Whistling in the wind

scottadm · Post by **scottadm** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:30 pm

I tend to play outside at fairs and such. Is there a whistle that can play in the wind? I find that my wistles (Generation and Oak) cannot hold up to even a slight wind.

CranberryDog · Post by **CranberryDog** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:40 pm

I have had good whistling in the wind performance from my Copeland and Overton soprano Ds.

I haave heard that Sweetheart Pro D's work well in the wind. Good luck.

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:51 pm

you beat me to it crandog, Sweethearts are the best for in the wind.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:59 pm

A standard busker's strategy, if standing with the wind
to your back doesn't help, is to turn the head of the
(tunable) whistle upside down.

khl · Post by **khl** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:56 pm

Here are a few responses to this question from a couple years ago:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=30141

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:40 pm

Sweetheart Pro D's are very good outdoors --- loud, sweet-sounding and wind-resistant. For me, they're too loud indoors, which is where I play.

So..... my Dymondwood Pro D whistle/fife duo set, (lists at about $180), is available for $135, shipping included. It's about a year old, and like new. PM me, if interested.

Cheers!

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:54 am

I play outside a LOT and have tried many different whistles on my mountain walks. Most whistles will play if you turn your back to the wind. I have not personally found inverting the whistle head to be of any help.

The winner of all my trials has been the Walton whistles. These whistles perform well even when played with a side wind. Not all whistles sound particularly nice out of doors, to my hearing, but the Walton does sound great outside.

Overton is another great whistle for playing out of doors.

Try playing with your back to the wind. That is the best tip of all.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:22 am

Adrian wrote:Try playing with your back to the wind. That is the best tip of all.

At a festival a few years ago, I went to see a whistler friend of mine performing on an outdoor stage with his band. Arriving a bit late to the concert, I found the band arrayed normally across the stage, except for my friend, who was seated with his back to the audience. Various thoughts crossed my mind. Was this an avant garde performance statement? An attack of acute stage fright? A horrible facial rash? Until I realized that there was a strong headwind blowing directly at the stage. Even with microphones, nothing else worked. I think the whistle was a Copeland D ...

I once tried testing various whistles by playing directly into an electric fan. The result was a very cool tremolo effect, a truly hideous head of hair, and inconclusive information about the wind resistance of the whistles.

scottkent · Post by **scottkent** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 8:17 am

I agree with the Collector and Crandog...the Sweetheart Pro is great in the wind. I usually play while sitting on a bench at the lake near my house and this being Florida there is almost always a bit of wind from one coast or another making its way here. So from my experience (which is limited to several wood whistle and cheapies) the Sweetheart is very good in the wind. I wonder if the angle or length of the blade or the shape of the fipple/mouthpiece is responsable for this? BTW my Generation F plays fairly well in the wind...not exactly on key...but well.

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:07 am

I also hear that the Pro D is very acceptable at Ren Faires, there being no visible plastic involved...

NoMattch · Post by **NoMattch** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:45 pm

When I'm playing at outdoor fests and the wind starts whipping through, I'll either turn my back to the it or tilt my head in the opposite direction of the breeze. I find that blocking it is the only way to avoid dead air and irregular tones. This is when my headset mic comes in most handy. I've had to play into a stationary unidirectional mics during windy performances and didn't have the mobility to avoid the gusts. I've learned that nobody believes you when you blame the wind...

The Laughing Imp · Post by **The Laughing Imp** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 6:23 pm

NoMattch wrote:I've learned that nobody believes you when you blame the wind...

Ain't that the truth!

lordofthestrings · Post by **lordofthestrings** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:05 pm

turn the head of the
(tunable) whistle upside down.

I agree. I generally do this with my whistles (the ones I make, referred to as "firefly"s) when ever I play out doors, just rotate it around the tuning slide. I've made a few custom order one piece whistles with the fipple (of a 45 degree slant mouthpiece style) upside down. (that is, the wind way laying along the bottom of the tube. This works well, and the combination of my particular fipple design and the gravity on the lower wind way provides excellent "drainage" from "wet" players like myself.

I've also made baffles to slide over fipples of "store bought" whistles. Just a piece of thin aluminum/brass/copper/etc. sheet bent in a way to sit about 1/4 (may be different depending on whistle) above the fipple vent, about an inch long in total. I bend them to either snap on the plastic fipple, or be taped around the underside. Can look neat on whistles, like the old "fontanelle" key coverings.