Bamboo whistles
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Bamboo whistles
I was wondering if anyone here has played around with bamboo whistles. I know I`ve seen a few bamboo flute makers on the web that offer them, but never really gave it a thought until I hopped in a local "world instruments" music shop here in town. They had a bunch from india ranging in price from around $6-7 up to around $25. I assumed they were junk, but picked up a low G and to my surprise it sounded really sweet! Breath control is key on this one, but really, really nice. AND it was only $6.25 or so. Anyone else have any luck with something like this?
"In my day, we didn't need words..... we had faces!"
- vomitbunny
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I've had a few. A soprano that was playable, badly, and low E that was pretty much unplayable, and an A that plays and sounds very well indeed. It could be in tune a bit better , but it is at least acceptable. The sound is very pure with a bit of "neccessary chiff" and on the loud side.
The good A has blue bindings near the head, middle, and end, if that helps any. I think on the cheapest crap they don't bother binding it. They have a reputation of not holding up very well. Binding helps to prevent cracking. Holes are on the large size usually.
Hey you arn't out much if you wind up with junk, and you might wind up with something decent. One day I'll probably get a couple more, just for fun.
I think the descrepancy comes from the quality of the worker. The bad soprano was made by prison labor. The worse one in EE was probably child prison labor, or possibly drunken lepers. The good one in A was probably made by someone on probation or parole, that at least knew what a whistle sounds like. Maybe child labor, but not in prison. Or drunks. Or lepers. But not drunken lepers. Possibly elves. Not the good ones like Santa has though. Rejects. Think OOmpa LOOmpas.
The good A has blue bindings near the head, middle, and end, if that helps any. I think on the cheapest crap they don't bother binding it. They have a reputation of not holding up very well. Binding helps to prevent cracking. Holes are on the large size usually.
Hey you arn't out much if you wind up with junk, and you might wind up with something decent. One day I'll probably get a couple more, just for fun.
I think the descrepancy comes from the quality of the worker. The bad soprano was made by prison labor. The worse one in EE was probably child prison labor, or possibly drunken lepers. The good one in A was probably made by someone on probation or parole, that at least knew what a whistle sounds like. Maybe child labor, but not in prison. Or drunks. Or lepers. But not drunken lepers. Possibly elves. Not the good ones like Santa has though. Rejects. Think OOmpa LOOmpas.
My opinion is stupid and wrong.
- billw
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A friend of mine brought by a soprano D -- with no tone holes! I drilled it for her, but really...
(removed really small-minded comment... )...
Anybody can make a mistake, and the whistle sounds fine and is in perfect tune. They do kind of resemble the sound of wood!
Cheers, Happy New Year
Bill Whedon
(removed really small-minded comment... )...
Anybody can make a mistake, and the whistle sounds fine and is in perfect tune. They do kind of resemble the sound of wood!
Cheers, Happy New Year
Bill Whedon
Last edited by billw on Fri Jan 14, 2005 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ye Olde Whistlesmith Saying:
A whistle without a fipple, is just a piece of leaky pipe!
Click the WWW and come have some fun with poems and music and now BOOKS! and check out the preeeety whistles and the T-shirts with attitude!
A whistle without a fipple, is just a piece of leaky pipe!
Click the WWW and come have some fun with poems and music and now BOOKS! and check out the preeeety whistles and the T-shirts with attitude!
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bamboo whistles
This one does have binding on it, although a little loose on some spots so really it only seems to serve a decorative purpose. I rather kind of like the larger finger holes. I'm used to playing on homemade pvc whistles and you usually end up with bigger finger holes anyway. I've found it makes half-holing a lot easier, really. The tube diameter is surprisingly thin which makes for a very light whistle, but it also makes me wonder how long this thing will last. Did a quick check at home and it's pretty flat- more like a F#, so I won't be bring this one out to sessions, but still fun to play with. I did notice inconsistencies with the size of the windway, but other than that, they were surprisingly consistent from one instrument to the next.
One more acquisition under the belt!
Thanks guys.
-Hudson
One more acquisition under the belt!
Thanks guys.
-Hudson
"In my day, we didn't need words..... we had faces!"
- John S
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I've got quit a large collection of tweaked Indian and Pakistani Whistles, and some excellent ones in C, B, Bb, A, Ab, Gb.
One thing to remember is that often the marked Key is a semitone sharp of the actual pitch.
Here in the UK we have a thriving North Indian and Pakistani community and there are specialist shops that cater for their needs. These shops will sometimes have musical instruments, and in my experience are quit happy for you to go through lots of whistles and select the ones you want.
The prices vary but the best quality ones, are less than £10. My strategy is to look for the whistles with good tone and playing characteristics and worry about the intonation later.
Tweaking is pretty easy, usually there not far out.
One problem I've found with some is that if you play the second octave tonic with the top finger off they play sharp, but are fine overblowing with all fingers down.
TTFN
John S
One thing to remember is that often the marked Key is a semitone sharp of the actual pitch.
Here in the UK we have a thriving North Indian and Pakistani community and there are specialist shops that cater for their needs. These shops will sometimes have musical instruments, and in my experience are quit happy for you to go through lots of whistles and select the ones you want.
The prices vary but the best quality ones, are less than £10. My strategy is to look for the whistles with good tone and playing characteristics and worry about the intonation later.
Tweaking is pretty easy, usually there not far out.
One problem I've found with some is that if you play the second octave tonic with the top finger off they play sharp, but are fine overblowing with all fingers down.
TTFN
John S
Re: bamboo whistles
Hudson, Indians like flutes and whistles with thin walls because it is more reponsive to half holing which is the guts of the style. Many thick walled varieties of bamboo are available in India but its the thin walled that get pickedHudson wrote:......
The tube diameter is surprisingly thin which makes for a very light whistle, but it also makes me wonder how long this thing will last. .....
Of course the Orient (as in Japan etc) likes half holing the thicker walled bamboo shakuhachis and such like but but they do not build up to the speed that Indian music does. In that music, even at very fast tempo the glissando must be maintained.
qui jure suo utitur neminem laedit
I made an excellent bamboo d whistle a few weeeks ago. It took me a ridiculous amount of time (like almost 5 hours), but it sounds excellent. The material itself is capable of greatness, but I doubt its long-term stability, and hole placement and everything else must be calculated for each individual whistle, since bamboo varies in size even in one stalk, from one node to the next.
~JessieD
Jessie, there are different types of bamboo and some are more regular.JessieK wrote:......
The material itself is capable of greatness, but I doubt its long-term stability, and hole placement and everything else must be calculated for each individual whistle, since bamboo varies in size even in one stalk, from one node to the next.
qui jure suo utitur neminem laedit
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Has anybody posted www.mid-east.com yet?
They sell bamboo whistles, and I've gotten a few from there. The ones I got were low whistles, and they weren't bad, actually.
They sell bamboo whistles, and I've gotten a few from there. The ones I got were low whistles, and they weren't bad, actually.
- seisflutes
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- Entropy
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The only low whistle I own is a bamboo low D that I bought from Mid-East through Amazon. I figured it would be a good (inexpensive) way to find out if low whistling was for me. So far I've been impressed enough that I'm considering purchasing a more expensive one, probably a Dixon.Cranberry wrote:Has anybody posted www.mid-east.com yet?
They sell bamboo whistles, and I've gotten a few from there. The ones I got were low whistles, and they weren't bad, actually.
- seisflutes
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