Whistle v.s downstairs neighbors

[Whiddler]

I live in an apartment building, so I feel your pain. There are a few ways to make a whistle quieter without affecting how you play. My favorite is by putting tape horizontally across the bottom side of the fipple window such that it's only open a bit on the top side. Or you could stick a small ball of clay/sticky tack on top of the fipple. Try out different positions with the clay/tape for best effect.

It'll cause the whistle's tone to become breathy and up to a half-step flatter, but it's worth it.

[CrazedHavoc]

I'm just going to ask them if it bothers them. I already have a mute strategy with the spare hairband around the window.... and i'm not looking for another quiet whistle.
Thank you for all your help. It seems a good idea to just ask them and get it over with.

[Whiddler]

Post before you think... my undying motto.

[Clive Brown]

I just bought a Parks Everywhistle from Big Whistle. It actually has a volume control ! It reduces to a barely audible volume, fantastic and does not bother the neighbours one bit !

[anniemcu]

I did address the matter of oversensitive neighbors - in my case even worse: landlords - in my newbie intro.

Daisman suggested the following to me:

buy a $2 package of sticky-tac and when you need to practice quietly put a 1/2 pea sized blob of it on top of the windway and push it towards the lip to quiet the whistle down as needed. - it sounds weird but really works.

I have not tried it yet, but we might as well give it a go, don't you think?

SBS144 has made a good point there. I don't know about your neighbors, but I don't need to ask my landlord in the first place. - Hey, he's the one who suggested I should stop typing on my laptop's keyboard by 10 p.m. seeing that the clicking noise annoyed him to no end.

Since then I did not dare to take my old (now dusty) clarinet out of its case. Then again, two weeks of solid practicing should send them to their knees kissing my feet and thanking me for switching to a (comparatively) silent whistle.

Sheesh! Sounds like the landlord needs to see to some improved insulation! If your typing bothers him so, there must be nothing much twixt your apartment and his!

[brewerpaul]

I'll go along with the "ask them" crowd.
While you're at it, offer to teach them to play-- you can have some nice house sessions then.

[Killaloe]

What you do in your own appartment is your business. So long as your not up blowing high C's at 2am I don't see the problem.

Sorry but I play my whistle in my apartment complex. Its no worse than people cranking up there hip hop at all hours.

[free-feet]

One thing to bare in mind is the sound from a whistle mostly goes upwards, not so much downwards. It's the upstairs neighbours that would have the most issues not the downstairs ones in my opinion.

And you can always throw some rugs on the floor, or even add a 1 inch layer of dense board under your carpet if you're that worried. It's not so easy to do that to a ceiling.

Also, a sideways neighbour i had in London complained to the council noise officer about me playing a didgeridoo but never moaned about the whistle. Difference is that the didge is very bassy and whereas it is nowhere near as loud as a whistle the bass travels easily through floors and walls whereas the whistle doesn't do so so easily.

[Tia]

One thing to bare in mind is the sound from a whistle mostly goes upwards, not so much downwards. It's the upstairs neighbours that would have the most issues not the downstairs ones in my opinion.

I was going to ask about that, I live in house apartment, downstairs, but I had always thought that the sound would be more likely to travel down? it probably depends on the acoustics of the building but not sure

[free-feet]

I was going to ask about that, I live in house apartment, downstairs, but I had always thought that the sound would be more likely to travel down? it probably depends on the acoustics of the building but not sure

I've never seen anyone mic a whistle by putting the mic between their knees, have you?

[MTGuru]

One thing to bare [sic] in mind is the sound from a whistle mostly goes upwards, not so much downwards.

Sorry ... I'm not an acoustician, but this seems pretty silly. At any distance more than a few feet away, the whistle is going to act as a point source of sound with a spherical distribution. The orientation of the fipple window will not matter much.

I've never seen anyone mic a whistle by putting the mic between their knees, have you?

Well, I don't! Those knee mikes are very awkward. And the microphone protruding from between your legs could be mistaken for something else, and lead to profound embarrassment.

Seriously ... you don't mike a whistle from 4 feet overhead, either. Proximity, not orientation, is the issue. Headset mikes capture the sound up close from the side of the fipple, and do a perfectly good job. Directionality to the neighbors will have more to do with room acoustics and damped surfaces.

[Tia]

I was going to ask about that, I live in house apartment, downstairs, but I had always thought that the sound would be more likely to travel down? it probably depends on the acoustics of the building but not sure

I've never seen anyone mic a whistle by putting the mic between their knees, have you?

actually..... thats how they mic sax adn clairnets..but that doesnt really have to do with where sound travels more where it comes out as MT said
I think that maybe less sound in the basement goes up because the basement is more insultated then the rest of the house

[CranberryDog]

I like a man who smiles when he fights .... now. if I had all the money I spent on drink ... I'd spend it on drink ..

Cheers
Cyril

[Azalin]

When I moved in my new condo I sent my neighbors a letter saying that I was going to practice a lot and have some "house sessions" from time to time. I gave them my phone number and told them not to hesitate to let me know if there was anything that would annoy them. I think they appreciated it but after 8-9 months being there they never complained.

So yeah that's another way, you can send your neighbors letters so that they feel more comfortable to let you know if/when you're disturbing them.

Believe me, if you approach your neighbors this way, they will be much more open to you playing music than if you'd simply ignore them. It's human nature in action. People are more willing to compromise if they feel they're being respected.

[Tikva]

Can you hear their TV?

If you can't, they can't hear your whistle.

Until they gripe, toot away.

Doc

Oh, dear! I'm dead before even blowing my first note! I can't only hear their TV but could also recommend a visit to a sleep lab to cure my landlord's heavy snoring. Thank goodness my bedroom is on the other side of the house...