overall, I was very pleased with how the whistle sounded and handled. If I can get the top notes under control, it would open up a lot more possibilities, but the real sweet spot in this whistle is the first octave. I ended up switching so many tunes that I play in G down to D to take advantage of that sweet spot, and the passers-by seemed to agree with that decision.
I would absolutely not recommend this whistle for playing in a session or really anywhere indoors. The second octave in particular is just too damn loud, and there’s not much play up top to try to finesse or soften the sound. Also, as I mentioned before, the whistle takes a lot of breath. I’ve been playing whistle for 5 years, flute for 4, and I feel like a beginner again, running out of breath in the middle of phrases I normally fly through. I haven’t had the whistle very long at all, so I’ll get used to it, but it would make a tough beginning instrument.
One last strange thing to mention is that the tuning slide gives a remarkable range. Pushed all the way in, it’s practically an Eb whistle, while pulled out it’s almost a full tone flatter. Intonation is best right in the middle in the indicated key of D, but I was surprised by just how far sharp/flat I could push it.
All in all, a lovely day spent outside in lovely weather. Takings weren’t bad either, $20 in an hour and a half. Could do better singing and playing my banjo, but after a morning of public radio pledge driving my voice was a little hoarse.
So, the “perfect busker’s whistle?” I don’t think perfect, but I do think that it was made to be played outside. So much so that I think it’d be better not to bring it in!