Tell us something.: I am a longtime piper, and have added in the few years a bunch of Irish whistles and smallpipes to my collection. Looking for new instruments and like-minded people!
bruce.b wrote: About the same air consumption or less than the MK would be nice.
What I don't know is if the resistance of a whistle can get to the level of a Scottish practice chanter or, I am told, the oboe, where you take breaths not to keep the instrument going but to keep yourself going! And exhale to clear your lungs of stale unused air before you breathe in.
Very true! With some air-efficient whistles I find I almost want to bleed air out the side of my mouth so I can get new oxygen. If anything, I'd rather have a more inefficient whistle because I can always manage my breath control and pauses, whereas I hate the feeling of slowly choking because I can't exhale. The MK mezzo A takes a lot more air but I don't mind that considering the great octave balance and tone.
psoutowood wrote:whereas I hate the feeling of slowly choking because I can't exhale.
Yup, agreed. That is because of carbon dioxide building up in the bloodstream, which triggers the breathing reflex. On whistles that take very little air, you can actually play longer phrases when simultaneously exhaling through the nose while playing, because it will reduce the carbon dioxide in the bloodstream. No joke. It actually works.
