Tell us something.: In an effort to ease from lurker to forum member; I'm hoping that this elite gang of whistlers will help this very green player to advance to the next stage. My current stage is slightly below novice and is only permitted in the garage like the dog I am. Oh yah, not a robot.
A comment from Pancelticpiper about playing his quietest whistle at the farthest reaches of his house got me thinking about how people are coping with playing at home when their significant other is usually at work or away but is now always around. I'm fortunate enough to have a heated garage full of hot rods and cool stuff where I play every day and no one is the wiser.
Yesterday I decided to take the seven minute drive to Lakeside Park on Kootenay Lake and played for an hour or so to the ducks and geese. Really nice to get out, tough crowd though.
Nice Hohner!
My wife and I both work from home (she for 7 yrs now and myself for 5) so we literally spend almost every minute of every day together. But luckily the house is big enough, when someone wants to practice his instrument (she plays accordion) without the other one hearing it, it is easily done. I can shut 4 doors between the study and the living room and happily honk away on my flute (or play the whistle) to my heart's content.
Sigh. All the parks, beaches, and conservation areas around here are closed because they were drawing crowds who weren't respecting distancing. Just when we could really use more space, we have a lot less. We've got a bit of room out the back, so we're better off than most.
A number of state parks in Wisconsin are closed as is the Lakefront Park in Chicago due to large crowds when the weather improved. I get it that people are feeling cooped up, but we do have to be careful. It looks like you have a nice socially distant spot there Polara Pat. I hope it stays sparcely attended so you can enjoy it.
Tell us something.: In an effort to ease from lurker to forum member; I'm hoping that this elite gang of whistlers will help this very green player to advance to the next stage. My current stage is slightly below novice and is only permitted in the garage like the dog I am. Oh yah, not a robot.
busterbill wrote:A number of state parks in Wisconsin are closed as is the Lakefront Park in Chicago due to large crowds when the weather improved. I get it that people are feeling cooped up, but we do have to be careful. It looks like you have a nice socially distant spot there Polara Pat. I hope it stays sparcely attended so you can enjoy it.
Our town is pretty small and people here are reasonably respectful about distancing themselves. Grocery stores are a whole other issue. Provincial parks just closed the other day but we have tons of accessible waterfront to allow everyone who wants to enjoy the spring weather with the faintest sound of ITM coming from the back of an old Cherokee.hah
Tell us something.: I'm a historian and the author of "The Beat Cop:Chicago's Chief O'Neill and the Creation of Irish Music," published by the University of Chicago in 2022. I live in Arlington VA and play the flute sincerely but not well
I'm finding it very difficult to get in as much practice as I want. Normally I have a lot of time at home alone and can work on phrases over and over and over, but with people in the house I'm acutely aware of how annoying that is to listen to, and I've actually been playing less since the virus. It's been one of the worst aspects of the virus lockdown, fortunately I guess.
Tell us something.: Kickbiker - at over 70! :lol: .................................................................... ....................................................................
Living on the back of beyond means there are no neighbours to worry about. My wife is in the backroom, working from home, unaffected by any noise I may produce. The weather has been fine, I have sat outside playing the whistle but mostly keep it in house. Less going out for supplies, no walks by the sea or a quick dash to the Cliffs of Moher to walk the edge or go up Mullaghmore for a few hours. That's a bit of a shame but being out in the country we can walk 'up the mountain' or down the road and hardly see a soul about. Other than that we try and keep going as much as normal as we can, with the luxury of having private space around us.
I'm lucky to be cat-sitting at my old house, which is so old and tiny it was too small for the two of us, but it's perfect for just one. My ex-roomie is back on the East Coast where his elderly parents are not in good health, so he decided to stay there in case air travel gets shut down. So I can whistle away day or night, sweet!
I've missed the kitties a lot, so it's lovely being back here. I call it Cat Spa because it has a delightful huge old claw-foot bathtub for Epsom salt baths.
It's close to the waterfront for permissible masked walks, but very close to downtown that there's noplace for secluded whistling. So the noisemakers stay at home.
Tell us something.: In an effort to ease from lurker to forum member; I'm hoping that this elite gang of whistlers will help this very green player to advance to the next stage. My current stage is slightly below novice and is only permitted in the garage like the dog I am. Oh yah, not a robot.
squidgirl wrote:I'm lucky to be cat-sitting at my old house, which is so old and tiny it was too small for the two of us, but it's perfect for just one. My ex-roomie is back on the East Coast where his elderly parents are not in good health, so he decided to stay there in case air travel gets shut down. So I can whistle away day or night, sweet!
I've missed the kitties a lot, so it's lovely being back here. I call it Cat Spa because it has a delightful huge old claw-foot bathtub for Epsom salt baths.
It's close to the waterfront for permissible masked walks, but very close to downtown that there's noplace for secluded whistling. So the noisemakers stay at home.
Sounds lovely. The waterfall walk sounds ideal, I have yet to try whistling through my mask. Hmmm
fatmac wrote:Me too, don't want to annoy the neighbours, (thin walls on these properties), so practicing has been severely curtailed.
I've got a house full of adult children who have their odd sleep schedules. Which is nice since it provides alone time for everyone sometime. So I have pulled out my quietest whistle when I have played. I just picked it up again after a few weeks of OMG seismic shock at the state of things. My quietest whistle is an old sweetone. There are lots of posts regarding quiet whistles if money allows a purchase at this time.
One way to make a loud whistle quieter is to put a bit of tape over the mouthpiece.
IMG_0280 by Pat McInnis, on Flickr
IMG_0281 by Pat McInnis, on Flickr
