What is chiff?

FearNot · Post by **FearNot** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:59 am

That's all of the question - what is chiff? I'm new (I'll admit it), so what is it? Is it good to have or not good? No doubt this has been explained before, but i don't see a search feature so I can look for it in the forum.

Ohh - never mind - I found the Search feature.

doogieman · Post by **doogieman** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:07 pm

Go here: http://www.chiffandfipple.com/taotechiff.htm

This should explain all...............

airbender · Post by **airbender** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:17 pm

Or if that doesn't do it for you, try Dale's FAQ

http://www.chiffandfipple.com/faq.html

Look for "Q: What is Chiff? What is Fipple? Why 'Chiff & Fipple'?"

This is what makes Chiff & Fipple and the forums so much fun

Scott

tin tin · Post by **tin tin** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:38 pm

Chiff is actually a pipe organ term (and an onomatopoeia), and it means the non-musical (ch) sound before the note establishes its tone. (Airiness or other sounds heard once a note has established itself is not chiff.)

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:58 pm

some people like chif and some dont, it al depends on your liking. it is very hard to define chiff. i dont know how to, but i guess you will just have to look on those links that people are posting.

doogieman · Post by **doogieman** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:25 am

....what Tintin said.

Sorry, I was just having some fun at your expense.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:35 am

While I agree with Tintin, there are whistlers who use the term chiff to mean the non-musical white noise in a note, not just the "ch" sound during the attack. The Clarke Tinwhistle literature also seems to adopt this view. If someone is using the term, it's probably for the best to establish how they are using it before evaluating what they've said.

A-Musing · Post by **A-Musing** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:03 pm

Haven't thought about Chiff for awhile. So, paid attention to my whistles, and found that my Bernard Overton low Eb has both a potent "CH" at the inception of a note,(before the resonance sets in...) and a more sustained "white noise" during the course of the tone. This is one chiffy whistle! Gorgeous! In my little collection, Bernard is the Chiffmaster. Cosmic Dreamy!