First, I must extend a tremendous thanks to Colin and Brigitte. You are two of the nicest, kindest, most generous, friendliest people I've ever met. It was such a pleasure and an honor to be your guest!
So, back to the story..
We did all sorts of great things while I was in Germany - visited Neandertal, saw old, old towns, ate great food, etc... but I know that what you are all interested in is the whistles
I have never seen, or played, so many absolutely wonderful whistles in my life! When I first set foot in Colin and Brigitte's house I practically fell over from the sight of so many beautiful Overtons..... mmmm... I'm practically drooling just thinking about it! If I were a rich man they would be mine... all mine, mu ha ha ha!!! Er, sorry.
So not only were there more Overtons than I've ever seen in my entire life, just waiting for me to play them, but Colin has an entire closet full of whistles from other makers - and some beautiful ones there are! And then there were the flutes... Colin has a few Olwell bamboos and a handful of old flutes which he is in the process of restoring. The nicest is an old Nicholson which we polished up beautifully.
And then there are bodhrans - Brigitte is a great bodhran player (Colin's not so bad himself) and they have some really nice Eckerman bodhrans (which they sell). They also have a crazy combination bodhran/didjeridoo which has to be seen to be believed.
Oh yeah - didjeridoos... there are lots of them, and both Colin and Brigitte can circular breath. My first evening in Germany Colin and Brigitte tried to teach me how to breath properly on an Overton, circular breath and play triplets on a bodhran.... I just fell asleep.
So that brings up a really good point, and one that I think everyone should really pay attention to - playing a low whistle, and especially an Overton, takes a much deeper, diaphragmatic breathing than a little high whistle. I've been playing flute for two years now and whistle for five and I certainly was not breathing properly at all. You know how when you listen to a CD of McGoldrick, Finnegan or McSharry on an Overton their tone sounds totally different than your own? A big, big part of that is breathing properly. It sounds totally different, and much better, when Colin plays the whistle, as opposed to when I play it, and when I say that I mean tone specifically - Colin's tone is stronger, sweeter, smoother - the whole deal (Colin is also a superb whistle player all around - it's nice to play whistles made by a superb player). While I was in Germany Colin began to teach me to breath properly and my breathing is definately improving. As my breathing improves my Overtons are sounding better and better and better... really starting to sing the way a flute sings when played properly. For those of you having trouble with your Overtons, work on your breathing and also learn to play them with real conviction - the harder you blow them the better they sound. Those high notes, which can sound not so good when not blown hard enough, are sweet and smooth when blown good and hard. Also, Overtons will very rarely clog when blown properly. It is only when being played with "wimpy breathing" that they clog up and sound not so good. A lot of people have expressed that Overtons take a lot of air to play - I have to set the record straight here. Every Overton plays differently, and they can be individually tailored to one's preference - but in general the Overtons actually take more PRESSUE but less AIR. That means that you have to work on your diaphragm muscles and learn how to blow a little harder but you actually end up using far less wind than on any other low whistle I've tried - thus you run out of breath much more slowly. It's very much like playing the flute - on the flute if your lips are loose and floppy you can play without blowing very hard, but the tone isn't very good, especially in the upper octaves, and you'll run out of air very quickly. If you play with a good, tight embouchure you have to blow with a little more pressure, because there is more resistance, but the tone and responsiveness are much, much, much better. It's the same principle.
So, I'm not going to give any of Colin's trade secrets away, but let me just say that Colin is a real craftsman and works very, very hard to make a superb product. Every whistle is made by hand, individually voiced by hand, tuned by hand, polished by hand - Colin is responsible for the whistles every step of the way. I think you would all be quite amazed how much work goes into making the whistles. Colin's whistles are worth every cent they cost us, and in fact I think Colin should charge more for them, given the amount of work that goes into them.
So, Colin and Brigitte were wonderful to me, feeding me, entertaining me, giving me a bed to sleep on, driving me all over the place, letting me try all sorts of instruments... truly wonderful people.
One of the coolest things we did was to go up to Amsterdam in the evening for the Interceltic Dance Festival, featuring bands from Italy, Germany, Belgium, Galicia, Brittany, Scotland and Ireland. My favorites were Lunasa (Ireland), Peat Bog Fairies (Scotland) and the German band, whose name I can't recall (nor pronounce). The concerts were back to back, starting around 8 and going until 3 or so... one heck of a long night. Colin and Brigitte's car had sprung a severe coolant leak on the way to Amsterdam so we had to drive all the way back to Germany with no heat in the car (it was extremely cold out) and the windows down to avoid suffocation! I am very, very much in debt to Brigitte for driving us all that way.
So, after five wonderful, wonderful days of whistles, Flook tunes and good chocolate I left Germany with two new good friends and a newfound understanding of exactly how rediculously good Overton whistles really are.
Colin and Brigitte - thank you! You are wonderful.
Best,
Chris
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The more you give the more there is.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ChrisLaughlin on 2002-10-29 10:33 ]</font>
