What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

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RoberTunes
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What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by RoberTunes »

Let's avoid the topic of adding more than 6 holes, for more notes, because that's an obvious one.

Mine:
1) some better way to create and control quality vibrato, no matter what note(s) are being played
2) some adjustable mechanism that let's you choose between more of a wide-bore tone or a narrow-bore tone (some adjustment up by the window/blade area)?
3) a whistle that can, with an adjustment during playing, switch between two keys, such as between D and C.
4) a way to improve how sliding notes can be played, so you can more easily slide through a range of notes in one long unbroken sound. This may be the easiest idea to work on? Different shape for ideal interaction with the fingers?
5) a little note holder for the end of the whistle, where you write down the song list for the evening. Sort of a mini version of a sheet music stand.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by Narzog »

Adjustable from soft to hard blower would be mine. I find most makers make soft / mid blowers, I like a mid to hard for extra strong low notes. A softblower is a no go for me. Adjustable would make it easy to get perfect, or close to how I want.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by fatmac »

Oh well, if we're going to be dreaming of our ultimate whistle.......I want a telescopic low F that I can fit into a jacket pocket! :D
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by pancelticpiper »

RoberTunes wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:31 pm -some better way to create and control quality vibrato, no matter what note(s) are being played
-a way to improve how sliding notes can be played, so you can more easily slide through a range of notes in one long unbroken sound.
I think these two are entirely under the player's control already. We can't rely on the whistle to do the playing for us!
RoberTunes wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:31 pm -some adjustable mechanism that lets you choose between more of a wide-bore tone or a narrow-bore tone
I think the only way to get the effects of different bores is to change the bore.

This is easy to do with a "rush" however shoving a rush up the bore is going to effect tuning and voicing as well, requiring a different mouthpiece design, different fingerhole placement, and different tube length, in other words an entirely different whistle from end to end.
RoberTunes wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:31 pm -a whistle that can, with an adjustment during playing, switch between two keys, such as between D and C.
Somebody patented a flute like that! And it could be applied to the whistle just as well.

The body was made from two tubes, one sliding inside the other, the outer tube having the finger-holes and the inner tube having long spiraling slots. The flute could quickly transpose to any key while retaining the same fingering.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by pancelticpiper »

Narzog wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 10:08 pm Adjustable from soft to hard blower would be mine.
Yes! I would love to have a Colin Goldie with two little adjustment knobs, one for the back of the ramp and one for the front.

So the windway could be adjusted to various heights, and could be angled in various ways.

Colin would really only need to make one, which would be loaned to a client so that they could experiment for a few days coming up with the exact design they wanted.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by bigsciota »

More 3 piece whistles. I know Parks and O'Brien exist, but honestly I feel like there should be more. I usually have a 2 piece Dixon in my pocket, but the body is still awkwardly long for a normal men's front pants pocket. Thinking about trying out a Parks at some point, but he's not taking orders! Plus, with the variety of playing styles and preferences in whistles, there's no guarantee I'd get along with one of the existing ones.

More pocket whistles please! Maybe even 2 piece ones than meet in the middle like the Clare, although the only Clare I've tried has been severely lacking IMO.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by bookman46 »

A less expensive Low D whistle, with more closely spaced holes like the Catboney would be nice.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by ecadre »

pancelticpiper wrote: Sun Jun 06, 2021 7:58 am
Narzog wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 10:08 pm Adjustable from soft to hard blower would be mine.
Yes! I would love to have a Colin Goldie with two little adjustment knobs, one for the back of the ramp and one for the front.

So the windway could be adjusted to various heights, and could be angled in various ways.

Colin would really only need to make one, which would be loaned to a client so that they could experiment for a few days coming up with the exact design they wanted.
This has happened in the recorder world; look up the Helder Recorder.

It has your adjustment knob for the block, and interchangeable inserts for the front of the airway.

I can see the advantages for the recorder player who wants radically different voicing for different pieces or occasions. Though I wonder how many simply find a setting they like and stick to it; or even if they would think this an issue.

There's at least one (certainly more) recorder maker, Adriana Breukink, who will actively design aspects of her recorders around the specific player. She also has a description of players as "exhalers" or "inhalers", an equivalent to our hard/soft players.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by pancelticpiper »

ecadre wrote: Thu Jul 08, 2021 3:56 am
...a description of players as "exhalers" or "inhalers", an equivalent to our hard/soft players.
That's very interesting!

Those descriptors don't make sense to me (how you can play a recorder by inhaling?) but they must make sense to recorder players.

I'd like to see a description of just what is meant.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by Peter Duggan »

pancelticpiper wrote: Sun Jun 06, 2021 7:42 am
RoberTunes wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:31 pm -some better way to create and control quality vibrato, no matter what note(s) are being played
-a way to improve how sliding notes can be played, so you can more easily slide through a range of notes in one long unbroken sound.
I think these two are entirely under the player's control already. We can't rely on the whistle to do the playing for us!
Agree with Richard!

What do I want in a whistle? Decent intonation, attractive tone, rapid response, economical air requirements, two-octave range with sweet(ish) top, smooth slurred transitions between registers all the way up, usable OXXOOO C nat without excessively flat C#... oh, wait, I'm describing a good trad whistle!
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by ecadre »

pancelticpiper wrote: Thu Jul 08, 2021 5:19 am
ecadre wrote: Thu Jul 08, 2021 3:56 am
...a description of players as "exhalers" or "inhalers", an equivalent to our hard/soft players.
That's very interesting!

Those descriptors don't make sense to me (how you can play a recorder by inhaling?) but they must make sense to recorder players.

I'd like to see a description of just what is meant.
As I understand its to do with where the most active part of a player's breathing is. Inhalers will more actively inhale and blow more passively. Exhalers will exhale more actively. It's a bit more complicated in application I would think, but that it very basically.

I read about it in an article a while back, but I seem to remember it being mentioned in a Youtube video somewhere. I'll have a look when I'm back later :-)
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by bruce.b »

Nothing, other than a better whistle….. better tone, better ease of play, better intonation.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by RoberTunes »

Since people have mentioned "exhalers" and "inhalers", how about adding a feature to whistles that allows music to be produced on the inhale in addition to the regular exhale!

Take that dare of an idea, you innovative geniuses!

On the other hand, someone might re-invent the bagpipes and most people would run for the hills. This could be bad. I'm so sorry.
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by fatmac »

Perhaps putting harmonica reeds in the mouthpiece/fipple would suit your needs... :D
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Re: What's on your "Whistle Feature Wish List"?

Post by pancelticpiper »

RoberTunes wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 12:02 pm How about adding a feature to whistles that allows music to be produced on the inhale in addition to the regular exhale?
Yes you're describing a bagpipe, which evidently started out as a way to be able to play the aulos/tibia without having to learn circular breathing and potentially suffer the Disfigurement Of Athena.
RoberTunes wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 12:02 pm
Someone might re-invent the bagpipes...
I could be wrong, but I don't think flutes and whistles have enough backpressure to work with a bag.

If you were to rank backpressure from "1" being as soft as it's possible to blow to "100" being the hardest it's humanly possible to blow without getting a hernia, Highland pipes might range from 80 to 100, while whistles range from 5 to 10.

In fact hernias amongst pipers are relatively common.
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
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