Whistles are magic!

[riverman]

You may not believe what I am about to write. I may not have believed it myself if I had not just witnessed it. But it is absolutely true.

I live by the Eel River in Indiana. The Eel is bordered by more farmland than houses--there are a lot of trees, and quiet. This is my refuge. My land is on three levels: the top, where our house is, a middle level, mowed and park-like with several large trees, and a bottom level, wooded and only partially mowed, along the river.
It is a cloudy, cool afternoon, and I was sitting in a lawn chair playing my Clarke original in D, all kinds of jigs and some slow tunes.
As I was playing a slow tune, (the Hobbit's theme--really!) I saw movement down the slope on the bottom level. Moving silently out of the trees came three deer, a doe and two spotted fawns. They saw me, but didn't run. I kept on playing, just enjoying their beauty. I expected them to run any second.
Then, to my amazement, they walked up the slope, closer to me!
In all my life I have never seen a deer move closer; they either stood their ground or ran. They moved up the slope onto the middle level, in the open, obviously listening to this strange creature making bird sounds.
I said, "Hi! You are welcome here." But I didn't dare quit playing long.
I kept up with slow tunes, some improvisation, playing quietly, no high range. The fawns ambled around their mother's feet. They moved under a broad spreading maple, facing the slope up to the road. I thought, "That's where they're going, across the road."
Then, to my utter amazement, they turned from the slope and moved even CLOSER! Both the mother and her fawns were now only 12 paces away. I played and played, very softly, as they listened, their heads swaying curiously, their ears turned to the music. Finally, after a long pause, the mother turned and moved back down the slope, her fawns following.
I kept playing until they disappeared, then stopped, still astonished by what I had just been a part of.
Who says whistles aren't magic?

[Doc Jones]

Too cool.

Doc

[MTGuru]

As I was playing a slow tune, (the Hobbit's theme--really!) I saw movement down the slope on the bottom level. Moving silently out of the trees came ...

... a Hobbit!

Well, I'm very disappointed. But your tale is almost as good! Or maybe better.

[greenspiderweb]

Yep, great story! Sounds like a once in a lifetime experience, but maybe if you return the same spot on a regular basis, you just might have a following of appreciative listeners waiting for another concert! Worth a try, if you can manage it! Either way, it's still a wonderful experience, and a positive reinforcement on your playing skills-who says it's only for people the likes of us?!!

[mutepointe]

Lucky you.

[rap4th]

Oh that must have been so awesome!!

Now if it were me....all of the deer probably would have imploded due to the noise I make with my whistle. OK I guess I should not be so hard on myself.

Anyhow, would you happen to have the ABC code for the hobbit song. I take it is the song "Concerning Hobbits". I have been looking for this for a while but can't seem to find it.

Rob

[hoopy mike]

Maybe St. Francis carried a whistle...

[Pammy]

That sent shivers all up my neck. What a wonderful experience.

[talasiga]

Some time ago my wife posted this story in her topic viewtopic.php?f=10&t=58005&start=15

After lunch and a sleep Talasiga, H and I set off on a little adventure. We drove into the National Park and turned down Bakers Road, ripe for exploration despite the ‘No through road’ warning. It was lovely, we managed to go for 6 kms before it degenerated into a bush track and we had to turn ‘round.

Passing a cow paddock I slowed down to watch a pheasant coucal up a tree and Talasiga started playing ‘Vrindabani Sarang’ to the cows.

They looked up, then started to move toward him. Then they stopped so he stopped for a while.

He continued like this for some minutes until all the cows had come as close as they were comfortable – often trotting towards him.

Then one cow started bellowing and a horse came over from another paddock.

They all stood motionless – completely transfixed by the music.

H said it was the best audience he’d ever seen.

It seemed cruel to leave them without the music but perhaps the local birds will sing to the cows instead.

We drove on to the north side of the headland and watched rain as dense as steel wool racing in from the sea across the town to the mountains.

Just magic.





http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/2970/coucal.htm

My experience over many years of playing in rustic settings is that all grazing and browsing animals, wild or domesticated, are responsive to flute and whistle song. The further away they are from noisy traffic the more responsive.

Whistles and flutes figure strongly in all olden shepherding and cattle herding cultures.

[Finikey O'Reeley]

Many years ago I had a similar experience with a herd of deer while playing the Highland pipes in a park. I was amazed at how the deer kept getting closer. I later told my neighbor about it. That was the only time he ever invited me to his hunting camp.

[Dain]

Exactly. No fears for lunch.
Save your whistles for nuclear war aftermath.

[riverman]

Oh that must have been so awesome!!

Now if it were me....all of the deer probably would have imploded due to the noise I make with my whistle. OK I guess I should not be so hard on myself.

Anyhow, would you happen to have the ABC code for the hobbit song. I take it is the song "Concerning Hobbits". I have been looking for this for a while but can't seem to find it.

Rob

Rob, you're funny!
Actually, I learned the "Concerning Hobbits" tunes just by "fingering it out" on the whistle, starting on the D note (D whistle). It was one of the first tunes I learned. I'm sure people here have the ABC code (which I STILL don't understand). I think I've seen it here before.

[devondancer]

Wonderful!

[mutepointe]

Mrs. Talasiga needs to write more, I miss her.

[Infernaltootler]

I was walking through a woodland next to a festival having been to visit a sweat lodge and I sat down on a stump to play. There were some people around and about and they were astonished to see two little imps come fluttering out of the shubbery to my side. They didnt' know that they were two of my kids aged 6 and 9 who I hadn't seen for two hours playing in a silvan fantasy world of their own.