your best/worst whistle compliments?

[Infernaltootler]

I actually got a ,"More, More," the other night when I played a tune for a group sitting around a camp fire. But 'bless him, it was me or that bleedin' digerdoo again.

I was amazed that so many people were there and so very few had any tunes or even a song to sing.

Worst comment? Of late it's probably been something along the lines of, "That whistle is very loud on the top notes," which I take to mean, "That thing is piercing me to the very core and if by chance you should fail to hit the right note I'm going to kill you,"

[walrii]

Best: My cat no longer scoots from the room when I pick up my whistle.

Worst: The vet says the cat is going deaf.

[mutepointe]

Best: There was a visiting priest at Mass last week. For one reason or another, the rest of the folk group bailed on us. This left my wife (singing) and me (guitar and singing) and before Mass, some meditative songs on my crystal flute. After Mass, the visiting priest, a missionary, who was interested in music, asked a lot of questions. When I said we lost a member of our folk group, he asked if we would hire a new member. I said, "No, we'll pray for a new member." He thought we were paid musicians.

[brewerpaul]

People really like it when I play. In fact, most people have a favorite tune: they always ask me to play"Far, Far , Away"...

[riverman]

Worst, from neighbors: "We heard you playing, but we thought it was the ice cream truck!"

Very Worst, near a knitting shop where my wife was looking for yarn. I was playing outside, and a woman walked in, saying, "Do you know there's someone playing outside on the street? [Implied: Aren't you going to stop him?]

Best: "That was beautiful." --A woman walking out of a restaurant where I was playing a Gen Bb on the patio.

[Ballyshannon]

People really like it when I play. In fact, most people have a favorite tune: they always ask me to play"Far, Far , Away"...

Ah.... 'tis a lovely tune: http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/tun ... &T=FARAWAY

I know what you meant but couldn't resist since it really is a beautiful tune.

[boyd]

(More than once now): "I thought it was a CD playing"


and also more than once (a local pub landlady, broad cockney accent, misplaced to the Highlands):

"Not those fackin' whistles again? You can play anything you like except those fackin' whistles."



B

[celticmodes]

My 6 year old son said with a genuine exasperated disgusted look, "Why do you keep doing that????" in reference to my whistle playing.

[Sweetbriar]

from my nine year old daughter who also plays whistle and who tracks me down wherever I'm playing in the house or outdoors to listen very attentively and recently said: "Gosh, Mama, you sound JUST like a CD!" and very seriously "don't you EVER stop playing".

from my husband, who loves my flute playing but is less of a fan of whistles, asked recently: "having a bad night, or are they always going to sound like that?" He does like the playing of Julie Fowlis and certain other performers, so there is hope for him (and possibly me as well)....

I must be getting better though, I'm starting to like my Feadógs

[deisman]

Boyd's worst is the winner IMO!

Worst: "Dad, everyone thinks you are strange" (from my 17 yr old daughter)

Best: "Well, you've got all kinds of tunes in there all of a sudden" (from one of the advanced members of our session)

[jmiller]

I guess this is both my best and worst

"That almost sounded like something."

[MarkP]

I think sometimes the best compliment is when you walk into a group of really good players, pull out your whistle, and join in on the chunes. And afterwards they say ... nothing. As if it were the most natural thing in the world for you to be playing with them. Maybe a few smiles in your direction, or a friendly bit of craic.

Good one (doubly nice when they invite you to play a tune a while later).

[Infernaltootler]

What I don't like is when you start playig along with a tune everyone looks at you sharply.

Their faces are expressionless.

I can never make out if they just caught the high notes of the whistle which stand out over everything else, or they are annoyed.

I did go to a lovely session on Wednesday and there was a good collection of old blokes from Ireland playing button boxes and fiddles really well. When I played from one tune into another one of these sage, grey haired, shiny trousered old duffers nodded to me in affirmation. Made my night.

[projektio28]

Best: "Whistle... Row, Row" meaning, please play Row, Row your Boat, by my 18-month-old daughter.

Worst: "You are in the wrong key, jack!" from my band mates, not realizing they originally recorded the whistle part in A, not D as I had assumed incorrectly.

Matt

[a.mellifera]

Best--(on a myspace comment--the whistle wasn't visible) "Nice flute playing."

Worst--my toddler son signing "all done please" vigorously as I played a tune.