Cheap Whistle with Clearest Tone?

[cavefish]

Clarke originals have a good mellow sound---Susato are clear but loud---------- if you want to spend some decent money, Sweetheart whistles are great -- the wood ones, i never tried the plastic ones

[Mockingbird]

I confess, very likely some of it is "the player" in this instance. It's just my inability to focus on more than one thing right now. I'm sure any of y'all could make this whistle sing!

Giving it a good shaking out helps a bit at first, but it gets out of tune again pretty quickly.

I thought a better sounding whistle might also be a bit more motivating. At first I thought I'd "cut my teeth" on this one (metaphorical, there...I do take Dale's advice not to chew on the whistle to heart), and buy a better whistle when I was up to speed and could do it justice. But there's the other side of the coin--just the enjoyment and delight of playing something with a nice sound, KWIM?

I'm running all these ideas past hubs...thanks!

[Mockingbird]

The GG clips are Guido Gonzato's PVC whistles, made by Guido.

LOL! I was wondering who the Irish whistle maker named Guido was...

ETA: I googled: Someday I may try one of his low whistles. Those look very cool, and I liked the sound a lot.

[straycat82]

Perhaps someone else could confirm this with more authority but I seem to remember those Mel Bay whistles being a painted, rebranded version of the Clarke Sweetone? I don't prefer these whistles nowadays due to their tuning design but I did play them for a long time in my learning stages. I think they're one of the easiest to play and get a pleasing sound out of as a newbie, even if it is a little soft and whispy. If you are having moisture problems (which I'm assuming you meant by "soggy") then more information on your environment, playing posture, etc. could help us help you troubleshoot. One common method that most of us here know to use is treating the windway with detergent to avoid the moisture buildup that can kill your tone or cause sound to cease alltogether.
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioend Feadog whistles yet. I play these almost exclusively and in my experience they are very consistent in manufacturing. Their biggest problem is usually a rough, almost buzzy tone right out of the box but I've never had this problem continue once I filled the cavity with putty. You can usually pick these up for between $8 and $10 bucks. They are a little less forgiving to beginners but this will help you develop good breathing technique IMO.

[squidgirl]

the moment it gets wet, the notes above high G are gone unless I blow really, really hard.

I can switch them out when they get soggy. I discovered they get soggy very quickly.

Giving it a good shaking out helps a bit at first, but it gets out of tune again pretty quickly.

Hmm, I wonder how much of your problem is normal beginner moisture/clogging issues. When I started out, I used to struggle a lot with clogging, enough to motivate me to regularly dose the windways of my favorite whistles with duponal or dilute dish soap (they looked pretty amusing, a fleet of whistles populating the dish drainer). When your whistle is clogged, it is indeed likely to have trouble hitting clear high notes.

Now it just isn't much of an issue for me anymore. I wonder how much of that change is because I used to tongue a lot and now I hardly tongue at all, plus I've developed the habit of covering the window and blowing the whistle clear whenever I pause. Finally, there's something about developing good breath support and blowing a relaxed & confident airstream which seems to help the whistle stay clear.

Another thought is that one does often have to blow pretty hard to get notes above high G. Though I find it's more effective for me to think of it as "opening up my exhalation", which seems to give me a better tone than the forceful push of breath that can make my whistle shriek.

Also, even on many free-blowing cheapie whistles, you will start to feel feel a bit of backpressure as you hit high A and B. I've been working on learning the sensation of how it feels to let the push of air coming from my lungs balance against the (perhaps subtle) backpressure of the whistle. This helps me recognize the sensation I want feel in my breathing apparatus as I jump up to hit high notes.

I've been working on some tunes with bigger and more abrupt jumps up and down in pitch, and concentrating a lot on how it feels to change breath pressure swiftly and and on the beat. It's like learning to pulse my lungs rhythmically -- kind of cool, when I think about it.

[Edited to add:]

Upon reflection, I remember that I used to have a hard time with high G and (even worse!) the notes above it, when I was a beginner. I was pretty phobic of the upper end of the upper octave -- those notes took a lot of air, and then when they came out, they were LOUD and raucous.

Now I don't know about you, but as a middle-aged lady I was not in the habit of making loud and raucous noises, and I tended to get kind of shy about making them often, particularly if my roommates were home or neighboring apartments had their windows open. So it took me a long time to discover that there are a lot of subtle gradations and textures of exhaling big, and while many of them can make the whistle shriek or leave you gasping, there are skills to be acquired in this realm -- if you can get used to the fact that you'll be making some Major Noise in the process.

[Mockingbird]

I'm intrigued by your description of "opening up exhalation." Is this a matter of diaphragmal (is that a word?) breathing and control? I may very well indeed be falling short on that. I did try a bit of detergent (like Dawn?) on the mouthpiece after reading a bit about that, but it may not have been sufficient. What is your method of application?

And yes, I'm averse to making loud noises. The kids seem oblivious (naturally; after all, they do perpetrate their share), but I'm a little shy about doing that with the DH in the house or even working outside, so I try to limit it to his "real job" hours.

Is not tonguing preferable to tonguing? Tonguing seems to help me conserve my breath a bit.

[squidgirl]

I'm intrigued by your description of "opening up exhalation." Is this a matter of diaphragmal (is that a word?) breathing and control?

I think it does, but I'm still kind of figuring this all out on my own. I've learned to use some sort of strength in the abdomen to regulate how air is flowing out of me, instead of regulating air flow through tension in throat/glottal area, and at my lips, as I used to when I first started out. So I think I'm relaxing and opening up my upper respiratory tract, while using my diaphragm to control the rate of exhalation. This relaxation of the parts of me nearer the whistle seem to let the tone resonate a bit more, or something. I can't quite place it, but I can hear it when i tense up.

Having never been a singer or wind instrument player, I was kind of starting from nowhere when it came to controlling how air flowed in and out of me. It's a really interesting area for reading and personal experimentation. You can google around for "breathing exercises" and "flute", "woodwind", "brass", etc.

I did try a bit of detergent (like Dawn?) on the mouthpiece after reading a bit about that, but it may not have been sufficient. What is your method of application?

I use our gentle-to-hands, groovy-dish-detergent mixed with water, in a dropper bottle (not sure I'd feel about accidentally getting Dawn in my mouth -- it eats my hands!). I tried to estimate just enough detergent in the water to leave a slight residue when it dried. I'd hold the whistle upside down with my thumb covering the hole you blow into, and fill up the airway with my dropper bottle via the window. When it was full I'd remove my thumb and let the soapy water flow away, and put the whistle in the dish drainer to dry out. When they were dry, I'd sponge off the part that went into my mouth. I'm not sure how much was the groovy detergent, but I hardly ever got an unpleaasant taste from the detergent.

Is not tonguing preferable to tonguing? Tonguing seems to help me conserve my breath a bit.

We need a can of worms smiley. If you want to play Irish music on the whistle, tonguing is generally used as occasional punctuation, unlike playing, say, classical music on the recorder, where you'd tongue every note. Tonguing does make your breath last longer, and it also covers for imprecise fingering (which can be a good or bad thing...).

[Denny]

FWIW the diaphragm is not a muscle, what you are using are the core muscles.

from a visualization perspective it matters not.

[swizzlestick]

Now it just isn't much of an issue for me anymore. I wonder how much of that change is because I used to tongue a lot and now I hardly tongue at all, plus I've developed the habit of covering the window and blowing the whistle clear whenever I pause. Finally, there's something about developing good breath support and blowing a relaxed & confident airstream which seems to help the whistle stay clear.

I was recently saying the same thing. I used to have all kinds of condensation problems and gave my whistles the soap/water or Duponol treatment regularly. Now I only bother if I expect to be playing in cool conditions. I don't think it's tonguing since I carefully avoided doing too much in my early playing. Breath control/breath support? Yep, I think you might have at least part of the answer there.

Mockingbird, I am thinking back on my first few days of playing and I remember suddenly realizing that I didn't really need to blow harder to reach the high notes. I could just increase the speed of the air by barely inserting the whistle inside my mouth and compressing my lips to reach the second octave . I bet you picked this up somewhere on the forum already or through your own experimentation, but it does require some control to do it right on the highest notes. When you get it down, the highest notes are far sweeter and kinder to your ears. Many of us joke about how our whistles age to perfection, but it's really our skills improving. I know this is hard to hear as a beginner. I am on the same road myself. Hang in there.

Edited to add: My "hang in there" is really a reference to when I was discouraged. You certainly sound motivated enough!

[Denny]

....an' yer digestive system isn't auto salivating anymore

[swizzlestick]

....an' yer digestive system isn't auto salivating anymore

Good point, Denny. It did take a little time for my salivary glands not to kick in whenever I put a whistle in my mouth. That's another factor, but I think my condensation problems continued on past that point.

[bigskybri]

....an' yer digestive system isn't auto salivating anymore

Good point, Denny. It did take a little time for my salivary glands not to kick in whenever I put a whistle in my mouth. That's another factor, but I think my condensation problems continued on past that point.

Pavlovian whistling?

[Denny]

only a cur would spit on their dog


nicely played

[Mockingbird]

only a cur would spit on their dog

LOL!

Thank you for the encouragement. I really wasn't aware of the "lip compression" method, so I'll work on that too. You are all very patient answering newbie questions that likely have been asked a hundred times before!

I'm going to have to do a search on the tonguing/not-tonguing issue, as I got the impression (from the Bro. Steve site) it was a personal preference thing.

ETA: Oh, and I tried dipping just the mouthpiece into a strong soap solution and letting it dry. It seems to have helped!

[swizzlestick]

I'm going to have to do a search on the tonguing/not-tonguing issue, as I got the impression (from the Bro. Steve site) it was a personal preference thing.

Personal preference? Well it is and it isn't. Traditional Irish music tends to emphasize less tonguing -- at least a lot less than what you would see in a band or orchestral setting where most notes are tongued. In ITM, it's just one of many tools in the toolbox and not to be overused.

If you are not going down the trad path, then it mostly is just personal taste.