Whistle and Spouse Mix

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Aug 08, 2002 5:28 am

My EX couldn't stand whistle playing ( or just about anything else I did) which is a great part of why she is now EX.
My brand new wife is also an avid whistle player, and she actually bought me the lathe I use to make wooden whistles for my 50th birthday! Last weekend, I played flute and whistle at her daughter's ( my stepdaughter!) wedding. No whistle/spouse problems here....

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Thu Aug 08, 2002 6:48 am

That's the way to do it brewer! I've discovered several ways (besides divorce in this case) of feeding my WHoa without complaint from the Missus.

1. She collects unicorns. She has hundreds. Most of which are far more expensive then my whistles.

3. She collects cross-stitch paraphenalia (which at leasts results in inexpensive Christmas gifts). Still more then my whistles.

3. It's cheaper than my old habit of collecting computer games at $40-$50 a pop.

4. It's a lot cheaper than my desire to aquire more hammered dulcimers. Even I can't justify that one.

I can't get her to try one though. She insists she can't play without written music so I showed her my O'Niell's but still no interest.

She has also had the audacity to point out that the money I spend on CD's full of whistle/Irish/Folk/Bluegrass.... makes up for the low cost of the whistles.

Do you think I can convince her a Bose CD player is absolutely essential?

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Thu Aug 08, 2002 7:13 am

Just this morning my darling-dear said to me: "Honestly, I think you'd be just as happy without me; you could just work and come home and whistle all you want."

"No!" I replied, my voice full of shock and reproach, "I'd miss you terribly on the nights on which there aren't any sessions, honey."

ysgwd · Post by **ysgwd** » Thu Aug 08, 2002 9:55 am

I mistakenly agreed to a practice session with my group on the night of my guy's birthday. When I vocalized my shock at my mistake, he said, "it's no big deal, it's okay if you practice then, we can celebrate the next day." I said no way, that it was no big deal for me to skip a practice with them, that it wouldn't be right for me to go to practice and leave him alone on his b'day. Later when I told him I changed the practice time to the next night, which was complicated because we all don't live in the same town, he really looked relieved.

The fiddler in our group has an equally understanding and supportive wife. He made the same initial mistake I did, and she told him the same thing my guy told me. He got us to change the practice time.

We consider ourselves blessed with mates who if they won't play music with us, at least they will encourage us to play with others.

Lisa

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Thu Aug 08, 2002 10:15 am

My husband is blessedly tolerant of my various musical obsessions (including the whistles), even though our tastes in music are somewhat different. In fact, when he noticed a brand new Feadog peeking out from under the armrest in my car the other day, his only comment was "That's a great idea to keep one in the car. That way you can play whenever the mood strikes you" (yes, the man is a total gem!).

My daughter generally ignores my playing (except, for some reason, when I play "Si Beg, Si Mor," which she really dislikes and refers to as the "whee whoo" song!), so I was pleasantly surprised last week when I was playing "South Wind" and she called down to me "That's really pretty music, Mom!" Not sure if it's just that my playing has improved, or if she just likes "South Wind," or if it's the whistle (I was playing the O' Briain improved, which is noticibly gentler on the ear in the upper octave than my other whistles), but it was nice to hear!

Redwolf

Dave Parkhurst · Post by **Dave Parkhurst** » Thu Aug 08, 2002 4:14 pm

You're not alone.... I finish a whistle that I think sounds particularly good and run in from the garage to play it. For some reason I keep forgetting that my wife's inevitable response will be "Yes dear, it sounds like a whistle...". I have been having fantasies about Andrea Corr showing up at my doorstep, lonely and with her entire whistle collection in a suitcase....

chas · Post by **chas** » Fri Aug 09, 2002 6:05 am

Lisa hit upon one of the keys -- being considerate encourages tolerance.

I'm another one of of those lucky enough to have a wife who encourages my collecting and playing. She says it makes her feel better about some of her obsessions. She's also a very good flute player with a very good ear and offers constructive criticism, only when asked.

Charlie

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Fri Aug 09, 2002 7:34 am

I'm in a lucky position...my wife bought me my first whistle in '95. So, she couldn't complain too much when I started squeaking and squawking on it.

Luckily, I latched on to the Bill Ochs tutorial in less than a month, which improved my playing considerably, in short order. Thankfully, I'm obsessive, and the 'painfully bad' period was over in short order.

She still occasionally gets annoyed when she's heard me play a new tune One More Time (I'll usually play a new one for 3 or 4 hours the first evening I learn it)...I try to be considerate and shut myself away in a room with my quietest whistles. But, she tells me that the occasional annoyance is worth it when she gets to watch our 2-year-old son dance around the living room when I play.

DanD · Post by **DanD** » Fri Aug 09, 2002 8:48 am

My wife wasn't originally very tolerant of my music. Her opinion was that since playing and practising music doesn't result in a physical product, you're really spending a lot of time doing nothing productive! (Her hobbies - sewing, knitting, soapmaking, gardening, etc. all result in something you can use, sell or give away.)
Although I still get complaints about the whistles ("too high & screechy"), her attitude changed when I the money I brought home from playing with a band not only made my music hobby self supporting, but helped make Christmas a little extra special this year!

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Sep 24, 2002 10:11 pm

I just wanted to bump this thread up and get some more views on it.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Tue Sep 24, 2002 11:16 pm

I always found jewelry to be a good counterbalance - just buy the jewelry ahead of time so you have it available when the whistle arrives.

Then she got hooked on eBay and her habit got worse than mine.

Then my WhOA was cured and now SHE's the one with the habit. Fortunately I'm too laid back to worry about it, so it all worked out.

JohnPalmer · Post by **JohnPalmer** » Tue Sep 24, 2002 11:18 pm

I am very lucky to be living with the people I am living with. It's 10PM and all three kids are in bed and I've been playing violin for a couple of hours. Later tonight I'll start to practice the mandolin at around 11PM. They never say anything about my playing, ever. And the playing doesn't wake them up. As for my wife, she never says anything about my playing, and since I'm the cook, I am always playing in the kitchen, which is in the middle of the house. There's a whistle in almost every room, so my family hears me play all the time. They're so lucky.

Just kidding. . .I'm the lucky one!

Thank you, my family.
JP

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: JohnPalmer on 2002-09-25 01:20 ]</font>

tom.french · Post by **tom.french** » Tue Sep 24, 2002 11:57 pm

i made a deal with my wife when she started complaining about the sudden cost of supporting my whoa.

i asked her how much she spends on cigarattes a month (i don't smoke), and negotiated the same to support my new addiction. with my birthday and christmas coming i will got the odd whistle beyond this allowance.

as for the playing, she finds it sweet, as i find her. the only rule is i'm only allowed to practice during the commercial breaks of television (this is when she goes out to smoke).

after 2000 hrs i switch to low whistles -- the neighbours.

cheers!

- tom

vaporlock · Post by **vaporlock** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 1:25 am

My 2 year old daughter, who has to spend the most time with me, sits and watches her TV shows in the morning with me beside her rummaging through JC's ABC tune finder, playing away to my hearts content. Often, she'll go find her nickel Generation high G and accompany me (she knows how to work the top two holes now). But when she's through, she tells me, "No, Daddy. Whizzer right here." pointing to the place she wants me to put my whizzer..errr...whistle down. Then we play and have fun until it's her nap time (around 2:00pm), when whistling is forbidden. Then my wife gets home from work and we play and have fun until it's HER nap time (around 2:00am). Then I sneek into the garage with my Hoover narrow bore until it's MY nap time (around 3:30am).

You may have noticed that my wife's waking hours at home NEVER overlap with my whistle playing...it keeps her happy enough to give me a whistle allowance every month.

Side note: She has heard me play the bagpipes and knows that I just spent $400 to restore them to pristine condition. I think she's just scared and wants to encourage whistle playing at all costs!

chas · Post by **chas** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 6:39 am

On 2002-09-25 03:25, vaporlock wrote:

My 2 year old daughter. . . Often, she'll go find her nickel Generation high G and accompany me (she knows how to work the top two holes now).

When did she learn to cover the holes? My 15-month-old still grips the whistle right below the blade. If I try to move her hand, she says "No No No." She'll let me cover some holes sometimes, at which point she can pretty consistently hit the high-G. She can sign a tune now (Camptown Races), and still enjoys my whistle playing.