DrPhill wrote:
(1) Tape over the highest open hole. Can you get a note? One will do. . . .
(2) Goto (1)
Welcome ddp !
I started whistling almost 20 years ago. Have loved every minute of it !
I'd like to 2nd the suggestion of taping. Guaranteed hole closure. I'd tape them all. Then, experiment with breath pressure.
I have an A whistle (very close to Bb). I find the lower octave has to be *very* gently blown. The 2nd needs a good push. When I say *very* gently, I mean "the candle won't go out" ! It's a soft, quiet note, but it's there.
ddp wrote:
HOWEVER, . . .. They are not even notes, they are more of screams and other horrible stuff. . . . . . . Instead of a clear point, there is a gray area of instability and secondary sounds till it reaches somewhere more stable but I have no idea if that place is actually the second octave.
1) I call them "screeches". When I get screeches, it's always incomplete closure.
2) "gray area of instability . . ." Yup. The breath region between the 2 octaves is filled with dragons+demons. One of the tricks to whistling is hitting the right breath for any given note in either octave. You get used to it. You learn to trust your ears.
Do you play oboe ? I can't imagine any comparison between a double-reed instrument and a whistle. I'm guessing the double-reed takes *much* more pressure.
And, of course, I've found *huge* differences in breath requirements between different brands and keys, breath being both pressure and flow rate.
Good luck !
trill