Getting rid of Unsightly Chiff

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 9:55 am

I am about six months into whistle lessons. I have asked my teacher this question but I thought I'd give it a go here as well. Of the many varieties of chiff the one that I am afflicted with is the Plopp. I often get a big PLOPP sound when putting my finger down on a hole. I have heard other players playing the same tunes who do not plopp. I have been trying to get rid of it but to no avail. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm so mischugene I could plopp!
Mike Burns

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 10:04 am

I think I know what you're talking about. I don't seem to have trouble with it like I used to. Don't know what, if anything, I might've changed. Well, I guess that was no help!

WhistlingSouthpaw · Post by **WhistlingSouthpaw** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 10:24 am

Actually, I always thought that could be kind of a cool effect. You know you can play a tune by just "plopping" your fingers on the holes in random fingerings.

Probably you're just putting your fingers down too hard. That's my guess.

Ridseard · Post by **Ridseard** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 11:11 am

I tend to get a "plop" sound when I slur from B (xoo ooo) to C-natural (oxx ooo) or vice-versa. I don't mind it, however.

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 11:24 am

Ploping is aparently forbiden by some recorder players.I love to plop unashamedly on a soprano whistle and have noticed that the larger hole whistles have a more satisfying plop than the ones with smaller holes.Waltons Mellow D and Generations are good ploppers...and thats no poop!

Mike

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 11:24 am

On 2002-10-01 11:55, burnsbyrne wrote:
Of the many varieties of chiff the one that I am afflicted with is the Plopp. I often get a big PLOPP sound when putting my finger down on a hole.
Mike Burns

I doubt whether plopp is a kind of chiff, properly so called. But I really don't know what plopp is. I get lots of strange unintended noises playing whistle like squeek, wheeze and shhchlllerrrpppp. But I don't get anything I'd describe as plopp.

Can you please point me to a clear example, say a bar where Mary Bergin goes plopp?

Patrick · Post by **Patrick** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 11:41 am

For a lovely example of the deliberate use of "plopping" check out Joanie Madden's album "Song of the Irish Whistle" and skip to The Otter's Nest. Great song. For a while, it was my son's favorite tune.

-Patrick

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 11:42 am

On 2002-10-01 13:24, Wombat wrote:
On 2002-10-01 11:55, burnsbyrne wrote:
Of the many varieties of chiff the one that I am afflicted with is the Plopp. I often get a big PLOPP sound when putting my finger down on a hole.
Mike Burns
I doubt whether plopp is a kind of chiff, properly so called. But I really don't know what plopp is. I get lots of strange unintended noises playing whistle like squeek, wheeze and shhchlllerrrpppp. But I don't get anything I'd describe as plopp.

Can you please point me to a clear example, say a bar where Mary Bergin goes plopp?

I have never heard a player of Mary Bergin's caliber plopp.

I'm learning a tune called Planxty Mrs. Power with a passage that goes something like BCD|BCDD|BCDg and no matter how slow I play it it plopps all the time. That's just an example, there are other spots and other tunes where I plopp. I'm getting plopped out!
Mike

Ridseard · Post by **Ridseard** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 11:49 am

Here's my B to C-natural "plop" on an Ó Briain nickel D.
http://pw2.netcom.com/~ridseard/plop.mp3

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 11:49 am

I bet Mary Bergin doesn't go shhchlllerrrppp either. But thanks Patrick, I'll check out the Joannie Madden example. If Joannie plopps deliberately sometimes, that might just be something Wombat wants to do too. Thanks too Ridseard; we can never have too many tricks.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Wombat on 2002-10-01 13:51 ]</font>

BillG · Post by **BillG** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 12:26 pm

Ridseard - I went to you mp3 site to hear the plopp but got poop! -- nada! Too pooped to plopp?

BillG

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 12:32 pm

On 2002-10-01 13:49, Ridseard wrote:
Here's my B to C-natural "plop" on an Ó Briain nickel D.
http://pw2.netcom.com/~ridseard/plop.mp3

Riseard,
You have a little more squeak in your plopp than I have but basically that's it. It's interesting that I get very little plopp on my Sweetone, but then that's a very low-chiff whistle anyways. I plopp big time on my Oak and slightly less on my brass Gen. I would think that it's due to some interaction between how hard I'm blowing and how fast I close the holes...I dunno!
Mike B

Dewhistle · Post by **Dewhistle** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 12:34 pm

On 2002-10-01 13:49, Ridseard wrote:
Here's my B to C-natural "plop" on an Ó Briain nickel D.
http://pw2.netcom.com/~ridseard/plop.mp3

Is THAT a plopp? That's bad?

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 5:56 pm

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!

Rod Sprague · Post by **Rod Sprague** » Tue Oct 01, 2002 11:45 pm

I find if I don't lift and put down fingers at just the right times, and or use breath control just right as I go from note to note, I get odd little unintentional grace notes. I sometimes will use a split second transitional fingering to go from one note to another so as to prevent the odd unintentional, or cause a more pleasant transitional note between notes.