Chiff and Fipple Forums

Or, the difference between a whistle tone and recorder tone.
Basically if I play my aulos soprano I get a weird hissing in my ears afterwards. (I got the same after playing ocarina)
But I don't get it after playing my D whistle, which is much brighter. The soprano seems shrill, the whistle doesn't, and yet they're both in the same octave range. I made a recording of the two, one after the other, both playing the same notes. To me the recorder sounds more 'woody', yet it has this weird effect on my ears. Is it to do with the conical bore introducing overtones?

Here are the two side by side playing a part of the Skye boat song

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfgr6aylC7Y/

The hissing 'sounds' like classic tinnitus. Do you have this? Is it in one ear only or both?

I worry a bit about my soprano recorder exacerbating the hearing loss that I have in the high registers. anyone know anything about this?

jeffrey armbruster wrote:The hissing 'sounds' like classic tinnitus. Do you have this? Is it in one ear only or both?

I worry a bit about my soprano recorder exacerbating the hearing loss that I have in the high registers. anyone know anything about this?

I don't have tinitus no. It doesnt happen when playing the flute I just got or my alto recorder.

It happens to me too when playing transverse alto ocarinas without earplugs. Most simply have too much soundpressure. I think it's not just the frequency. Can't play most of my alto ocarinas anymore because of that. Funny thing though -- I tested my hearing with an app that can produce sounds at different frequencies and my hearing is still much better than that of my wife and she never played a loud instrument or anything (I played eletric guitar when younger and went to clubs 3 or 4 times a week in my 20s -- thought that would have ruined my hearing much more but it seems it didn't). Just be careful -- stop playing the instruments that hurt your ears or use earplugs. It's not worth it ruining your ears. I stopped playing almost all my ocarinas except for a few which don't have that effect. And I'm careful with the whistles, too.

Sedi wrote:Just be careful -- stop playing the instruments that hurt your ears or use earplugs. It's not worth it ruining your ears.

This.

Sticking with my alto, its sweeter. And easier to play.