Chiff and Fipple Forums

I've just been told about a flute that might have been lying in an attic for 30 or 40 years unplayed. I've heard that they can get so dry that they will easily crack if you try to play them. Is there any standard method of getting a long-unplayed flute back into playable condition? Maybe leave it in...

When I saw the subject line I thought at first that this was the whistle equivalent of an air guitar. I had this picture of the closed eyes, the intense expression and the fingers fluttering in clear air. On an allied subject, have you noticed that if you slap your fingers down hard enough you can m...

I'm firmly in favour of the learning by ear, and there are several reasons: 1. You have a model in your head of what the tune is supposed to sound like, against which you can judge your own efforts 2. You pick up all sorts of information about rhythm and emphasis (and even breathing) that just doesn...

I wonder if anybody has a similar experience to mine: I'm a left-handed whistle and wooden flute player (not left-handed in anything else, I just put the wrong hand at the top and never noticed until it was too late) Last year I was trying out a flute that had been cut so that it could only be blown...

I looked at the picture of Norman Dannatt's whistles and, even though it is straight rather than tapered, it's clearly a very similar instrument. I've had the fipple covered with Sellotape for a while now, but it's never possible to cover it all because it starts to block the airway. It might have t...

I have to put in a personal plug for 'Hibernia obscura' which is one of the streaming radio stations on live365.com. The station plays nothing but old Irish 78s. It isn't only instrumental 78s - there are a lot of old Irish tenor recordings too - but if you want to feel like you're listening to the ...

I've got a lovely old brass whistle that I found in a junk shop about 25 years ago. I think it's from about 1900 and it's my favourite to play. The only reason it doesn't get played more is that it's in the key of B so is no good for sessions. It's got a grey metal fipple (very heavy) which disturbs...