Oh gosh! A beginner!

Swedish-Banjo · Post by **Swedish-Banjo** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:02 pm

Hey there!
I'm completely new to the pennywhistle (have no experience what so ever in instruments like this), and ofcource, as you probably have heard like a million times before, I need some advices here.

I bought my whistle (along with a book and a CD) about 4 days ago, and have so far managed to learn some simple tunes, and it goes along pretty well. Not verry hard to learn at all it seams (though, what do I know about more advanced playing?

) and I really enjoy flickerin' around whit it.

The whistle it selfe is no glamorous at all. It's a Generation D, cost about $6, in other words nothing to be proud of but heck, it's darmn funny!

Now my problem is; when to play the high octave, the whistle just don't sound clean and smooth. The notes are not clean, and it is almost like a pain to my ears, really.
So it's no fun at all, going through the high octave exercises in my book.
Any suggestions for a newb?

Congratulations · Post by **Congratulations** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:10 pm

High notes are always ugly in the beginning. The more you play, the more you'll learn instinctively to soften those sounds with your breath. In the meantime, a lot of players like to shade the open holes on their high notes. For instance:

If you're playing high B, there's a lot of open holes (x=finger down, o=open hole):

xoo ooo

So what you can do is maybe something like this:

xoo oxx

Those extra fingers on the bottom can take some edge off of those high notes. I seem to recall Peter Laban saying once that he never plays high B without at least his bottom ring-finger down. But I could be hallucinating about that one.

Henke · Post by **Henke** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:20 pm

Just because it's so darn nice with fellow whistlers from Sweden I'm going to write a bit in Swedish, hope you guys don't mind.

Tja!
Kul att du trivs med whistlespelandet såhär långt. Jag har hållt på i runt 5-6 år nu och jag har fortfarande lika roligt.
Som den andre sa så kommer du att lära dig spela mjukare med tiden, men det kan också vara så att din whistle är lite dålig. Generations har en tendens att inte vara så tillförlitliga, det kan skillja en hel del mellan olika Generations. De som är bra är kanske en på dussinet men de är värda sin vikt i guld. Man kan också modifiera en dålig Gen och få den avsevärt mycket bättre. På huvudsidan finns instruktioner om detta, kolla efter tweaking.

Ha det så bra och lycka till!

peteinmn · Post by **peteinmn** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:53 pm

Henke wrote:Just because it's so darn nice with fellow whistlers from Sweden I'm going to write a bit in Swedish, hope you guys don't mind.

Tja!
Man kan också modifiera en dålig Gen och få den avsevärt mycket bättre.

I usually use a large hammer or just get a Hoover Whitecap or Blacktop.

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:00 pm

I'd say the problem with those high notes might just be the whistle you're using. Generation D's nowadays are very hit and miss with their quality. And it seems more so miss. Meaning most of them are crap.

Get a Clarke original whistle in key of D, the one with the wooden block inside the fipple. They're about 12$ plus shipping from thewhistleshop.com and they're more stable then most generations. This Clarke whistle will take some more air to play than the Generation, and it also sounds a little breathier. However, this whistle is also a little quieter then most plastic headed whistles, which should make learning the high notes just a touch more bearable.

The only other cheapy but very playable whistle I'd suggest would be a Clarke Meg in D. Don't get the C's, because the C's seem to have very bad tuning issues. The Meg's are half the price of your generation also. Not bad for 3$.

Give it a try who knows. It's all about fun, so enjoy!

-Eric

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:09 pm

You may want to try 'tweaking' your whistle. There are instructions on the main website if you want to do this. But usually its just a matter of practice and time to get the high notes sounding sweeter. The top note will always be louder and harder than lower notes, but with time you'll learn exactly how hard to blow.

Bumble · Post by **Bumble** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:02 pm

Congratulations on your purchase!
I learned on a cheapie Walton's LBW (that's Little Black Whistle..$2-$5). It's a little squawky but SO easy to play that it's still a favorite.
As for the higher octaves, everyone else had good advice. Just be patient and keep trying. EVERYONE has the same problem with the high notes at first.
If you do get a Clarke, I second the recommendation of a tweaked one. If a regular Clarke had been "my first", I might have given up early becuase it takes a barrel of air to keep one playing. (they do sound nice though)
Check out Brother Steve's Whistle pages. WONDERFUL instruction, encouragement and history.
Cheers!
--Walter

cutterpup · Post by **cutterpup** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:05 am

Hi, as one beginner to another I got the Orginal Clarke and a Meg as my first whistles. I found the Meg much easier to get into the higher octaves at first but now can do so with the Clarke almost as easily. The two things I found with the Clarke is that it needs to be warmed up well (about five minutes of playing) before it sounds good and then after about fifteen minutes I need to adjust to give it more breath to keep it sounding good otherwise it's too raspy. I'm sure that this has to do with the wooden fipple swelling with moisture from my breath. I've actually been breaking it in as if the whole whistle was made of wood and find that the tone overall has improved greatly in the week since I got it. Although the Meg is nice sounding and definitly easier to play I feel almost as if I'm cheating when I play it. It's too easy.
The other thing I learned was to take it slow. Of course as soon as I got them I had to run through all the notes and try to play the harder music. Once that was out of my system I went through the book from the very beginning and forced myself to practice in the order outlined. It's frustrating playing "childrens" songs over and over and staying basically within one octave. I play recorder (soprano, alto and tenor) and am used to playing more complicated and "grown-up" stuff. But now, with the whistles, after I'd stuck with D-D, plus C# and not going higher than high E for four days I have found that trying to reach the higher notes is easier and they sound better. Plus we have a local group that does a "R rated" filk to Sweet Betsy From Pike so my family has been rolling with laughter when I play it, I don't think they know the original song.

Good luck and stick to it..next month I'm bringing a whistle to the local recorder group playing session.

shadeclan · Post by **shadeclan** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 11:57 am

As a beginner, I would recommend (as always) picking up a slightly more expensive tweaked whistle from Jerry Freeman. That way, whether you screw up the low or the high notes, you'll know that it's you and not the whistle!

Swedish-Banjo · Post by **Swedish-Banjo** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:08 pm

I'm getting more and more frustrated over not being able to play the high octave properly.
It is really unbareable to listen to, due to both the bad intonation and the loud sound (well, about the loudness, it's my family who hates it).
Think I have to buy a new whistle after all, but I'm a bit afraid of buying the Clarke Original cause manny seams to consider it as being hard to play for beginners. Right?
On the other hand, here in Sweden it is pretty hard to find all those brands that you guys talk about, or maby it's just me not knowing where to look.
So I might go for the Clarke after all. I really need to be able to play the higher notes!

One thing more.
Do you consider it as bad behaviour to learn songs by tab, or should I strictly follow the "reading-notes-system" ? A little bit of both seams good to me. I mean, in the end, you don't sit in front of notes when to play the whistle. Once a song is memorized, you don't look at the notes any more. At least thats my experience.

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:20 pm

Yeah Clarkes are just all around sweet whistles. Especially for the money I've never had any problems with them other than the Meg C whistle. Yeah, the wooden blocked ones do take more noticeable amounts of air, but sometimes they have a tone worth all that air.

And if you do have one of those "amazing" generation D whistles, I'm sure it's still possible for a beginner to squeek those high notes on one. It's just something every beginner goes through. Some get through it faster than others. Just a part of learning. Eventually, you won't even have to think about how hard or soft to blow. It will come natural, and when that time comes, it's amazing. I think. I gotta give thanks to my dad for going through that process of me learning ALL those high notes, including the 3rd octave D. Gotta bless him for that haha I tell you what. I think that's where I lost part of my hearing during that time in my life....

At any rate keep at it. And play around with different whistles. I'm sure a lot of people can say which whistle they prefer the most over others. But, you gotta find one You like! And that's a process can end up drainin' your bank account lol... I'm kidding, but it might lead to WHOA...

-Eric

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:30 pm

Well, I've never had much luck with Generations other than the Bb (which is only playable hardly amazing) F, and G whistles. But, that's not to say there aren't any bad ones out there.

Check out www.thewhistleshop.com and you can pick from a bunch of brands of whistles. Including Clarke. I've ordered from there many times, and never encountered any problems. But, as we've found out with another website (whistle and drum) problems can occur.

As for which methods to learn buy, I hardly used tab because I can't nor couldn't read music, and that obviously eliminates using sheet music. I just learned off a little Mel Bay pocket learning book. It gave me the fingering charts for the whistle, (the scales) and I played and played and played until I got it down. But I don't know if I'd reccommend learning that way. I turned out fine, but I just learned the only way I could.

Don't get frustrated, frustration only leads to wanting to bend the whistle in half over one's knee... You won't learn it over night, it takes time. Especially if you have a busy life-style. Just be patient and keep at it.

As for the Clarke with the wooden block that takes more air to play, that's the very whistle I learned on for almost a year before I bought other whistles...

Black Mage · Post by **Black Mage** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 3:00 pm

I'v never played a Generation before, but fro mwhat I've heard they area rarely any good straight out of the box. Usually they need to be tweaked before they can reach their full potential.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 3:16 pm

You might try www.bigwhistle.co.uk . They're close to you, have a large selection and they're great to do business with.

For any listing on bigwhistle.co.uk, you can select prices for any country, including Sweden.

Best wishes,
Jerry

pjuuldk · Post by **pjuuldk** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:22 pm

[quote="Swedish-Banjo"]On the other hand, here in Sweden it is pretty hard to find all those brands that you guys talk about, or maby it's just me not knowing where to look.

Hi Swedish-banjo.

We have the same problem in Denmark to

. But as Jerry says try Bigwhistle. I have done busines with them a cople of times and it is without any problems. Even at christmas it onely took one week before I had the whistle.

Good luck with the high notes, it can be a probleme but stay on it and you will suceed in the end.

Peter Juul