Do You Play Everyday/Which Whistles/Same?

[lyrick]

I play every day for 15 minutes to an hour, sometimes more on weekends. The whistles I play regularly are Humphrey narrow-bore D (pre-Stealth), Sindt D, Sindt C, O'Briain Improved Eb, Burke NB D, Oak D, and Sindt Bb, roughly in that order as far as time spent on them.

Most of my time is spent on the first three listed (Humphrey D, and Sindt D & C). It depends which one I pick up first, though, I'll sometimes pick up the Oak first and be quite happy with just playing that one. I'll probably get into the Bb more as time goes on, but for now I'm still enjoying the higher keys a lot.

I also have a Feadog that's very playable, and some Generations I don't care for much. Absolutely no desire for more whistles. I'm having lots of fun playing, the enjoyment just goes up as I slowly get better. Only play ITM.

[MacNeil]

Since taking up the whistle again (after an hiatus of a couple of decades ), I try to get in some playing every day. Right now, I find I am using a Sweetone D for most of my playing. I have a Freeman-tweaked Generation D that is really my all-time favorite, but is about to be sent back to the shop for service, so I'm getting used to the Sweetone. I also have an untweaked nickel GenD (nice, but a bit flaky in the Generation style, and no match for the "Jerry-ration" in any event) and a Susato low D on which I might, eventually, manage to get through a whole tune without squwaks, unintentional octave changes, or vanishing notes.

[RamblDoc]

Hi PhilO, Great meeting you at The NEWG in July !

I often play about an hour a day spread out over a few periods sometimes. I often skip a day because I don't have the time.
A recent favourite is my Burke E nat brass Black Tip. Delightful to play.
Then, I got a D sop White Cap on an Oak, which I played a lot.
The new WW D sop I got from Tyghress at the NEWG then took over a prominent role.
Now I've been devoting major play time on my new Humphrey Stealth narrow bore E flat sop, so as to get used to it.
The most recently acquired instrument seems to be the one that gets the most play time for me, as of late.l I've yet to use the new Humphrey narrow bore D and E nat tubes very much at all.
I'm probably at the point where I've got enough whistles.
Nah !
RamblDoc

[BillChin]

I average 15 to 30 minutes a day. Though lately, flute has been taking half of the time. Now that I have many whistles, I consciously rotate them through, though not in an even handed manner.

[Tom Dowling]

I strive for an hour a day of practice, find that I hit that goal less often that I would like, variable with the demands of my 'day job' , family and the world in general. I am fickle--sort of a serial monogamist--in what I pick up, but in a given week will most certainly lay hands on 'D' whistles made by (in purely alphabetical order) Michael Burke, Tony Dixon, Colin Goldie, Mack Hoover and John Sindt. When in the mood for the sound of an E-flat, I resort to a favorite Mack Hoover whitecap or a fine John Sindt.

Special occasions call for a little Fred Rose or Ralph Sweet. I can't bring myself to take them down to the garage on the irrational basis that I will drop them on the concrete--something I have managed not to do yet with any whistle, wood, plastic, composite, metal or otherwise. In any event, the wooden guys get played when I've got carpet under my feet.

Tom D.

[Caru]

I suppose I play most days, but not for a regular time or anything. Sometimes it'll be an hour and a half all at once, other times only a tune here and there. I've got most of my whistles in the kitchen, so I'll often play a little while waiting for water to boil or whatever.

I usually play my Silkstone alloy D+, especially if I'm running straight through a new music book to see which tunes I might like to work on. It feels the most natural and reliable -- I can concentrate on the music, not on making the whistle do what I want it to. I often play the plastic low A or G if someone else is in the room. They're mellower and rarely sound piercing. Lately I've found myself picking up my new Reyburn low D whenever I've got a few spare minutes.

Maybe about half the time I'll use a different whistle part of the time. I try to cycle in my newer aquisitions so I can start to get to know them better. Lately this has been a series of high Ds (Reyburn, Bleazey, Hoover, Overton) and an Overton F and a Water Weasel A. I like a lot of my whistles, but I keep going back to the Silkstone. Everything else sounds just a little muddy or feathery next to it. Going back to it feels like coming home.

[Katta]

Well, I only began playing the whistle about two and a half weeks ago, but so far I have practised daily (average about half an hour, sometimes more, sometimes a little less) except for one day when I was feeling rather sick. (And probably won't have time for it tomorrow since I probably won't be home before eight p.m. and it wouldn't be too nice towards my neighbours to practise then, the whistle is rather shrill in the second octave... :roll: )
As you can probably guess, my choice of whistles is rather limited, so far I own a Generation nickle D - but I am thinking about getting a "better" one, maybe a Burke, that hopefully isn't as shrill in the second octave (since I already have tinnitus... :roll: ).

Anyway, I hope to keep my practice hours up that way so I can progress quickly (at my stage progress is happening pretty quickly anyway that's what keeps up the motivation ).

[Theo]

Katta: A Burke would be a good choice for a non-shrill whistle, but if you want to stay cheap, get a Sweetone or a Meg. Although (to stay with the subject) these are my least played whistles, they don't sound shrill. Not even a high B.

I only own cheap whistles so far, and my Feadog D gets the most play time, almost half an hour per day. I just like the sound of it.

[Wanderer]

Katta: A Burke would be a good choice for a non-shrill whistle, but if you want to stay cheap, get a Sweetone or a Meg. Although (to stay with the subject) these are my least played whistles, they don't sound shrill. Not even a high B.

I only own cheap whistles so far, and my Feadog D gets the most play time, almost half an hour per day. I just like the sound of it.

a Laughing Whistle is pretty good for non-shrill...cheaper than a Burke, and has a neat telescoping property, but has the trade off of uncertain wait times and evidently sometimes there's difficulty in getting ahold of the maker.

[buddhu]

I play most days for 10 or 15 minutes. I used to play for about 30 mins each lunchtime, but at the moment that time is allocated for exercise... My whistle practice time has also been dented by the fact that I'm also practicing tenor banjo, mandolin and sometimes guitar. Not enough hours in a day...

Usually playing my Dixon ABS/aluminium D and C whistles or blu tac tweaked nickel Feadog D and C. If I'm out and about it'll be the Doolin 2-piece D tube with tweaked black Feadog head.

[Wormdiet]

I play for several hours a day, usually. But, just about all of that is on flute. I'll use my whistles in the following circumstances:

1) Gen Bb for *playing* tunes in the car

2) New-style Oak or Meg D for *learning* tunes in the car
3) Either of the above get taken to sessions as loaners. I'll also pull out one of them for Harvest Home or similar.

4) When my lips are too freaking tired to play flute, a whistle will come out.

5) I have a Meg C with lousy intonaion, but it's handy for learning tunes from albums in weird keys.

[DCrom]

Everyday, for at least an hour total, sometimes much more than that. Given my weird work lack-of-schedule, I try to fit in some playing whenever I have a few free moments.

Mostly the same handful of whistles - Syn D & C, Serpent Sweet Polly D, Humphrey D & C, Chieftain A, Howard Low D.

When I have more time at home, I break out my Serpent F - it takes a while to warm up, but once it's well-warmed-up I hate to put it down.

The main problem of an erratic scedule is that it's harder to work on new tunes (for me, anyway), so I'm mostly polishing pieces I know already. I like to have an undisturbed hour or two when I'm learning a new piece, preferably somewhere that I can play without the repetition and mistakes drivng other people to homicidal madness.

[PhilO]

I play most days for 10 or 15 minutes. I used to play for about 30 mins each lunchtime, but at the moment that time is allocated for exercise...

If only 30 minutes or an hour of exercise is allotted daily, is that in the yard, as in you're in solitary in a facility?

Philo

[Unseen122]

I play for several hours a day, usually. But, just about all of that is on flute. I'll use my whistles in the following circumstances:

4) When my lips are too freaking tired to play flute, a whistle will come out.

I usually do the same thing and esspeccially recently as I have had to play a Brass instrument a lot my lips aqre usually pretty tired.

[littlejohngael]

I get in about a half-hour a day. It's usually on my Alba Low F, and if not that then it's my Silkstone Soprano D.