Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi-- I just came across your post from May. Is your friend still looking for a mandolin? I have a Breedlove Crossover with oval hole that I'd like to sell. Contact me at brewerpaul "at" aol.com .

The whole world of the "session" seems to me to be fairly forbidding and clannish--maybe of necessity, you either know the tunes or you don't; you either can play at tempo or you can't. The few sessions I've attended (just listening, not trying to play) have been sort of unwelcoming. If t...

Ordered the Clarke Original D 200th Special Edition whistle on a whim... I'm impressed, and at the price I won't hesitate to keep it in my pocket or back pack. It's a tough little traveler that sounds amazing. Just don't keep it in your back pocket. You're sure to sit on it eventually. Don't ask me...

You might try having a good,experienced whistle player try your whistles so you can hear what they sound like from a listener's point of view. They will probably sound better than they do with your ears only inches from the sound.

There's a simple,free way to play very quietly using your own whistle. Put the mouthpiece between your lips, then move it down slightly so you're blocking the opening of the windway with your lower lip. Now just play it. The airflow over the window will produce notes which are extremely quiet. You c...

By all means contact the maker. It's not bothering him/her, it's a perfectly understandable concern. Stuff happens, and things can get delayed, but you're entitled to an update. I get those emails from time to time and am happy to respond. I'm sure most other makers would feel the same.

Soap and water would be a good first step. I don't know how roomy the windway of your whistle is, but if it's wide enough for a pipe cleaner you could use one of those to clean it. Be careful of the plastic ramp/blade. If that doesn't do the trick, a very mild bleach solution would work well-- that'...

"I loved my Shaw, 'til I sat on it" attr: Bob somebody Been there, done that :oops: . I sat on my Shaw C soon after I got it. I was able to mostly straighten it out although the hole which the crease went through is still ragged. It plays OK though. My Shaws did take a lot of air until I ...

I have both high D and C Shaws and like them, although I don't play them much. The windway and blade are more refined than the Clarke and the sound is more focused. They seem to require less air too. I tweaked them by pinching down the top of the windway, but only by a TINY bit. They are considerabl...

Quena come in many sizes and keys. The characteristic Quena sound comes from the way the sound is produced and you can't really reproduce that any other way. Luckily, the Quena is about the easiest real musical instrument to make. There is no complex head/fipple to make, just a notch. Excellent Quen...

When I'm learning a new tune, I hum or whistle it (with my lips) pretty much all through the day.It cements the tune in my head which makes it easier to play on the whistle. Plus, ornamentation (or whatever you choose to call the little twiddly bits) starts to sneak into the tune and that is handy i...

Does the flat bottom of the fipple go all the way through,to a flat bottomed exit? Looking through the windway, where is the edge of the blade:above,at,or below the flat bottom windway?

Jay Ungar's Ashokan Farewell is a beauty. In Dmaj you'll need to substitute for a low B note. The Session has it in G also, but it might sound shrill at the top.

https://thesession.org/tunes/4997

I'd say buy the whistle that suits you best, not the neighbors. Ask them what times it would be OK to play loudly and try to comply. Other times, play a quieter whistle. If you're spending that much money on a whistle it should be one that YOU like above all others.

My wife found really inexpensive tickets from the US to Belfast so we took the plunge and bought them. That's about as far as our planning goes. We'd like to do a week's driving trip around Northern Ireland and a bit of adjacent Ireland, and we're open to suggestions. We're more interested in small ...