Since I got started decorating whistles to the point of (sort of) turning some of them into jewelry, I wondered what sorts of embellishment people like, and what sorts do ya-all think would get in the way of playability?
Secondarily, who makes whistles that everyone thinks are pretty, in one aspect or another?
I know the thrust is to make a whistle that sounds wonderful and plays like a dream, and that must always come first, but once you’ve done all you can to get to that situation, what things does a whistlemaker do to set his/her whistles apart from the other good-sounding, great-playing ones?
Secondarily, who makes whistles that everyone thinks are pretty, in one aspect or another?
No one, of course. Silly Serpent. There are those who drool over That Silver Thingie but I would rather play a vomit-green clare cheapo than a silver Copeland with a leafy-ivy pattern etched around the holes. (I do like leafy ivy patterns in other places, however.)
When I think about it at all, I want my whistles just to look well-loved and well-used. I want no decoration, especially not Celtic Knots or something of the sort. Perhaps it is because I want to play Irish Trad on the whistle and to my mind, that music is about subtlety and understatement. I am sure it can be done on a flashy ornamental instrument, but I am drawn to plain & simple.
/bloomfield
[EDITED just to make everyone wonder what I really said]
[ This Message was edited by: Bloomfield on 2002-11-25 11:18 ]
I’m an admitted fan of Elfsongs, which several of us agree combine playability with beauty. I bought my first one blind, off the Internet, because it was so different and I had some Christmas money that I was free to spend frivilously.
But as the ex-wife of a cabinetmaker (which argues for some exposure to and pleasure in fine woodworking), I find that a highly figured piece of wood–a random, unrepeatable wonder–freed by the craftsman to both utility and functionality, can’t be beat.
Not that I own anything that wonderful, but I recognize what can stop me in my tracks at the better arts and crafts shows.
Make pretty whistles that pretty play
The time you save to practice playing.
And often quote that “pretty is as pretty does”.
I love that great old saying!
If you’re into art, do what you fancy. With luck, your fantasies will find an audience and market.
If you ask what a vast audience wants, you’ll face two problems :
They (as a group) don’t know what they want ; they go by what they’re already accustomed to. At worst, it’s tacky; at best it’s named good taste, which IMHO is to-morrow’s tackiness, kitch or generally Art Drecko. If they invented art, they’d do it.
If you do what they expect in this sense, you lose your freedom ; why bother being a craftsman, then ?
Buy Zoob’s ethnic proverbs and trad sayings. Wholesale enquiries welcome.
[ This Message was edited by: Zubivka on 2002-11-25 11:44 ]
One of the things I like about, elegant painted whistles (I won’t use the word pretty.) is that they are not as easy to loose or get mixed up with anyone elses whistles. Have you ever come home from a gig with someone elses generation? I have. The embarrassing part was that it was a Bf which at that time I never even owned. Yes it has been returned.
I agree with Bloomfield. My favorite-looking whistle is my first one, the Waltons; the laminant has peeled away from the holes and other spots my fingers tend to rest, making the whistle several shades of brassy-brown and looking about a hundred years old. Just the way it should look, I think.
These fancy whistles can have the very unfortunate effect of helping to reinforce people’s associations of “Celtic” with things like the “Merline’s Booke of Magick and Enchauntement” that I saw in Barnes and Noble yesterday. Barf.
Well, as to who makes lovely-looking whistles, you already know that is a very subjective thing. My votes, in no particular order, are for Elfsong, Harper, Tully, and Busman. I can’t really say one is prettier than another because they are so different. I have played Tully and Busman and both live up to the looks, though I just didn’t fall in love with the Busman (not a slight on a truly superlative whistle - it just didn’t suit me, much like I don’t actually want a Farari).
As to what makes a whistle pretty, that’s totally subjective. The number one thing will be careful craftsmanship. A well-made whistle, like any well-made item, shows craftsmanship in all aspects. Even a whistle as visually simple as an Overton (just aluminum, y’know) shows a very precise level of craftsmanship when you start looking at the details of it. On the other hand, I have a Cooperman wooden whistle that is a fairly pretty piece of maple (my favorite wood) and it exhibits some real sloppiness in construction. It also is almost unplayable, but that’s another story. When you have a big booger of wood glue at the fipple, with your plastic finish applied over the glue glob, that is not a sign of superior craftsmanship.
The same is true with almost any sort of whistle. If you are using brass, is it well polished? With wood, is the finish consistent and smooth, or are there marks from the lathe tools? Is the fipple fit carefully, so there is no gapping? Does the whistle look like all the lines are there because they should be, or because you whacked them in with a hammer?
Some folks are going to find any particular whistle lovely, others ugly. The key is to make it look skillfully made and sound like a whistle that is made to be played. Any other extras in visual appearance have to be just as skillful.
Hmmm. I guess clean lines is all I like. I tend to dislike whistles which are decorated - there’s a lovely form to a whistle which is just a whistle, if that makes sense.
If I had to pick just two whistles of mine that I like to look at it’s my Overton Low D and a Hoover Brass High E… because in both cases they are what they are.
Clean lines are very attractive to me. For example, I like the look of the Dixon with the brass tuning slide better than the look of the standard tunable Dixon. Good craftsmanship is also very important to me…a whistle may sound OK, but if it looks like it was just thrown together from spare parts, I won’t be as happy with it (that’s one of my many problems with the Clarkes). I love beautiful metals, particularly warm-toned ones, such as copper and brass, and the look of fine wood. As far as colors go, paint jobs that mirror the natural world…that look like marble or water or the evening sky…are more attractive to my eye than assorted Celtic-ish curlicues.
So to summerise: do many different patterns, some with alot of decoration, some with only a little, and some with none. My prettiest whistle is my gen nickle, I’ve played it enough to have dark marks on the holes and on the back where my thumbs rest, thats about the coolest thing, but then again im a guy who wouldnt be caught dead playing a whistle with flowers and elves on it. I’m hoping my burke brass will do the same when it arrives.
Hmmm, I´d never play a whistle that is over-decorated, worst with some celtic symbols. I think I would just feel ridiculous…but a good finish, rounded holes, a smooth surface, no sharp edges..yes ! And then play it enough to get the used look so that it does not look like a brand new toy anymore…which may imply that I am not the total beginner I used to be (but this look definitely has to be earned !)
All the best, Dagmar
(I do like leafy ivy patterns in other places, however.)
EDITED just to make everyone wonder what I really said]
Ah, Bloo, some things just stick in your mind, don’t they?
/me retreats into jungle
Oh…and on topic, if there is a design, I tend to like something decorative about the ferrules, but I want smooth and uncluttered wherever my fingers or lips are going to be. A small maker’s mark is nice, but nothing terribly involved.
Surprisingly, I have a totally different feel about my NAF, which has a horse’s head for the bell end, and a decorative ‘bird’ at the window. As soon as I find my next equine buddy, a few tail hairs will go into the binding of the bird to the flute.
[ This Message was edited by: tyghress on 2002-11-25 18:13 ]
I’m going to echo one or two other comments and say: do what you love/want, in terms of decoration, and see if it strikes a chord with the consumers you’re after.
But first, make a whistle that’s aimed at a particular market segment, and hit that mark you’re aimed at. Make a whistle that sounds good and plays well, and charge appropriately. Take a lot of time on finish and precise tuning? Charge a fair high-end amount. Do your whistles have a “rougher” finish, and/or less precise tuning? Charge appropriately.
After you’ve got the whistle sound/playability you’re after, then start with prettifying. But don’t do it via poll results, if possible, or we’ll end up with whistles that are like other consumer products; a sort of mediocre middle ground, bland and corporate and dull. If you have an original idea, go for it and see if we’ll buy it. At least it won’t be Just Another Whistle.
How many Celtic-y things with the same knots/twining ivy/clover leaves do we need, really?
(For the record: none of my whistles are decorated, except with maker’s marks, from cheapies to the higher-end instruments. The high-end whistles look carefully-made, though, and are attractive for that reason. A plain metal tube can be elegant if it’s well-built. I’m not opposed to colors/patterns/etc., but I’d only appreciate them if they were on an otherwise well-crafted whistle.)
Well, many years ago, I made jewelry for a living, including the lapidary (stone cutting) work. I like doodads and tinkle-tankles, as my old Prussian friend Otto would put it.
One of the things I find most interesting in the commentary above, and from my friend Paul Busman, is the common thread of simplicity, and a desire to allow the whistle to attain the patina of age. That is totally at odds with the jeweller in me. I don’t want fingerprints or tarnish. I want sparkle and snap! I don’t want plain metal. I want bright colours on a high-polish background! From the consensus of the posts thus far, I am totally out of step with what the players want!
And I suppose that I shouldn’t be surprised. There were few people who ordered the engraved high-polish copper whistles from me at Renaissance Faire. The Village Smithy, OTOH, was a heavy-duty seller.
Please, fellow C&F-ers, carry on. Continue to let me know what you think!
On 2002-11-26 00:02, serpent wrote:
Paul Busman, is the common thread of simplicity, and a desire to allow the whistle to attain the patina of age.
Not all of us like the tarnished look(or “patina” if you prefer). My brass whistles are all tarnished because I’m too lazy to spend time polishing up a cheap whistle. But when I had my Copleand low D, polishing was part of the regular routine. I like the look of my Burke because it’s all shiny and has nice lines.
Each person has different tastes, though I’d be hard pressed to tell what the “average consumer” wanted based upon what we read in here.
Apparently someone routinely buys Copelands, tattoos them and sends them for a profit on E-bay.
Also, aren’t they some shamrock-like PVC and/or plastic whistles ?
Now, Bill, what I’d really like is a high C totally covered with cloisonné enamel. Hey, you can make it simple, and solder the little walls out of German silver, not sterling.
Use same idea to make Fabergé Ocarinas, egg-shaped : Russians will buy the out for Easter. But then you have to make it’s solid silver. Or gold. :roll:
Bill, I’ll be dead serious this time. :razz:oker-face:
AS a jeweller you should know. How do you call the material obtained when coating sterling silver with a thin translucent gold plate ? It brings fantastic moiré-like reflections ; it definitily looks more complex than either solid metal and does not tarnish.
I was used a lot inside cups and tumblers, because of the taste interaction between silver and some beverages, but also forks and spoons.
How does one say in English ? Just “silver gilt”? Sounds awfully plain for such a nice material, eventhough it’s very much out of fashion. In French we say “vermeil” which also describes a shade of red as your “vermilion”.
As most here, I prefer clean surfaces, but I’d pay a premium for that surface treatment. On a very good whistle, of cause.
[ This Message was edited by: Zubivka on 2002-11-26 04:32 ]
Throw a couple tassels on it, and you could market to the “I want one of those flutes like Cap’n Picard played” crowd.
My thought is that visual aesthetic is kind of a niche market. Varied lines for varied customers.
There is something stiking in the beautiful woods Paul Busman uses. And Elfsong whistles also appeal to another aspect, with their elegant shape and nice colors. For those desiring more of a classic fipple flute look, the wooden whistles by Ralph Sweet and Adler are visually appealing. The symmetry and polished brass of Copelands and Hoovers are visually striking, with no embellishment.
There are those who drool over That Silver Thingie but I would rather play a vomit-green clare cheapo than a silver Copeland with a leafy-ivy pattern etched around the holes. (I do like leafy ivy patterns in other places, however.)
Ah, Bloo, some things just stick in your mind, don’t they?