Whistle wind resistance

ThorntonRose · Post by **ThorntonRose** » Thu Dec 06, 2001 12:27 pm

I held my whistle out of the car window as I was driving at 70 MPH down I-85 in Atlanta, and ... just kidding.

I have been playing my Dixon D (non-tunable) a lot, but the other day I picked up my LBW to practice some Christmas tunes. Even though the sound of the LBW is still nice, particularly for tunes like Silent Night, it seemed like the air was just falling through the whistle. The Dixon seems to have a tiny bit of resistance or back pressure that gives me some feedback. It's subtle, but it's there. Has anyone else noticed this characteristic of the Dixon or any other whistle?

Come to think of it, I have encountered another whistle that had the same characteristic. It was an Overton D that I got to play at a festival. Man, was it sweet! If I had had the cash in my pocket, I would have that whistle in my music bag now (and my wife would be saying, "You spent how much on a whistle?!").

~ Thornton

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Thu Dec 06, 2001 1:06 pm

I have an Overton high D and the resistance thing is definitely there. I like it, because it give the tone some bite and I can use dynamics. At first I thought the Overton needed an incredible amount of air, and it does take quite a bit. But the more I play it, the more I realize that it is air pressure rather than volume.

JSW · Post by **JSW** » Thu Dec 06, 2001 1:12 pm

Yes,I have noticed the same thing on my Dixon and my Silkstone Alloy.My Hoover Traditional Bore has the most resistance of any whistle I own. The LBW almost seems to suck the air right out of my lungs.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: JSW on 2001-12-06 14:13 ]</font>

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Thu Dec 06, 2001 1:46 pm

The Walton's Mello-D is another that"sucks the air right out of my lungs", it's almost negative breath pressure.

For some cheap whisltes I've noticed that I blow into the corner of the mouthpiece (kinda sideways) to artificially create a bit of back pressure. It gives a more airy tone, but is more pleasant to play.

-brett

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Thu Dec 06, 2001 2:26 pm

My Harper requires prodigious air pressure and very little volume. I become oxygen starved and have to blow through my nose to empty and refill my lungs while playing (or smile and expel air around the fipple). (Actually, I haven't played it in ages because of that and because you have to lift the left index for the middle d, which I never do and I hate retraining myself, and it's ferociously loud in the upper octave.)
Tony

Thomas-Hastay · Post by **Thomas-Hastay** » Thu Dec 06, 2001 6:31 pm

If designers of Low whistles would use the round-lipped labium (below)

<a href="http://www.organstops.org/f/FlautoDolce.gif">Flauto Dolce,round lipped labium</a>

Less wind pressure would be needed to sustain oscillations without the need for a narrow,clog-prone windway to cause backpressure as a means of player wind conservation. But...silly me,what would I know. I'm just an amateur after all

Thomas Hastay.

Whistlepeg · Post by **Whistlepeg** » Thu Dec 06, 2001 8:06 pm

Thomas,
Then the whistle would sound more like a flauto dolce and not a windy whistle - besides, what would we have to talk about on this message board if we didn't have the foibles of our whistles?:)