Whistle Building

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:18 pm

What's a good way to make sure a whistle is in tune without a tuner? I'm building one in D with these instructions. http://science.univr.it/%7egonzato/whistle/#Low

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:31 pm

Tuners are pretty cheap, but the only other reliable method I can think of would be to play it against a tuning fork. You could play it against an instrument you are absolutely sure is in tune, but I would hesitate to call that "reliable"

BTW, I'm just now posting a review of that whistle

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:39 pm

Go to this link and download the first item on the page. This is the syaku8 tuner software. It is free and very good. All you need is a computer with a microphone input. I have been using it for several years.

Ron

http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~tuner/tuner.html

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:43 pm

Don't have a mic. When will that review be up wanderer?

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:44 pm

CRC wrote:Don't have a mic. When will that review be up wanderer?

It's up already

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=514855#514855

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:51 pm

Cool.

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Mon May 01, 2006 2:25 pm

Do you think the whistle will start to sound better when I start boring the holes? The first D still sounds a little flat.

TheKingPrawn · Post by **TheKingPrawn** » Mon May 01, 2006 2:25 pm

Thanks for the review Wanderer.

Does anyone know what size pvc he uses (in American terms not mm)? To the best of my understanding it's either 3/8" or 1/2" schedule 40. Anyone know which one?

dow · Post by **dow** » Mon May 01, 2006 3:43 pm

TheKingPrawn wrote:Thanks for the review Wanderer.

Does anyone know what size pvc he uses (in American terms not mm)? To the best of my understanding it's either 3/8" or 1/2" schedule 40. Anyone know which one?

1/2" = 12.7mm, so you'd use 1/2". To the best of my knowledge, you can't get 3/8"pvc.

I've got the plans, and am working on building one w/ 1/2" CPVC.

Chiffed · Post by **Chiffed** » Mon May 01, 2006 4:23 pm

CRC wrote:Do you think the whistle will start to sound better when I start boring the holes? The first D still sounds a little flat.

Boring the holes adds a little interior volume, hence changing the acoustics even on the bell note.

Blow the $20 on a Korg CA-30 tuner. It's a very useful bit of kit.

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Mon May 01, 2006 4:44 pm

I guess I'll look into getting a tuner. I started trimming a little off the end like the directions said, and that seemed to help a lot. I've been playing along with this scale to see if it sounds right but not sure if that's a good way of doing it. http://www.whistletutor.com/media/beginner3.swf

pop · Post by **pop** » Mon May 01, 2006 5:07 pm

I was thinking of using abcnav is that too daft or is it poss.Im still at the collecting pipe stage,i dont even know what a tuner looks like.

[edit] just downloaded tuner software.no nastys

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Mon May 01, 2006 9:55 pm

Alright, I finished my first low tech whistle. Some of the notes in the upper octave need a little work still. I thought it would be harder to make but it wasn't all that difficult (with power tools

) I'll have to try making other ones in different keys.

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Mon May 01, 2006 9:59 pm

Undercutting the holes will help the upper octave.

CRC · Post by **CRC** » Mon May 01, 2006 10:22 pm

Scream!

Did you say undercut? I actually made them a little bigger. But, I used some very thick pipe as that was the pipe with the smallest bore I could find. It sounds a bit flat and takes lots of air but I could get used to it. What can I do to make the sound a little sharper? Or is this impossible since I used thicker pipe?