Advice for a newcomer!!

nancymae · Post by **nancymae** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 9:48 am

Hello All...I am a new whistle student, and have found this great forum. I am turning 50 this year....and am trying to teach myself the whistle with the help of a cd and a book. I already know how to play guitar and clarinet, so the music thing doesn't scare me.

My questions:

1. Do you think I am too old to be starting this???? How much should I practice??? (I really love it already!!)...but my goal would be trying to play music for personal enjoyment....and perhaps to friends and family.

2. My whistle seems like it is playing flat notes. I am comparing it with the cd sounds that I have.....and my whistle seems flat. Is this due to the force of my wind through the whistle? or does my whislte need to be tuned? I have a Clarke Celtic Whistle.

Thank you...and I know that I am going to enjoy being a part of the whistle community!!

Nancymae

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 9:57 am

nancymae wrote:Hello All...I am a new whistle student, and have found this great forum. I am turning 50 this year....and am trying to teach myself the whistle with the help of a cd and a book. I already know how to play guitar and clarinet, so the music thing doesn't scare me.

My questions:

1. Do you think I am too old to be starting this???? How much should I practice??? (I really love it already!!)...but my goal would be trying to play music for personal enjoyment....and perhaps to friends and family.

2. My whistle seems like it is playing flat notes. I am comparing it with the cd sounds that I have.....and my whistle seems flat. Is this due to the force of my wind through the whistle? or does my whislte need to be tuned? I have a Clarke Celtic Whistle.

Thank you...and I know that I am going to enjoy being a part of the whistle community!!

Nancymae

WELCOME!!! The first thing you will want to do is get inoculated for WhOA! I forgot to do that and it has become a real obsession to obtain whistles so I can find the BEST one. The problem is, they all have their good and bad points. Just a warning.

Are you too old? NO WAY. 50 is the perfect age/time to learn this. So is 44, which is how old I am.

Practice time will vary depending on several things. One of them being your being able to physically deal with the newness of finding the new muscles it takes to play the whistle. The other is psycological. How long can you stand hearing yourself play and learn. Most recommend 10-15 minutes at a time to start. Work up to longer periods as your skill and tolerence improve.

The playing flat could be for either of the two reasons you mention. It could be your air control or the whistle could just plain be flat. I do not know about the whistle you have, but there are methods available to correct various "flaws". Some are easy, others require a degree of skill and bravery to accomplish. I will let the more experienced tweakers deal with this in more detail. It would help if you mentioned the exact model of Clarke you have.

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:05 am

Hi Nancymae,
If all the notes are flat, warm up the plastic head under hot water to loosen it and push it farther on to the tube. That will make the entire scale slightly higher in pitch. If it's some notes, that's the tube and you can't fix it without machine tools and skill. Better to get another whistle. I've noticed on cd's that the pitch is all over the place. A tunable whistle is desireable for that. If you're already playing along with cd's, you're far along for a newbie. Have fun.
Tony

nancymae · Post by **nancymae** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:08 am

Thanks Steven for the quick reply!!! I have been playing the whistle for about an hour..and boy...are you RIGHT about those muscles!!! It's been decades since I played the clarinet...so my mouth muscles need some tuning themselves!!! I will cut down on my playing a bit until my mouth gets used to the whistle.

Thanks also for the encouragement on my age. I love trying out new things...and I LOVE!!! Irish music soooo much...that I thought...why not!!!
My hubby thinks I am crazy.

I love to go for walks and paint outdoors...and would also love to play my whistle out in the forest...for relaxation..and personal enjoyment. At least that is what I am hoping.

Thank you for the welcome!! I think I will enjoy this place!!!

Nancymae

skh · Post by **skh** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:09 am

nancymae wrote:Do you think I am too old to be starting this????

No. Others will speak up who started at your age or later, to back up my words even if I started much earlier. In my opinion, making music when this is what you want to do is always better than not making music. With all this mass-produced machine-perfected soul-less stuff blasted at us from speakers everywhere, we lose an important part of what makes us human - being able to produce sounds to please and touch us and to dance to. Don't let them tell you you can't make music, whoever tries it.

How much should I practice???

As much as you like and the people around you can stand

Many of the people on this board have whistles lying around everywhere and play a quick tune whenever they like. An uninterrupted strech of time (maybe 30 minutes a day, or more, of course) of concentrated daily practice will work wonders.

I don't have much experience with Clarke Sweetones (and the Celtic Whistle is a Sweetone painted swirly-green, if I'm not mistaken), so I skip part 2.

Welcome, and remember to have fun

Sonja

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:10 am

They make a vaccine for WhOA? Great sign me up!
I 'm shopping for my fist whistle now and I already have about three in mind!

nancymae · Post by **nancymae** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:22 am

Thanks Tony....the whistle sounds flat all the time...I will try the hot water thing.

I'm not playing along with cd's...just my lesson cd...which is very very slow....perfect for beginners!!! I have learned songs with four notes now....(I just started this week!!)

Nancy

nancymae · Post by **nancymae** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:24 am

Thanks Steven for the quick reply!!! I have been playing the whistle for about an hour..and boy...are you RIGHT about those muscles!!! It's been decades since I played the clarinet...so my mouth muscles need some tuning themselves!!! I will cut down on my playing a bit until my mouth gets used to the whistle.

Thanks also for the encouragement on my age. I love trying out new things...and I LOVE!!! Irish music soooo much...that I thought...why not!!!
My hubby thinks I am crazy.

I love to go for walks and paint outdoors...and would also love to play my whistle out in the forest...for relaxation..and personal enjoyment. At least that is what I am hoping.

Thank you for the welcome!! I think I will enjoy this place!!!

Nancymae

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:38 am

Hi Nancy,

You are never too old to start something new - my Aunt started playing the violin 3 years ago, and she's over 60. She enjoys her playing, and I've enjoyed playing duets with her - something I plan to do more of.

I still tend to do practise in short sessions - maybe only 5-10 minutes, but occasionally over an hour if I'm working on something particular. If I'm getting frustrated or defeated, I tend to stop and come back later, and find the problem has worked itself out. Others prefer to keep bashing through until they conquer the problem. Not for me, problem-avoidance is my middle name (well, OK, it's actually Henry, but let's not go there). So practise as much as you feel comfortable with, but try not to get frustrated with yourself of thw whistle.

Welcome to the board, and welcome too to Paula who snuck in there - we saw you!

cj · Post by cj » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:46 am

Welcome, and I too agree with the fact that you're never too old to try something new, esp. something that soothes the soul like music. I like Sweetones, but you'll be wanting to try other whistles, and you'll find one (or more!) that's right for you.

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 10:57 am

Thanx for the warm welcome. I can't wait to go to my first festival to practice and to hear others who can play ITM well. I would think you can find as nice of people to help you learn at festivals as you can here. I tend to be a problem " basher" as Martin put it-so I hope I can stop myself at 10-15 minutes before I get too frustrerated with it. I can't wait to get whistling!!

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:03 am

First welcome to the whistle board and the wacky people who inhabit it. Youngsters like you should be learning something new. I started learning the whistle when I was 63. That was about 9 months ago. A lot of Clarke Sweetone type whistles are not right in tune. Most I've seen are a little sharp. Some don't even need the hot water. You can move the fipple with your hands, carefully. I hope you enjoy your new pastime. Keep whistling.

Ron

illuminatus99 · Post by **illuminatus99** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:04 am

whatever age you happen to be is a great age to learn the whistle or any other instrument.

Duffy · Post by **Duffy** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:23 am

Welcome to this wonderful place NancyMae. Since I was a teenager in love for the first time forever when you were born, I can safely say you're not too old to start playing the whistle. I've been playing a little less than a year. I must be making progress because my wife has stopped growling and started paying the occasional compliment.

Please visit us here often. You can learn something just about every visit. There's lots of free advice available and most of it is pretty good. If you have a chance, go to the local festivals also try to find others you can listen to and eventually play with. I walk for excercise and often stop along the way in the park, town square, or on a bench in front of the barber shop to rest and play. Its great for therapy and for the soul. No one has complained yet, but there are those who wonder about me. Stay with it, you'll love it

Mike

Ridseard · Post by **Ridseard** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:24 am

50 is certainly not too old to start. I was over 60 when I started, and in a short time I have progressed to the point where I am the best whistle player in my neighborhood.

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