Clogging relief

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retired
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Clogging relief

Post by retired »

For some time I've had clogging problems with all my whistles regardless of material or shape of mouthpiece. Tried changing my technique, toothpaste, soapy water solution and nothing really resolved my problem, so I just did the best I could with it but at times it's been very frustrating. And then recently I remember reading about a player that sucked the condensation back instead of blowing it out and decided to try it. I washed all my whistles thoroughly to get rid of the soapy layer and gave it a try and son of a gun it 's working for me better than any other approach. Now I've worked it into my breathing pattern and I'm delighted with the results. Wish it hadn't taken so long to occur to me to try it.
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ytliek
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Re: Clogging relief

Post by ytliek »

Good that you found a way to prevent and lessen the clogging in whistling. Some people are just prone to be wet blowers no matter what efforts are utilized with whistles. I'm a wet blower initially and then dry out somewhat while the longer playing, but, I'd still consider myself on the wet blowing side. Living here in the northeast US the temperature changes are fluctuating and whistle playing gets influenced by the temps changing and perhaps by the whistle material.
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stiofan
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Tell us something.: I've been a C&Fer since 2003. Currently playing wooden flute & (mainly low) whistles, along with the bowed dulcimer.
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Re: Clogging relief

Post by stiofan »

That technique has come up in a few discussions on this forum over the years (search 'sucking' in this forum and you can read them all). As a fairly wet player myself, I have the same issue, but try to rely on clearing the windway prior to playing, along with using the toothpaste & duponol method. Even whistles with a more spacious windway height (like the Setanta I bought from you) can prove clog-prone to me because of the moisture my mouth naturally puts out. I'm glad you've found a solution, and it's working for you.
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