How to play less loudly or which whistle is quiet?

[Tikva]

Naming this topic was not easy. I've got one problem and there are two approaches for how to solve it.

The issue: I'm coming home from work at about 5 pm and usually like to take some time to relax and eat something before putting my mind to anything else such as my Dixon Trad. As I have started to practice regularly in the evenings, my landlord is getting increasingly annoyed with the noise.

Ways to solve the problem:
1) Look for a new, quieter whistle and finally give in to the beginnings of WhOA.
2) Learn to play the existing Dixon Trad D whistle less loudly.

I've tried the second option and I'm becoming more proficient these days, however anything beyond g'' is like playing some fortune game with very low winning chances.

So what I'm I asking your help for? Basically, I'm looking for the following:
1) Tricks and hints on how to perfect playing quieter and still be able to hit the highest notes.
2) Whistles known to be on the quiet side and optionally don't requiring too much air.

[hans]

Re 1) Try experimenting with a very small blob of bluetack or poster putty or whatever it is called in your region. Make a little ball of it ca 2-3mm thick and stick it on top of the sound edge. That will dampen the sound and also remove high harmonics. I used it with success on Susato whistles, which are quite loud and a bit shrill for my taste. Experiment with the size and shape of the blob, and how much you need to flatten it etc.

Re 2) Go for a whistle with a relative small sound window, and a thinner tube. I have no specific recommendations, as I prefer more powerful whistles.

Cheers,
~Hans

[rhulsey]

I have a narrow brass whistle by Mack Hoover that I bought to take with me when I travel. I've played it many times in motel rooms and have received nary a complaint. It doesn't take a lot of air and has taught me a lot about breathing, which I don't do well when playing the whistle or singing. He can be found at http://www.mackhooverwhistles.com/

Reg

[hoopy mike]

The search engine is your friend...

[dolphinjon]

I have a Parks Everywhistle and that I play a lot in my dorm. It has a tone-ring so you can control the volume pretty well. It ranges from almost silent to fairly loud.

[Carey]

[jiminos]

i love MY Parks Every Whistle Walkabout. highly recommrnded!!!!!!

be well,

jim sanders

[squidgirl]

I am the queen of quiet whistling. Not only do I live in an flimsy old apartment complex, but also in the apartment right next door to the manager's apartment.

I would say that the Shush whistle from Big Whistle is my go-to whistle for late night playing. It is one of my two quietest whistles, and has quite a pleasant tone, kind of soft and sweet and round, like a cross between a Sweetone and a recorder. On the high notes it is sweet and not piercing. My only problem with this whistle is that I find its tone weirdly chiffless. After playing it a while, I miss my chiff.

My favorite quiet whistle is my Hoover Whitecap. It's tone is very sweet and pure, and there's a edge to its sweetness that the Shush whistle's tone lacks. It's a little louder than the Shush, but still pretty quiet. The high notes are sweet and not shrill, though on the top notes my whitecap does put out some noticeable overtones at the upper range of my hearing. These are merely interesting to me, but apparently quite objectionable to our cat. Of all my quiet whistles, my Whitecap is the most satisfactory as a whistle, though it is a hair louder than the other two I mention here.

Both the Hoover and the Shush have very low breath requirements. This can mess with your expectations for how many notes a single breath can buy you when you switch back to a regular whistle. In contrast, the Everywhistle still requires a normal amount of breath, even when in quiet mode. When its tone ring is adjusted for quietness, it's tone becomes quite windy and whispery sounding, but it is very quiet, as quiet as the Shush whistle.

Next I want to get a Dixon SV to try out -- does anyone have one that they can tell me about?

I've also tried all the various strategies for quieting regular whistles. My favorite is to take a little sausage of sticky-tack (blu-tac, poster putty) and use it to cover one side of the voicing window -- the sausage runs lengthwise, parallel to the length of the whistle. This makes the window only half as wide, and the whistle gets quite a bit softer, though it also makes the whistle's tone a bit lower (flat from concert pitch).

If you can't get sticky-tac, you can do achieve the same thing with a longish, narrow strip of flexible plastic inserted in the voicing window, again running parallel to the length of the whistle. I run it so it's outside the whistle at the mouth-ward end, then ducks under the blade and continues on inside the whistle. It should be pushed over all the way to one side of the window, and the width of the plastic strip should be about half the width of the voicing window. I've used strips of yogurt container lid, or that clear plastic packaging they use to make small iitems too big to shoplift.

MTGuru can mute a whistle with just a paperclip, but he's magic. Sometimes that one works for me and sometimes it doesn't. My Susato seems to favor it more than some of my other whistles, but the Susato is pretty loud to start with.

[MTGuru]

Use the Force, Tikva ... Or use the Search ...

Mute for Generation: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51907
Neighbour not happy: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=49897
Mute for Whistle Practice: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58011
Really Quiet Whistle: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=56299
Whistle Silencer: viewtopic.php?t=11774
Whistle mutes: viewtopic.php?t=5494

[MTGuru]

MTGuru can mute a whistle with just a paperclip, but he's magic.

It's not me. It's the paper clip that's magic. Stolen from the office supply closet of Unicorns, Inc. during a full moon, and bathed in the blood of martyred leprechauns.

[Mack.Hoover]

To play really quietly do "air whistle" where you blow across the top of the mouthpiece. It whispers the tones distinctly except only the lower octave. You have to "think" upper octave which you'd get by overblowing in normal playing.

Here's my method: press your lower lip against the windway opening and pretend you're blowing out a candle that's located just at the front of the window opening.
Because you can do it on about any whistle you don't have to adjust to another instrument to play quietly.
Mack

[MoonMind]

I can confirm everything that has been said about the qualities of the Parks EveryWhistle; apart from being mutable in a really elegant way, it has a great sound. I own a EveryWalkAbout that travels with me whereever I go. You can simply turn the tone ring to mute the sound almost completely; the whistle's tuneable and has a very pure sound (if you like something more quiet, yet breathy, just turn the tone ring slightly!). It's the most versatile whistle I possess.

I also own other whistles that are said to be quiet, but the flexibility of the EveryWalkAbout is unsurpassed. I have to state that the EveryWhistle (that shares the WalkAbout's overall design) needs a little more breath control than others in order to get the best sound (and play in tune), but it rewards every improvement you manage to make. Overall, it's a pleasure to play and to practise on.

Anyhow, I just tried Mack Hoover's method - and it went very well. I even can recommend using a Feadòg or a Generation for that (a Meg and a Dixon didn't work as well - but the EveryWalkAbout did ). Experience with flute playing also helps (not that I have much - but the little I know did help...).

The paperclip thing made me curious, too - and on a Generation Bb, it sort of works However, since I had to use common paperclips, it didn't work as well...

I've also tried something else that can be used to close envelopes, but can't find the English word for it in any dictionary available - it's a strip of metal bend into something that looks vaguely like the "Pi" sign (you press the "legs" together to stick the whole thing through a hole, then bend them to the sides to fix it...); it mutes the sound alright, but overblowing gets next to impossible.

M.

[MTGuru]

The most common shush technique I usually use for practice is to simply blow very softly, and octave fold everything into the lower register. Works on any whistle anytime, no extra thingies needed, and can be done almost inaudibly.

As with any shush arrangment, you're limited to exercising fingering, phrasing, tonguing - whatever doesn't require dynamics or breath technique or intonation.

There's also a minor issue with cross fingerings that are not identical between registers (G#, Bb, etc.). But that's an easy mental adjustment.

Of course, octave folding is an important skill in itself.

FWIW, I can also confirm that both Carey Parks' tone ring, and Mack Hoover's ultra-narrow bore brass D work as advertised.

[Tikva]

MT, is there an easier way to get some of those magic paper clips? I've tried several of them and so far none of them did mute my whistle much.

5 Minutes later:
Aha! I've just found out something interesting: Uncoated metal paper clips work way better than the colored ones. Obviously the lack of color coating makes them slip further down the windway.

Of course, octave folding is an important skill in itself.

Octave folding? Not sure I can follow you here.

I've also tried something else that can be used to close envelopes, but can't find the English word for it in any dictionary available - it's a strip of metal bend into something that looks vaguely like the "Pi" sign (you press the "legs" together to stick the whole thing through a hole, then bend them to the sides to fix it...); it mutes the sound alright, but overblowing gets next to impossible.

I know this is going to sound very selfish, however could you let me know the German word? While I have a pretty good idea what you're refering to, the term just eludes me in both languages.

I would say that the Shush whistle from Big Whistle is my go-to whistle for late night playing. It is one of my two quietest whistles, and has quite a pleasant tone, kind of soft and sweet and round, like a cross between a Sweetone and a recorder. On the high notes it is sweet and not piercing. My only problem with this whistle is that I find its tone weirdly chiffless. After playing it a while, I miss my chiff.

I've tried searching for the "Sush" at Big Whistle, but the search engine always comes up with zilch. What's the maker's name?

D***! I did not find it initially because it is sold out! By the way does anyone have a soundfile that features a Sush for me to hear? While the paper clip mutes my whistle alright it leads to rapid clogging, too.

However I'll be sure to try some more of the methods described around this forum before eventually giving in to WHOA under the pretense of needing a quiet whistle. Thinking about still needing a good digital camera and the trip to Israel in October, I'm not sure my budget is up to buying a Parks Everywhistle anyway. Maybe a Sush then, depending on how mute it is.

[squidgirl]

Mack Hoover's ultra-narrow bore brass D

Ooh, that one's new to me! Please tell me more! What I have (and love) is a quiet whitecap. I didn't know there was another (quieter?) option.