Advice for a newcomer!!
- nancymae
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Advice for a newcomer!!
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
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
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- Tell us something.: I play whistles. I sell whistles. This seems just a BIT excessive to the cause. A sentence or two is WAY less than 100 characters.
Re: Advice for a newcomer!!
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.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
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.
Steven - IDAwHOa - Wood Rocks
"If you keep asking questions.... You keep getting answers." - Miss Frizzle - The Magic School Bus
"If you keep asking questions.... You keep getting answers." - Miss Frizzle - The Magic School Bus
- TonyHiggins
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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
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
http://tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/newspage.htm Officially, the government uses the term “flap,” describing it as “a condition, a situation or a state of being, of a group of persons, characterized by an advanced degree of confusion that has not quite reached panic proportions.”
- nancymae
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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
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
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Re: Advice for a newcomer!!
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.nancymae wrote:Do you think I am too old to be starting this????
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.How much should I practice???
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
Shut up and play.
- nancymae
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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
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
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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!
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!
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that schwing
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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
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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
Ron
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- Duffy
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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
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