ANNOUNCING (CP): The Freeman Bluebird (D and Eb) ...

[maki]

Yes, Jerry not only repaired my prized Golden Tone C whistles, but also added the Bluebird in my surprise package, among other things. In a word WOW. Lovely tone, evenly balanced between octaves, moderate volume, and eminently forgiving so that IMO this is a whistle to fulfill the needs of all players from newbie to pro. And as far as the volume, you can wail away softly or lean in, just an accommodating whistle, without mere accommodation being its high point. Chanukah came early (or late) this year. Ok, it's a metal tube with a plastic head, but somehow I'm just really excited about this whistle.

Thank you Jerry.

Philo

Jerry, PhilO recommend this whistle for beginners.
Do you?

[Jerry Freeman]

Yes, this is a fine whistle for beginners.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[tin tin]

It is indeed a fine whistle for beginners. I used these whistles for a class I taught recently, and absolute beginners were sounding nice on them after just a few days.
Someone mentioned Sindt as a point of comparison, and I think that's reasonable. Whatever they're like, I think they're lovely--sweet (but not bland; they've got a bit of chirp), not too soft, not too loud. I think they sound just like a whistle should sound. Also worth mentioning: consistency of workmanship. I got a batch of five for the class, and tried them. They were all so similar, picking one for myself ended up being a rather arbitrary decision.

[ecohawk]

Maybe this has been stated in various ways but having received mine today and having played it for the past two hours, I want to add my two cents about the new Bluebird.

My first whistle was a Mellow Dog which I play every day. I know it pretty well. I've also acquired about every other whistle that Jerry makes. I'll readily admit that I've struggled with the Blackbird (both versions) for the past year. I'm also fortunate enough to have Clare, Walton, Clarke, Shaw, Feadog (standard, Pro, tweaked and not), plus Harper, Sindt, Burke, Busman and Copeland etc. at my disposal. Yeah, I know, that's another problem for another day.

However, Jerry has really outdone himself this time. This Bluebird is cleaner and louder than but similar in chiff and complexity to his Gen. It's about the same loudness as a Mellow Dog but can be pushed more on the bottom D and E, if you can believe that. It is somewhat birdlike and far more stable than the Blackbirds. Though others seem to differ mine is definitely louder but that could be because I don't yet possess the breath control the Blackbird seems to require.

I can see why some compare it to the Sindt but it is louder than my Sindt, not as pure and not quite as focused in the high range. But the wide range of breath pressure that can be used is striking and is my favorite feature of both the Sindt and Mellow Dog. This allows me to be much more expressive, particularly on Aires. It breaks into the second octave at about the same breath pressure as the Sindt. The C natural on my Bluebird is pretty sharp but like the Sindt, reducing the breath pressure can bring it to within 15 cents. Though this can be a hassle that occasionally requires (trained!) me to use half-holing it's generally close enough for me. This isn't a Sindt and you can see that in the highest ranges. It has more chiff and complexity but it's a really nice whistle. It could indeed be the perfect starter and could carry you a long way. The Bluebird is definitely competition for the Mellow Dog. I will say without hesitation that IMO this the best whistle under $30. Period.

I'm going to set the others aside and play this whistle for a couple of weeks to see how it sounds on all my favorites. I'll post a sound sample this weekend for those who are interested. Might post a comparison with the Mellow Dog and Gen just for fun.

I've gone on way too long. Get one boys and girls.

ecohawk

P.S. Thanks Jerry. For the instruments, the always great service and the spot on advice. May the road rise to meet you....

[maki]

Great write up Ecohawk.
Thanks.

[Jerry Freeman]

I'm at the library.

No power at the house after the storm Sunday. All's well on the home front, but we've no idea when we'll get power back (half of Connecticut households lost power). There are lots of places, so we can go out and get anything we need. No property damage on the homefront, except for two fruit trees blown down. Others weren't as lucky, but overall, it could have been much worse except for the massive power outage.

For Cnat cross fingering, try:

OXXXOX

That also works best on my tweaked A Generations. I've taken to using this fingering most of the time.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[nancymae]

HI Jerry!

I just ordered a D-Bluebird! I absolutely LOVE my Blackbird..and I don't know how anything could be better than that...but I look forward to seeing for myself!!! My husband remarks how the Blackbird sounds so birdlike and sweet sounding.

As far as sending me the whistle...I understand that you have other issues...such as power outages and other clean up...I'm in no rush..just put one up for me and send when you can!

Thank you so much for the service you provide for the world of whistling!
Nancy Patterson

[Jerry Freeman]

Actually, everything's settled into a comfortable routine.

I'm back to normal work, got a little ahead to give myself a cushion when I saw the storm was coming and haven't fallen behind (so keep those orders coming, folks!).

Beautiful sunny skies today, chainsaw serenade.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[Steve Bliven]

Beautiful sunny skies today, chainsaw serenade.

"Chainsaw serenade"—is that the air or the slip jig?

Best wishes.

Steve

[PiperKev]

Got my order in! I can't wait to play this thing! Is it silly that I'm THIS excited over a whistle?

Wait, look who I'm asking...

[ecohawk]

For Cnat cross fingering, try:

OXXXOX

That also works best on my tweaked A Generations. I've taken to using this fingering most of the time.

Best wishes,
Jerry

That's a new one on me and it works to within about 15 cents. Thanks for the lesson! I tried both OXXOOO and OXXXOO, which was better, but I've gotten so used to half holing from playing the Sindt that it doesn't bother me. I just tried it on your Low A and it does work very well. Thanks again for yet another great whistle and for the advice.

Good luck with your cleanup. I'd like to hear the Chainsaw Serenade as well. I'm betting it's a hornpipe though.

ecohawk

[maki]

Forgive a stupid question, does half holing always work for any whistle?

[fearfaoin]

Forgive a stupid question, does half holing always work for any whistle?

Half-holing is the only way to play accidentals
that you can be sure will work on any whistle.

[Steve Bliven]

Forgive a stupid question, does half holing always work for any whistle?

Half-holing is the only way to play accidentals
that you can be sure will work on any whistle.

And if it doesn't work, you can't blame the whistle, it's all on you. That sort of responsibility sometimes weighs heavily.

Best wishes.

Steve

[MTGuru]

I guess this should be a separate topic, but Jerry might forgive me.

Forgive a stupid question, does half holing always work for any whistle?

Not a stupid question at all, maki. "Work" is a relative term here. Sure, if you partly cover a hole, you'll always get an intermediate note. If you're lucky and you work at it, it will also be a useful note. Otherwise, you might get a note

o That is tonally fuzzy or dark compared to the diatonic notes.

o With inexact intonation, because you're guessing how much of the whole to cover or uncover.

o Whose fingering is too awkward to be used in context without producing unwanted spurious notes or sliding portamento, or requiring extra tonguing.

Of course, sometimes you may actually want one of these effects. In which case, you're golden.

Otherwise, if you can find a cross-fingering that works on your whistle for a particular note, it mostly avoids all three problems. A practiced cross-fingering can be as agile as any standard fingering, with no spurious notes. The intonation may require breath correction for intonation, but it will always be consistent, not an analogue "guess" like half-holing.

Fortunately, the two most useful half-holes are C-nat and F-nat. C-nat as an occasional intonation-flexible alternate to cross-fingered C-nat. Which leaves F-nat as something to work on (and some whistles give a usable xxxoxx crossed F-nat in the second octave).