Why didn't anyone warn me not to blow into a Sweetone as hard as you could? Christ... My dog just tried to throw himself out the window.
Well then. So I bought a Sweetone on the recommendation of a few of you folk, and I'm definitely digging it (my roommates certainly aren't, but screw 'em...) but I'm having a REALLY hard time keeping any note below low G steady... I'm guessing this is normal, so any tips/tricks/recommendations? Or any online sheet music archives I can check out for practice? I've been wandering around the house for the past three days making songs up and they're starting to wear on my nerves a bit.
Thanks,
Chad
I think my ears are bleeding =/
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TXwhistle
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- Tell us something.: I moved, so I'm in a different city. Not in Texas anymore!!! Although if someone sees that I'm in NYC, maybe they'll know of local places that I can look for whistles.
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I only have one Sweetone, so not the best to give advice about that. (It does tend to flip easily, but I think that's my breath control, not the whistle.)
For music, try The Session http://www.thesession.org or Wandering Whistler http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/.
For music, try The Session http://www.thesession.org or Wandering Whistler http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/.
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fancypiper
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It's called "breath control", you have to back off on the airstream as you go down the scale. You use more air to blow a note sharper, less to flatten. You might like the origional design as it takes slightly more air for the bottom octave.
Ceolas is a good source of tunes, software and tons of info.
Ceolas is a good source of tunes, software and tons of info.
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Jerry Freeman
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khaustic
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hm... well, maybe I have one that's "weak" then =/ The only way I can get that low D is to take my mouth off the mouthpiece completely and blow as lightly as I possibly can. Which sucks for songs that call for fast switches between low D and some other note. Or maybe I'm just being picky and am used to instruments that play the note you tell them to =)
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Jerry Freeman
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It's not difficult to tweak the bottom two notes stronger on a Sweetone.
First, I would fill the cavity under the windway with poster putty (available at WalMart next to the crayons). Make a ball of poster putty about the size of a pea or a little bigger. Pull the head off the whistle (may take some wiggling and pulling hard), and drop the ball of poster putty into the cavity under the windway. Tamp it down with something that has a flat end. I use the end of an exacto knife handle. You want the cavity to be exactly full, nice and flat, even with the end of the windway. If necessary, add a little more poster putty or remove what you put in and make it smaller so you get the cavity exactly full.
That may help stabilize the bottom two notes. However, the thing that really helps is to sand off a little from the edge of the soundblade. You can do this with a fine emory board, cut to fit into the voicing window so you can file on the end of the blade.
Very gently, file off the end of the blade just a tiny bit. Just enough to very slightly blunt the end of the blade. It doesn't take much at all to strengthen the bottom two notes on these whistles. If it improves some, but not enough, do it again. Repeat cautiously until the bottom notes are acceptable. If you can then sharpen the soundblade again by filing a little off the top of the soundblade ramp so the soundblade comes to a sharp edge again, that helps keep the timbre sounding focused and the upper register strong and clean. Also, it's important to make sure when you're done, all surfaces and edges, both above and underneath, are uniform and smooth, with no little bits of plastic or fuzz or anything.
Best wishes,
Jerry
First, I would fill the cavity under the windway with poster putty (available at WalMart next to the crayons). Make a ball of poster putty about the size of a pea or a little bigger. Pull the head off the whistle (may take some wiggling and pulling hard), and drop the ball of poster putty into the cavity under the windway. Tamp it down with something that has a flat end. I use the end of an exacto knife handle. You want the cavity to be exactly full, nice and flat, even with the end of the windway. If necessary, add a little more poster putty or remove what you put in and make it smaller so you get the cavity exactly full.
That may help stabilize the bottom two notes. However, the thing that really helps is to sand off a little from the edge of the soundblade. You can do this with a fine emory board, cut to fit into the voicing window so you can file on the end of the blade.
Very gently, file off the end of the blade just a tiny bit. Just enough to very slightly blunt the end of the blade. It doesn't take much at all to strengthen the bottom two notes on these whistles. If it improves some, but not enough, do it again. Repeat cautiously until the bottom notes are acceptable. If you can then sharpen the soundblade again by filing a little off the top of the soundblade ramp so the soundblade comes to a sharp edge again, that helps keep the timbre sounding focused and the upper register strong and clean. Also, it's important to make sure when you're done, all surfaces and edges, both above and underneath, are uniform and smooth, with no little bits of plastic or fuzz or anything.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Not contradicting Jerry's excellent advice on how to tweek your whistle (it can make a dramatic difference - several of my cheapies went from "barely playable" to "very good" with this sort of tweek), but I also have to agree with the "breath control" proponents (doggone, I sound political).
When I first started out with whistle, I had problems with both my Walton's standard-bore D and my Feadogs - they all popped into the second register too easily. The Walton's did need some minor tweeking - not my favorite, but now a solid performer. But I left my Feadogs alone since I had other whistles. And a month or two later, when I tried them again, I got a surprise - they sounded wonderful, and the bottom end was now solid. Though there may be some validity to the "plays in" school of thought
, I seriously doubt that they spontaneously improved whilst sitting on the shelf 
.
Some whistles do flip too easily. But there are also whistles that flip easily, but controllably - and once you have some experience under your belt they are some of the most pleasant to play - many of the most fun to play tunes are full of rapid and frequent register transitions, and you need a responsive whistle to play them well.
And yes, "responsive" usually also means "needs good breath control". And it varies from day to day. On a good-breath-control day my Oak D is probably my favorite cheap whistle - nice pure tone, feels solid in my hand, almost read-my-mind responsive. On a poor-breath-control day it squeaks and squawks like R2-D2 on speed
When I first started out with whistle, I had problems with both my Walton's standard-bore D and my Feadogs - they all popped into the second register too easily. The Walton's did need some minor tweeking - not my favorite, but now a solid performer. But I left my Feadogs alone since I had other whistles. And a month or two later, when I tried them again, I got a surprise - they sounded wonderful, and the bottom end was now solid. Though there may be some validity to the "plays in" school of thought
, I seriously doubt that they spontaneously improved whilst sitting on the shelf .Some whistles do flip too easily. But there are also whistles that flip easily, but controllably - and once you have some experience under your belt they are some of the most pleasant to play - many of the most fun to play tunes are full of rapid and frequent register transitions, and you need a responsive whistle to play them well.
And yes, "responsive" usually also means "needs good breath control". And it varies from day to day. On a good-breath-control day my Oak D is probably my favorite cheap whistle - nice pure tone, feels solid in my hand, almost read-my-mind responsive. On a poor-breath-control day it squeaks and squawks like R2-D2 on speed
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OutOfBreath
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Whitmores75087
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