Whistle Silencer ?

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Fri May 09, 2003 12:18 pm

Bloomfield wrote:Es rock.

You rally miss thm whn thy'r gon. Bliv m.

I miss it too, it rocks.
I don't know if you can dig Pascal's language, Bloomfild, but if you do, try this fiction: "La disparition" * . Among various things, it told about an Anton's Vowl guy vanishing. Fun is, if you wasn't told, you don't spot what's missing. Actually, a vowl lacks, but you may track it down hiding in this book.

* By G org s P rc , Gallimard publish r.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Fri May 09, 2003 12:18 pm

My quietest whistle is, without a doubt my Hoover Whitecap (nicknamed "Whisper"), followed closely by my O Briain "improved" and, slightly louder on the spectrum, my Elfsong D. I can play any of those and my family scarcely notices me unless I hit a REALLY sour note. If I take the Hoover into a closed room, nobody in the rest of the house can hear it at all.

Redwolf

Thomas-Hastay · Post by **Thomas-Hastay** » Sat May 10, 2003 1:26 pm

3 basic things are needed to get a true quiet whistle.

1) A very small voicing window near 1/4th to 1/8th of the inner bore diameter.

2) Small toneholes. This is achieved by moving all the tonehole placements higher up the bore.

3) A decreasing conical bore. This will reduce the windway and air column velocity and lower the "volume" created by hard blowing.

4) Optional: a rounded labium edge with a pronounced angle to that labium. This will better initiate low pressure oscillation.

Thomas Hastay.

chattiekathy · Post by **chattiekathy** » Sat May 10, 2003 7:25 pm

Dave Parkhurst http://www.geocities.com/parkhurstwhistles/ makes a Copper Quiet D. It is a very nice whistle and I play mine all the time.
I also have the Serpent Brass Trio. http://www.serpentmusic.com/ They are also very quiet and have a very nice sound. I play all them often.

Both of these whistles tend to clog if not warmed up because of the small opening in the mouthpiece, that is what makes them quiet. If they are properly warmed up, I have very little clogging problems but if I play them cold, then they do clog. If they clog then I place my finger over the window lightly and give a quick forceful blow and it clears it out and I keep on playing.

Cheers, and Welcome to C&F
Kathy

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Sun May 11, 2003 3:56 am

Thanks for all those marvellous sugestions, I'm definitely going to try some of these (although I haven't yet as I've come down with a cold and haven't been fit for anything).

How's this for irony though - I may not have a quiet whistle, but I've completely lost my voice !

All the best, Tim

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sun May 11, 2003 4:31 am

Byll wrote:The quietest whistle I own is a Hoover narrow bore - and it is truly, truly quiet...It takes very little air, and quiet conversation can drown it out...

When first I started playing whistle, back in the days when I had't heard of such a thing as a Worldwide Web, back when MS-DOS was the operating system of choice among most PC-users, I had two Coopermans (Coopermen?), and these would have made great whistles for the person desiring to practice quietly. One was like an extra-breathy Clarke, and the other was like an extra-breathy paper towel tube, for those times when you want to be truly silent.

Actually, I second you on the Hoover narrow-bore. I ordered a tabor pipe in this model. Great sound, not loud, and, unlike the Cooperman, low breath requirement. However there is a serious drawback in narrow, or small whistles, and that is, the narrow windway clogs easily, much more easily than a roomier windway (it stands to reason).

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Sun May 11, 2003 12:21 pm

Tim wrote:Thanks for all those marvellous sugestions, I'm definitely going to try some of these (although I haven't yet as I've come down with a cold and haven't been fit for anything).

How's this for irony though - I may not have a quiet whistle, but I've completely lost my voice !

All the best, Tim

This is germ warfare again Tim...I've been barely vertical for ten days with this latest British affliction and I don't get ill. Today I squeak and I haven't played a whistle for three days. I MUST BE REALLY ILL!

Couldn't your nearest and dearest take up birdwatching or gardening or headphone-wearing...just to get here out of the house so you can enjoy whistling rather than whispering..

Trisha

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Sun May 11, 2003 3:27 pm

Actually she is a runner, so as well as having a quiet whistle, I'm going to start synchronising my practice sessions with her training.

I guess reels are the thing to do so I can get more tunes in before she gets back!

Post by **Nanohedron** » Mon May 12, 2003 9:45 am

Another reliable whistle silencer: both hands applied in a squeezing fashion around the neck.

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Mon May 12, 2003 9:50 am

Another trick is to blow OVER the fipple instead of into it. You get a breathy note that shouldn't bother a soul.

elliott · Post by **elliott** » Mon May 12, 2003 2:34 pm

It's not going to work. You won't be happy with a compromised whistle.

Try the Play-doh thing or get a divorce. If you have any money left, get the whistle you really want.

trisha · Post by **trisha** » Mon May 12, 2003 2:53 pm

Tim wrote:Actually she is a runner, so as well as having a quiet whistle, I'm going to start synchronising my practice sessions with her training.

Now you're getting the idea...but it does mean you can have a whistle with more oomph for during her marathon practice - you did say she was a LONG DISTANCE runner...didn't you....?

And surely it's better for you to be adopting a healthy lifestyle playing music at home rather than spending the evening in a nicotine-hung pub? Well OK that comes later, but the whistle comes too m'dear...

Trisha

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Mon May 12, 2003 4:40 pm

Well Trisha, that was a good guess - she is.

And I've tried the Play-doh thing today... it's a tricky operation, isn't it ?

I've cut two thirds of the fipple away with a Stanley knife, then blocked up the same two thirds of the exit ramp of the whistle windway, and for good measure blocked up three quarters of the entry hole into the whistle windway.... and it sort of works.

Plus there's a couple of dead whistles in the bin where I removed too much of the fipple (I know, no one said anything about performing plastic surgery, but it seemed a good idea at the time!)