A guy with lots of paid professional (classical violin) experience taught me this trick: play the instrument “mute”. Just finger the notes, and don’t make a sound. Don’t even hum.
Here’s my experience:
A: it’s extremely frustrating and hard to do
B: it’s a trick that brings out the rough spots in your playing, and helps smooth them out.
If you can get over the initial frustration and see the rewards, it’s worth the effort.
Also handy when “playing” in hotels, parks, airports, etc.
I just put plastercine over the airway so i can still blow in it, it sounds the notes very very faintly, I find it useful for when the old lady’s asleep. heh
'Scuse my foolishness but…
If you don’t sound the notes, how do you know if you’re ‘playing’ the tune wrong/right?
Purely my personal experience … I find that practicing note sequences little and often give my fingers a pattern to play, at that point, in that tune. **
If I were to invest time practicing, and learned the wrong finger pattern, only to discover it when making a noise with the whistle
(this has been the description of some of my playing 
) I would have wasted the time, and would have to unlearn that pattern - something that takes me a few days e.g. changing a version of a tune - I now play
Laura Lynn Cunningham as per Lunasa than Phil Cunningham’s original script.
My foolish advice would be to play the whistle properly, use a mute thingy
if you have to, but make a noise.
2p’s worth 
**
One night I was playing solo, and had imbibed a rather nice ale - several times, got distracted, and started playing part B of a different tune! I just carried on and made a sort of medley out of two jigs, mixing parts A & B to make a very long jig. I blame the finger pattern going off on auto’ 
This works even better:
Put the whistle up to your lips in the usual fashion, then lower it just a tad so the end of the whistle rests on your lower lip. You can “play” the whistle in this position, blowing over the top of the mouthpiece and still hear the notes , only VERY quietly. I’ve often done this 10 feet from my sleeping wife without waking her. Simple, no whistle modification required!
I feel it. If I don’t know if I’m playing right or wrong, I’m playing too fast.
Sonja, pencilwhistling.
Here goes that WhOA again…Where do I get a pencil whistle?
~Larry
Thanks for the tip; I’m going to give it a try. I think it’s pretty clear that this is for polishing up tunes you already know reasonably well; also, if there’s any uncertainty about the fingering, you can sound the notes, make sure you’ve got it right and then practice without sound.
Jon M
In re: not knowing the note you’re hitting if you’re not sounding it…
TRY IT, you’ll be surprised at the brain hooking together ear memory with finger position.
I do this quite often when I’m trying to figure out a tune (though I have to say I can only do it on slow ones, not the fast ones). I can hear the note that my fingers shape.
My instructor does recommend doing fingering exercises on pencils, car wheels, etc. to strengthen the fingers and speed them. You do know when you’re being rhythmic and when things get sloppy.
A dulcimer instructor was big on visualization especially before a performance. This doesn’t supplant practice, but it does hook what your brain does to what your hands do, and points out spots where you might be coasting through unclear waters rather than navigating with purpose.
hey, doesn’t cost anything to try!
here’s another topic about muting whistles http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=5494&highlight=mute
you can cut these plastics out of any ol’ icecream box or whatever.
points out spots where you might be coasting through unclear waters rather than navigating with purpose.
I couldn’t have said it better. We get used to sloppiness and fumble our way though some spots. When you use the above trick it highlights these spots. For me it also highlights the importance of good fingering. Breathing and tongueing and all that is important, but figering is #1.
Put the whistle up to your lips in the usual fashion, then lower it just a tad so the end of the whistle rests on your lower lip. You can “play” the whistle in this position, blowing over the top of the mouthpiece and still hear the notes , only VERY quietly.
Thanks Brewerpaul I never tried this before and it works very well! I find getting some sound feedback useful and this is the best/easiest mute technique out there.
Clark