Sometimes they just don't get it

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The_walrus0
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Re: Sometimes they just don't get it

Post by The_walrus0 »

When I started fiddling with a Clarke Original about two months ago I definitely was against the idea of an all plastic whistle. I thought for sure it would sound ridiculous. I even was put off by the plastic fipple, like Katharine.

Now that I've heard it played by more than just a professional musician I know that is not the case and my Susato Kildare should be hear today or tomorrow so I can see for myself!

Anyways, I guess I tend to get sucked into the "this is how they used to do it and this is how it should always be done because it's traditional!" kind of thinking. I like to tell myself I don't but there's always that thought.

But then I remember how awesome the electric guitar is and I shut that thought up. :P

Anyways, my point is that we're humans and we're always moving forward. Sometimes, yes, the traditional way is just as good or even better. Like homemade soup instead of canned soup, or riding your bike down to the park instead of driving. However, some things just aren't that way.

I am only twenty years old though so someday when whistles are made of moon matter and have gadgets in them I might have a different stance. :D
"Holding onto anger is like holding onto a hot coal with the intention of throwing it at someone. You are the one who gets burned."
- Not sure, but it wasn't me! A good quote to live by.
AvienMael
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Re: Sometimes they just don't get it

Post by AvienMael »

For some craftsmen, the medium is everything. You cannot put your soul into a piece of work when using an injection molder... The somewhat unpredictable nature of woods presents the craftsman with a particular challenge not found when working with plastic... although machining some plastics can be every bit as rewarding, it is not the same, especially when the piece turns out exceptionally well.

But if it's whistles we're focused on in this discussion, then what exactly is traditional? The Gen with the plastic head? The Gen that was a rolled tin flute? Is it wooden then? Is it the various shards of clay and fragments of bone preserved in museums? Whistles and the materials they are made from have always been in a state of constant evolution. Tradition then, can only be expressed as it relates to an era. Beware your choice of whistle, it may date you. :wink:

Perhaps this is a matter that deserves some consideration as to what is most environmentally responsible... and yet I think that the materials some of our whistles are made from would endure whether they were being fabricated into whistles or not... or would someone argue that a quality wooden instrument would likely be repaired if broken, whereas plastic would not/could not be? Is there less impact caused by smelting brass -vs.- the waste from synthetic polymers? Tell me, just how much fossil fuel do we burn to recycle a single sheet of paper or ounce of steel?

Frankly, nearly everything you buy today is mass-produced garbage that has been intentionally engineered to be(come) garbage. If it's hand made, it's probably better, regardless of what it's made from.

Random thoughts without any real point, I suppose...
Playing, not paying.
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