Neighbour not happy :(

[azw]

I find that by dropping the whistle down onto my chin, a little below the lip, maybe a third of the way down, I get a better sound at very low volume. On most whistles I can still distinguish octaves, though on a couple it is impossible. ....

Anniemcu, about how far down from where your lips meet is the beak of the whistle? (I usually let it ride about 1/4" down at most.)

I just tried it on a half dozen different whistles without success. I did notice, though, that on some tunes I thought I was hearing a difference in the octives, but it was just a mind trick.

[fancypiper]

take up the "pipes" then switch back to your gen Bb...they will def appreciate your whistle playing more.....

That works for me!

You can quieten down the whistle by sticking things in the edges of the windway like round toothpicks, poster putty rolled up long and thin, etc., (but I don't on my Blacktoped Generation brass tube Bb whistle, my favorite "play to please me" whistle), or perhaps play in the bathroom with the door closed. Then, you can't hear the doorbell! I learned with family, so I could play decently when I was divorced and the neighbors (all except one) would stick their ears to the wall to hear me! I got one complaint, when I didn't want to run the AC and get some fresh air in the apt.

I was in the basement and he was 4 floors above me, and he had his window up as well and asked me to stop playing. I just shut my window and kept on practicing.

Of course, my fav whistle at that time was one of the quietest,, the Clarke orig. design in D.

[talasiga]

She has cast down the gauntlet, not you, but it is up to you to pick it up. Indeed, you should not only pick it up, you should slap her in the face with it. You have to, or your life there will forever suck.

The way to slap her good is to wait until the next time hubby is hammering, or whatever the hell he does, and call the cops. No matter what time it is, tell them you are trying to sleep. They cannot prove otherwise.

The cops and your neighbor will try to tell you that a certain amount if noise is permissible during reasonable hours. Pin them down on this. It will probably be something like 8:00 a.m. to maybe 7:00 p.m.

Then, whatever times they tell you is OK for him to be hammering and sawing and pretending to be Bob Vila, those are the times you can get your whistle out with impunity.

.........

I enjoyed what is said here very much. However I would not go to the cops first off. I would get several copies of a brochure/pamphlet from a local authority about when the "reasonable hours" are and give one to your neighbour when she next pops by to tell you to stop. If she gets nasty about the situation tell her you won't play your whistle if her hubby also refrains from DIY.

Believe it or not there have been many civil tort cases about the right of individuals to enjoy the use of their property. The main question regarding noise pollution is the question of reasonableness. I take it you don't have your whistle miked up.

IMO, if she or her husband keep at it when you are playing at a reasonable hour I reckon you have a good case of harassment there.

My understanding is that even "after hours" its OK to play acoustic music for your private pleasure providing its not unreasonably noisy. Acoustic music is not in the same league as power driven machinery or even the revving of a slack motor car.

I empathise with you if your practice session is now being marred by a stalking conscience about being an "irritant" to others. It can really handicap your practice enthusiasm.

I will pray for you. Believe me.

Yours sincerely,
Talasiga

[fancypiper]

I get away with playing my C pipes at 3 AM. I think the next door neighbor's dog goes to sleep then and quits barking...

I wouldn't want to play my Hillmann D set at that time, though!

My neighbor has to use a walker, so I can outrun him in a fight

Since my last next door neighbor moved to the East side of the building, I haven't had a complaint except that some of the other occupants want me to play outside or come to their place and play.

That's with me way out of practice too, due to recent gall bladder surgery.

Makes my head want to swell, but I know I suck

If you have the music in you, you gotta get it out!

Another nice place to discuss this: Praise Whistlers Abroad BBS

[talasiga]

.......
I dont like to 'practice' set hours. I would be walking about my house eye would fall on the whistle, pick up and play. It beckons me to play! Sometimes I turn away from it get some 'real work' done Im also playing it as it comes to me. No learning songs or anything. I try the ornamentation, half-holing etc...just love it all.
.......

I think its good to do both,
Practice set times and also all the rest
as the Muses touch you.

This is a love affair and your neighbour has no business in it ......

[Mitch]

erm ... blokespeed , I don't think you're perceiving the situation clearly.

My advice to you is to buy one of Paul Busman's purpleheart whistles.

Next time your neighbor comes to the door you can offer her some lessons

[blokespeed]

I'm not sure I understood your situation. Is the complainer your landlord? That would change the power dynamics.

No the complainer is not my landlord. Its just the neighbour.

Thank you fearfaoin for pointing out the inexpensive low d whistle. Hmm will they ship to uk now..

[Susu]

I've seen a few people say that they play their whistles in parks. I assume they are referring to city parks or town commons or somewhere similar, and that they don't mean national parks or ammusement parks or some other definition. (Being that we have people from all over the world here, you can't always be sure. )
Anyway. . . I'm wondering how appropriate that really is. People generally go to a park because it is a somewhat natural setting where they can relax and "commune with nature" if you will. Does introducing a man-made noise into this setting defeat that purpose?
I would be willing to bet that not everyone enjoys whistle music no matter how well it is played. If you went to your favorite park for a little rest and found someone there playing a stereo with your least favorite type of music, how would you feel?
I'm not trying to be a killjoy and I'm certainly not condemming anyone who whistles in public places; I'm just curious to know if other people have had this thought or if I am completely off-base.

[Martin Milner]

I've seen a few people say that they play their whistles in parks. I assume they are referring to city parks or town commons or somewhere similar, and that they don't mean national parks or ammusement parks or some other definition. (Being that we have people from all over the world here, you can't always be sure. )
Anyway. . . I'm wondering how appropriate that really is. People generally go to a park because it is a somewhat natural setting where they can relax and "commune with nature" if you will. Does introducing a man-made noise into this setting defeat that purpose?
I would be willing to bet that not everyone enjoys whistle music no matter how well it is played. If you went to your favorite park for a little rest and found someone there playing a stereo with your least favorite type of music, how would you feel?
I'm not trying to be a killjoy and I'm certainly not condemming anyone who whistles in public places; I'm just curious to know if other people have had this thought or if I am completely off-base.

Again it's a matter of what's reasonable. I live within walking distance of two reasonably large parks, so if I wanted to practise there I'd find a secluded area to play. Most people enjoy hearing a bit of live music, and will even show interest. People take guitars to the park, so why not a whistle?

One time I tried playing on the South Bank (of the River Thames) with a couple of other Chiffers, and we were moved on by security guards, but they really enjoyed the music, it's just that we were playing in a privately owned area (which was news to me). We moved on about 100 yards and played there instead.

[scottkent]

I've seen a few people say that they play their whistles in parks. I assume they are referring to city parks or town commons or somewhere similar, and that they don't mean national parks or ammusement parks or some other definition. (Being that we have people from all over the world here, you can't always be sure. )
Anyway. . . I'm wondering how appropriate that really is. People generally go to a park because it is a somewhat natural setting where they can relax and "commune with nature" if you will. Does introducing a man-made noise into this setting defeat that purpose?
I would be willing to bet that not everyone enjoys whistle music no matter how well it is played. If you went to your favorite park for a little rest and found someone there playing a stereo with your least favorite type of music, how would you feel?
I'm not trying to be a killjoy and I'm certainly not condemming anyone who whistles in public places; I'm just curious to know if other people have had this thought or if I am completely off-base.

I think it depends on the park. We have lots of parks around where I live (almost every lake has a city park around it) and often I am the only person in sight when I begin to play (maybe they see me coming). But amusement parks are still a great place to play too. Waiting in line for an hour to ride a 10 minute ride provides lots of practice time...and if you do it right you can rid the line of lots of people who aren't serious about riding in the first place. Just play "What Should We Do With a Drunken Sailor" a few dozen times and see if the line doesn't move.

[manu.bande]

Hi blokespeed ,

living in China so far I did not have any problem with my neighbours , but last time when I've moved to my new appartment , one lady from upsters came once in the morning , I was just waking up so my hairs and the face had to be very horrible , in fact when I've opened the door the lady at first was kind of shocking , then she asked me if I could play not too late during night time , I've said ok , but honestly I still play sometime during night , and the lady never came back to complain !!! I think she's a bit afraid of me , she will always rember how afraid she was that time when I've opened the door , you should know that I'm 1.90 m high and have long hairs and beard sometime , so for a chinese a man like me can make them run away !!!

Anyway I must tell you that during night time I'm a bit carefull with what I play with , mostly during night I play a kalimba , or a tin whistle muted with some foam , or a very low key shakuhachi , so they are not very noisy !

So the best is that you mute the whistle , in any of the ways people suggest you , or try a very low in sound instrument , or just do as I did ; if you don't have long hairs or beard just buy a wig and a fake beard and get an expression like Jack Nicholson's eyes in Shining !!!

All the best

Manuel

[anniemcu]

I find that by dropping the whistle down onto my chin, a little below the lip, maybe a third of the way down, I get a better sound at very low volume. On most whistles I can still distinguish octaves, though on a couple it is impossible. ....

Anniemcu, about how far down from where your lips meet is the beak of the whistle? (I usually let it ride about 1/4" down at most.)

I just tried it on a half dozen different whistles without success. I did notice, though, that on some tunes I thought I was hearing a difference in the octives, but it was just a mind trick.

Here's where I find it works best for my D WaterWeasel (my right-by-the-computer-whistle of choice). It's just at that point where the lip starts to turn out from the chin. If I position it even the slightest bit above or below that, it diminishes in intensity of sound markedly. I really can hear the octave differences with this whistle and this position, though on some other whistles I can't really discern it at all.

Hope that helps.

[azw]

Thanks, AnnieMCU. The picture says it all! I'll give it a few more tries.

Anyway I must tell you that during night time I'm a bit carefull with what I play with , mostly during night I play a kalimba , or a tin whistle muted with some foam , or a very low key shakuhachi , so they are not very noisy !

Manuel, please tell us about this foam mute. What is it and where do you put it?

[Jayhawk]

I've seen a few people say that they play their whistles in parks. I assume they are referring to city parks or town commons or somewhere similar, and that they don't mean national parks or ammusement parks or some other definition. (Being that we have people from all over the world here, you can't always be sure. )
Anyway. . . I'm wondering how appropriate that really is. People generally go to a park because it is a somewhat natural setting where they can relax and "commune with nature" if you will. Does introducing a man-made noise into this setting defeat that purpose?
I would be willing to bet that not everyone enjoys whistle music no matter how well it is played. If you went to your favorite park for a little rest and found someone there playing a stereo with your least favorite type of music, how would you feel?
I'm not trying to be a killjoy and I'm certainly not condemming anyone who whistles in public places; I'm just curious to know if other people have had this thought or if I am completely off-base.

I like solitude, go hiking in the Ozarks on snowy days to avoid others for example, but I see nothing wrong with playing in a park - urban, suburban or national. It's usually a lot less noisy than a family at a picnic, more pleasant than a group of teens with a boombox, and unless this is a pocket park it's pretty easy to avoid folks.

Eric

[fancypiper]

Put out a tip jar/case and busk in the parks.

When some of us in Naomi's Fancy go to the parkway or another park and play/practice, it draws the people and sometimes you can make a few bucks!