wood whistles v metal

[Tommy]

My metal whistles need to be warmed before playing. Do wood whistles also need to be warmed?

[glauber]

Yes. But not so much that they'd catch fire.

[alespa]

:roll:

[glauber]

Compared to metal, wood instruments will usually take longer to warm up, but also longer to get cold again, once they're warmed. If you have a tunable whistle, you can adjust the tuning as the whistle warms up. Traditional wisdom says you shouldn't play a wooden instrument that's very cold, before warming it up, or it would crack. I don't think this is true, though. Wooden flutes/whistles crack whenever they feel like it.
See here (flute myths) and here (heat and cold).

[slowair]

I carry my Lon Dubh in my inside jacket pocket and never have to warm it up. And it never ever clogs. Truly a fine whistle.
On the other hand, all my Sindts need to be warmed. I just breathe through them a few times and they warm right up.
Then there is the Dixon and that never needs warming and almost never clogs.
Hope this helps.
Mike

[vomitbunny]

Can you rub two wooden whistles together to warm them up?

[Crysania]

Traditional wisdom says you shouldn't play a wooden instrument that's very cold, before warming it up, or it would crack.

Actually, traditional wisdom is don't ever let your wooden instruments get very cold. Or even too warm. I keep my clarinet in a place that's not too close to any heater...and if I go out anywhere and have to take it with me, it never ever stays in the car (not even when it's a decent temp outside, but that's because it cost $3000, but this is especially true when it's very hot or very cold out).

Wooden instruments need a LOT more care than metal or plastic ones. You have to keep them properly hydrated (either buy one from a music store, or use orange peels) and swab them out (or they can warp).

The sound is well worth it though. I really want a wooden whistle someday when I can afford one!

~Crysania

[Kingfisher]

Yeah , VB , but I think you have to have some sort of Merit Badge from the Boy Scouts ?????

Have a Great Day and Fun Whistling !!

[Wanderer]

Compared to metal, wood instruments will usually take longer to warm up, but also longer to get cold again, once they're warmed. If you have a tunable whistle, you can adjust the tuning as the whistle warms up. Traditional wisdom says you shouldn't play a wooden instrument that's very cold, before warming it up, or it would crack. I don't think this is true, though. Wooden flutes/whistles crack whenever they feel like it.
See here (flute myths) and here (heat and cold).

This makes me wonder if cracking may be caused by internal structural problems in the wood that sound vibrations bring out...That would make cracking nearly impossible to prevent, if it's going to happen.

A bummer to be sure, but then it could be argued that the onus is on the maker to replace the cracked flute or whistle due to a problem with the wood rather than the blame being on the buyer for improper care....hmm

[brewerpaul]

Some wooden whistles (mine, Thin Weasel, Abell, etc) have metal head fittings which need to be warmed to prevent clogging. Further warming will also stabilize the pitch of the whistle. Actually, I think any wind instrument benefits from a warm-up.

[Jerry Freeman]

Problems with wood are mainly a result of the way wood reacts to changes in humidity, not temperature.

There's a relationship between temperature and humidity because air can hold more water at a higher temperature than at a lower temperature.

If air is heated, the relative humidity goes down, so wood exposed to heated air will tend to dry out, which will make it shrink. If air is cooled, the relative humidity goes down, so wood exposed to air that has been cooled will tend to take on moisture, which will make it expand.

This is an artifact of artificial heating and cooling, not of natural weather. Relative humidity of outside air that hasn't been artificially heated or cooled does not change nearly as much as the relative humidity of air that's subjected to central heating. Similarly, heated air presents no problem if something is done to make sure the humidity of the air is maintained. As I said, it's the relative humidity, not the temperature, that's the main factor.

Wherever there's metal in the construction, the wood will expand or contract against the metal, which is unaffected by changes in humidity, and problems can arise.

Rings around the outside of wooden instruments tend to become loose. This happens because the wood inside the rings goes through a cycle of expansion and contraction when the relative humidity of the air goes up and down. When the wood expands inside a metal ring, it can get crushed. Then, when the wood contracts again as the relative humidity of the air goes down again, the wood will contract to a smaller diameter than before, and the ring will become loose.

Tuning slides and other metal linings can cause wood to crack because the wood will contract as the relative humidity of the air goes down, but the outside diameter of the metal lining will stay the same. As the wood contracts against the metal lining, it splits.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[vomitbunny]

Do wooden whistle players have an exterminator come and spray thier whistle for termites once a year? I'm almost sure they do.

[trisha]

Depends where they keep their termites. I have a friend whose daughter ( a talented fiddle player) is taking her fiddle to Central America for her gap year next autumn. Termites did cross my mind...

Trisha

[Tommy]

I belive Jerry is correct in that moisture content of untreated wood will change with relative humidity. Applying oil to wood stablizes the moisture content and prevents expansion and contraction cracks.

[talasiga]

Problems with wood are mainly a result of the way wood reacts to changes in humidity, not temperature.

There's a relationship between temperature and humidity because air can hold more water at a higher temperature than at a lower temperature.

If air is heated, the relative humidity goes down, so wood exposed to heated air will tend to dry out, which will make it shrink. If air is cooled, the relative humidity goes down, so wood exposed to air that has been cooled will tend to take on moisture, which will make it expand.

This is an artifact of artificial heating and cooling, not of natural weather. Relative humidity of outside air that hasn't been artificially heated or cooled does not change nearly as much as the relative humidity of air that's subjected to central heating. Similarly, heated air presents no problem if something is done to make sure the humidity of the air is maintained. As I said, it's the relative humidity, not the temperature, that's the main factor.

Wherever there's metal in the construction, the wood will expand or contract against the metal, which is unaffected by changes in humidity, and problems can arise.

Rings around the outside of wooden instruments tend to become loose. This happens because the wood inside the rings goes through a cycle of expansion and contraction when the relative humidity of the air goes up and down. When the wood expands inside a metal ring, it can get crushed. Then, when the wood contracts again as the relative humidity of the air goes down again, the wood will contract to a smaller diameter than before, and the ring will become loose.

Tuning slides and other metal linings can cause wood to crack because the wood will contract as the relative humidity of the air goes down, but the outside diameter of the metal lining will stay the same. As the wood contracts against the metal lining, it splits.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Thank you for this near perfect expose.