Bamboo whistles from China need tweaking

[Jim Wright]

Bought several bamboo whistles made in China at a local Zoo... they were cheap ... very cheap but looked good. These are not the leaky kind from India. Wood is heavier and better made.

One has good solid notes ... in tune for the first 5 holes going down but the last is very weak and squeaks. Not sure what causes that and would appreciate any suggestions as to how to correct it. Window seems very narrow and not very long.

Will probably end up giving them away but may keep this one if I can fix it. Sound is good on those 5 notes.

Jim

[Mitch]

Heh - I hear that "flutes" used in feng shui must never have been played.

[Chiffed]

I've got a bucket of whistles and flutes of the cheap tourist bamboo variety, and about half have a good sound. Whenever the Dremel is out, I fix one up. It's rarely worthwhile to worry about A440, but good relative pitch is usually attainable. When I get a good one, I seal the bore and put thread-windings over the usual cracking spots.

The chinese Xiao (?) can be gotten for ~10 bucks (without tuning slide) in Chinatown, and the G(D tonic) is a great sounding low whistle. The only problem is the notch-blown 'fipple' which takes a bit of practice, but is infinitely easier than Shakuhachi or Quena. The right hand finger stretch is a bit obscene, too. I think they've been discussed before.

All good fun!

[King Friday]

If you like those Chinese flutes, I went to Chinatown in Chicago and bought a Dizi (the flute where you put rice paper over this one unused hole to give it that cool kazoo-y sound) for $20, and it's actually a good quality instrument.