tin whistle maintenance and tuning

[KEENER1]

I have been playing for a few years now but still regard myself as a novice. My query concerns keeping my whistle in tune. I mainly play a generation shush - I ahve young kids and a less than sympathetic mrs. Sometimes the whistle sounds reasonably ok but at other times it seems out of tune. i know it may be down to my playing but does have anyone have any tips about maintenance- storage, temperature etc that might help me stay in tune

Regards

Keener1

[fancypiper]

Tubular whistles tend to be a bit flat in the upper octave in my experience, so playing with others or with recordings should help your tuning.

I basically tune the bottom note and let the rest go, remembering to blow a bit harder in the octave.

Conical whistles have the octaves tuned slightly better IMHO plus they have more "give" with breath pressure. My Clarke original design never needs tuning, just a bit of "warming up" when it is cold, either by holding in both hands or covering the fipple and blowing several breaths through the whistle.

HTH

[hoopy mike]

I tend to tune to the G, once the whistle has been warmed up (better to get mid-range notes in tune than the bell note). It sounds like something may be slipping out of tune with the whistler or maybe the audience - I've never known a whistle to go out of tune and back in unless the head is slipping. Do you have another whistle to compare against? Maybe something like a Dixon trad would be worth a blow.

Storage - just keep whistles in a dry place, out of the reach of whistle-biting youngsters. Mine sit in a waste paper basket, but other people have fancy wooden racks or cheaper plastic ones. If you store whistles in protective tubes, allow them to dry before putting them away. A mouldy whistle isn't a pleasant thing. I guess rinsing the plastic head might be necessary if you smoke or play after eating sweets, but it's probably better to rinse out your mouth before playing if that's an issue. Check the tube for rust if you're concerned, but a little rust doesn't seem to affect the tone too much.

[riverman]

Tubular whistles tend to be a bit flat in the upper octave in my experience, so playing with others or with recordings should help your tuning.

I basically tune the bottom note and let the rest go, remembering to blow a bit harder in the octave.

Conical whistles have the octaves tuned slightly better IMHO plus they have more "give" with breath pressure. My Clarke original design never needs tuning, just a bit of "warming up" when it is cold, either by holding in both hands or covering the fipple and blowing several breaths through the whistle.

HTH

The more I play, the more I like the Clarke original.

[fancypiper]

I tend to tune to the G, once the whistle has been warmed up (better to get mid-range notes in tune than the bell note).

The G is only the middle of the bottom octave!

The middle of the playing range of the whistle should be octave D (which is in tune either with the index finger of the top hand on or off the whistle on all my whistles).

When I tune the bell note, I check the octave so as to remember the fingering of that particular whistle.

I think G is a good alternate tuning note as it has less "give" with breath pressure than A which I have seen recommended as well.

[AvienMael]

Keeping the whistle dry after use is always a good bit of advice for any whistle - remembering to clear/clean the windway after playing is also a good idea. A lot of crud is likely to build up in there over time if you don't.

Honestly, this whole issue of people getting concerned about "tuning" the whistle has always escaped me to a large extent. If you are playing with other people, or along with a recording, then yes, I can understand wanting to be in tune with the other instrument(s) you are hearing. But a whistle either basically plays in tune with itself or it doesn't - there is no simple adjustment or "tuning" or what-have-you for that. Sometimes I like the whistle a little sharp - it gives it a livelier happier sound, and I'll leave it that way just for that reason.

Whenever something doesn't sound quite right to me during practice, I stop and assess everything I am doing. Am I overblowing slightly? Did I let the whistle drop slightly? Am I slouching? Am I ignoring my embouchure? Did I just chase that scotch with water or vodka?

...I find that any or all of these things can make a difference...

[mutepointe]

I tend to tune to the G, once the whistle has been warmed up (better to get mid-range notes in tune than the bell note).

The G is only the middle of the bottom octave!

The middle of the playing range of the whistle should be octave D (which is in tune either with the index finger of the top hand on or off the whistle on all my whistles).

When I tune the bell note, I check the octave so as to remember the fingering of that particular whistle.

I think G is a good alternate tuning note as it has less "give" with breath pressure than A which I have seen recommended as well.

I suppose it all depends on how big a range a person plays in. I tune for G too but I'm not playing ITM and most songs I'm playing are rarely more than an octave with a few notes reaching an octave and 1/2. When I play 2 octave or more songs, I'm playing those on a flute. There is no reason to scare all the dogs in my community.

[jiminos]

you can tune 'em?!? Dang! who woulda thunk?

be well,

jim

[Mr.Nate]

Tuning...never had a Dixon that played in tune.

I don't have any kids and my wife always seemed to have a headache when I played the whistle. She doesn't live here anymore, but I still play my whistle.

maintenance...try not to play your whistle after eating a peanut butter sandwhich.

Storage. A drawer is a nice place to store them.

Temperature...room temperature is always a good place to start.

[jemtheflute]

A 2lb lump hammer comes in handy..... (and a rubber mallet for the kids).

Seriously, if you're trying to play quiet, that's likely your main problem - remember that reducing breath pressure makes a fipple-flute go flat and increasing it makes it go sharp. We normally play them to be as loud as they're capable of (and that's more-or-less what they're designed for) and once warmed up tune them accordingly (I too would tune to A or G), then try to play with consistent breath pressure, allowing for any "lipping-in" by pressure adjustment for particular notes in particular contexts as temperament may require. However, if we then try to play pianissimo, the whistle will be flat. So, if you tune up at normal volume, then practice very quietly, you'll hear yourself as flat (if your ear is that fussy - playing solo it should not matter), especially if you're trying to play along to recordings or midi or whatever at a set pitch - you need to warm your whistle up, then tune it to what you wish to accompany by playing it at the volume you intend to work at.

All that said with regard to overall pitch, it is far harder to play in tune across the scale/range of any whistle (regardless of quality, consistency of tuning etc.) when playing very quietly precisely because the pressure-pitch correlation is far more exposed and it is difficult to maintain a low pressure that will get the notes to sound out cleanly at a consistent low volume and in tune with each other relatively - and of course very hard to do that over the break/between octaves. I think that is probably your real problem, not any fault in the whistle or how you care for it. Unless you have an expensive wooden one, they don't need any "care" beyond an occasional wash and not squashing them, for hell's sake! You say you have a Gen - well, they are usually decently enough in tune with themselves scale-wise and I assume you have unglued the head to be able to tune to other instruments/recordings. Gens are of course notoriously variable and if you have a duff one (normally the head) they can be prone to squeaking or buzzing or not speaking properly - all usually tweakable, or just buy another..... but that doesn't sound like your problem here. Assuming your whistle speaks clearly and responsively across its 2 8ve range at normal volume at a fairly consistent breath pressure, it won't of itself be the "problem". Your playing will. You need to find a place you can play out, not be a mouse in the corner.

[fancypiper]

If you are attempting to play quietly, might I suggest the Parks Whistles Every whistle. It has a volume control!

It is now running neck and neck to my Clarke Original design for my favorite concert whistle. I can play it from a barely heard whisper to the king of the ceilidh.

[KEENER1]

Thanks guys for all your help. Yeah its probably largely down to me and my playing rather than any deficiency wiht the whistle. Cheers