Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hello. I'm a lapsed learner from way back. Life and stuff got in the way, and I put the whistle down and forgot about it. Now I'm back!

One of the reasons I put the whistle down was because I live in a big house with lots of people and they all work hard and need quiet time to themselves, and I didn't feel able to disturb that time with my discordant warblings (pun intended) and screechings, and I couldn't find anywhere else to practice. There was a shed that I thought about sound-proofing, but it's so full of "useful stuff" that I can't fit in it, never mind add six inches of foam to the walls!

But recently I came across CutiePie's video review of the Warbl and started wondering...

So, my question: Is it a good bet for a beginner? Or is this something that only an advanced player should be considering?

Bear in mind that when I say beginner, you may assume total rank noob. Whatever I learned in the beginning is six years old and long forgotten!

The idea is that I would learn on the Warbl, then be able to pick up a whistle and not make other people's ears bleed. And then I would have the Warbl to play around with, afterwards, if I started getting into the software side of things.

Disclaimer
Time is a wonderful thing: it grants perspective. I never realised how silly my username was when I first registered, here. I'd like to assure everyone that the potentially scandalous nature of it was not, in fact, intended! I have dogs, you see, and when grasping for yet another username on yet another forum, tend to default to sticking a canine reference in the name. I do not habitually harass women on the street... just to be clear! Unlike my dogs, who will follow anything...

The Warbl has been a practical means for me to learn new tunes late at night when the family is asleep BUT it's no shortcut to learning the breath control you need for a regular whistle. In fact you might pick up some bad habits since you don't need to adjust your breath the same way to bring the instrument in tune.

That said, my Warbl has been a fine instrument in its own way and a lot of fun. I would not discourage you from a purchase, but don't expect a seamless crossover.

It's great for quiet/silent practice and learning tunes, but as mentioned it doesn't quite handle the same as a whistle It's very adjustable and you can set the amount of breath required to jump octaves. It's good for developing clean fingering. I think it's a marvelous tool.

swizzlestick wrote:... you might pick up some bad habits since you don't need to adjust your breath the same way to bring the instrument in tune.

Thanks for your reply. PB+J mentions that it's possible to adjust the amount of breath required. Do you think this feature could be used to reduce the chances of developing bad habits?

Sure, but you would want to match the real whistle your playing. You can also adjust the parameter of breath control over pitch.

If you go to the website you can see the configuration tool and the parameters it lets you control

Again, I don't want to discourage you from getting a Warbl. It may be just what you need to get in enough practice time.

Think about it like a flight simulator. You can learn an amazing amount about flying on a simulator, but you need air time get comfortable with the airplane. I have no doubt you can transition from Warbl to a real whistle, but ideally you should play both in parallel when possible.

By the way, I recommend replacing the Warbl mouthpiece with the head from a Generation Bb whistle for a more whistle like feel.

Thanks, guys!

I just received one of the new mouthpieces that are now shipping with the Warbl. Much better than the old tube mouthpiece I had and the air flow is a bit closer to most real whistles.

It also has a clever way of redirecting most of the moisture down and out of a vent at the back.

I was using a Generation Bb mouthpiece for a more whistle like feel, but this is a big improvement. I strongly recommend it unless you are only using the Warbl in bagpipe mode.