Hello! I’ve been playing the pennywhistle for a little more than a week. I am a using Living Music from the Heart 2 curriculum (no affiliation) and the kit came with a historical style tin penny whistle like this: http://www.libertybellshop.com/tin-penny-whistle.html
I think I’m coming along pretty well, and the whistle sounded pretty good until today - about the 8th or 10th day. Today I can’t play low d or e - it just squeaks. I tried cleaning it out with a cleaning stick and bit of rag and I also tried warming it up. Could there be something with the wooden fipple? I’ve been practicing several times per day, and this is the first time these notes have been airy, squeaky, and almost non-existant. I hope that’s a good description. Before this d & e were low and mellow sounding and actually sounded less airy than my higher notes. We live in PA where it is really hot and muggy, so the air condition has been running a lot but not any more so today than the last 10 days. Is there something else that would make these two notes suddenly go funny? (I only know high d, b, a, g, e & so far, LOL.)
If it were not so hot and muggy - it’s hot and muggy here in the UK at present - I would suggest warming up the whistle. Just blow gently down the wrong end, or cover the windway hole as you blow down the regular end.
That yoke looks like a Clark knockoff. Does it have a seam down the back? I’d have a close look at that if it did.
Not to discourage you, but is it possible you aren’t covering the holes properly? Once you get your eye in and relax, it is easy to neglect the holes covered by the third finger of each hand. Waggle them about and see if that makes a difference. Most of the squeaks that beginners encounter do seem to be caused by a failure to cover the holes completely. It’s not as easy as it looks, and does take practice.
Hot and muggy… come visit South Carolina sometime.
Anyway, not to be harsh, but if you’re enjoying learning and you might stick with it, then do yourself a favor and order a decent whistle. I had one of those like in your link and it was pretty much useless.
If I was going to guess at troubleshooting, I’d guess that either the wooden fipple block moved on you, or the ultra-porous wood they make them from took on moisture and swelled out of shape.
I bet my fingering is indeed slipping, and that I’m getting careless as I’m getting better at reading music. I made an effort to be very careful with my fingering (and my posture) this morning and it sounded better. Thank you for that good advice - that is something to stay aware of!
I noticed that I have to moderate the blowing for those lower notes - the high ones take a lot of breath. I’ll work on that, as well.
The whistle does have a seam up the back - would some duct tape help to make sure it’s tightly sealed? (Sorry if that’s a lame question and you are hitting your head on your desk right now.) My husband wondered if the wood swelled, as it seemed to sound good at first but after 20-30 minutes or so the sound changes.
I really had no idea that I would enjoy it so much when I ordered the kit. My goal was to learn well enough to teach my child, but I find I enjoy this tremendously and pick up the whistle at any spare moment. My plan was to persevere with the cheap whistle until I got through all the lessons, then reward myself with a better one. However, if this is what I’m in for with the current whistle, I might just pop over to the local music store and get one of the $10 Generations they carry for the remainder of the lessons in this book. Would that help, do you think?
Wow - my lungs are getting a work out, too! You all must have excellent lung capacity!
A $10 Generation will be a 500% improvement over what you have. Be aware that you need to loosen the head under hot water so that you can tune it, and you might need to clean up various edges due to the casting process.
Even better though, for not much more money, would be to get a whistle that Jerry Freeman has “tweaked.”
You can click on the individual whistles to read about the changes. Basically, he’s spent a lot of time figuring out how to make cheap whistles sound better. He also addresses quality control issues (like that excess plastic, or heads jammed on too far).
Oh, and yeah, if the sound is notably different after 20 minutes something’s wrong. You could set the thing on a sunny window to dry out, and then coat the end grain with nail polish or 2-part epoxy if you have it. But the quality of mine was so poor I just tossed it out.
I had one of those whistles once. The breath requirement was high enough to make it almost unplayable. I agree that you’d be better off getting a Freeman whistle, or maybe a Dixon Trad.
…or you could make your own, like I do. Snr Gonzato’s Low Tech Whistle Site!
This plunges you into the murky world of cork-grease, and how to stop wooden fipples getting soggy. (Or at least, too soggy).
If your fingering has improved and you’re getting those low notes, don’t worry about the seam at the back of your whistle.
Thank you for the wonderful replies. I’m very much a newbie, and I really appreciate all of your links and information. Thank you so so much.
Since I was near the music shop today, I stopped in to see what they had. They had the $10 Generation as well as $3 Dixie plastic whistles. I bought both (the one for me and other for my daughter) and I didn’t have the nerve to try them in the store before I bought them. (Though I think you can, because they seemed to have a “return” basket with some misc. whistles in it, as though they had been played.)
I’m not too happy with the Generation (or my playing of it, I should say.) I think I’m going to put the Generation away until I’m better, because it really sounded bad - shrill and so loud that it hurt my ears, and it was harder for me to finger properly. It’s much slimmer than the cheap tin one I have, and takes much less breath, but I actually had a head ache after going through my (very small) repertoire of beginner songs. I put it away and came back to it a couple of times today, but it was unpleasant to listen to. The plastic Dixie actually sounded better - the notes are more mellow, less shrill, and didn’t hurt our ears. What does that mean, I wonder? I really don’t want to play a blue plastic Dixie whistle! However the tin one is of pretty poor quality and takes a ton of air, but the Generation is really harsh and shrill.
Are there whistles that are not as shrill and LOUD as the Generation, but easier to play than the cheapy tin one that came in my kit? I bet it’s hard to buy them online, especially for people who have no idea what they’re doing - like me. How do you know what to do?
Thank you again for your patience and kindness! I REALLY appreciate it!
And, I’m still have a blast learning the penny whistle. Making music is really magical - even simple, squeaky, amateur music! I’m actually making music and reading notes. It’s amazing!
If your Generation is really loud and shrill it sounds to me like you are overblowing into the second and third octave. Blow very gently for the first octave. It shouldn’t be as shrill or loud as you suggest. A Generation should be much much better than the one you have been using so far.
Hi, I’m still fairly new to tin whistle as well (but I played the recorder for 10 years or so as a child, which helps to some extent). I started on a Bb Generation which is lovely, but decided that I needed a D as it’s the most useful tuning. I tried out all the high D whistles (loads!) in our local folk music shop, and settled on a tuneable Tony Dixon, because it sounds great but is really easy to play, and feels just right in every way.
It’s a very personal thing though… I dislike the feel of the wooden fipple, and found the metal mouthpieces hard to get on with too. You really need to try them out to find what suits you, but it is awkward to do that when you’re not a confident player!!!
I think what it means is you don’t really care for the sound of a tin whistle
That’s OK. I don’t either. But here’s a neat trick:
Get an index card. Cut a strip off it 1/8" wide. Cut it maybe an inch long. Fold it into a V. Now feed the one folded over end through the opening that the sound comes out of, with the point of the V pointed back to where you blow into. Pull the crotch of the V tight to the point of the blade. Congradulations, you have made a mute for your whistle!
You can also try using blobs of poster-tac, clay, or other material to narrow the windway.
I’ve been playing the pennywhistle for a little more than a week. I am a using Living Music from the Heart 2 curriculum (no affiliation) and the kit came with a historical style tin penny whistle like this:
come visit South Carolina sometime. 
My husband wondered if the wood swelled, as it seemed to sound good at first but after 20-30 minutes or so the sound changes.