Byll wrote:The quietest whistle I own is a Hoover narrow bore - and it is truly, truly quiet...It takes very little air, and quiet conversation can drown it out...
When first I started playing whistle, back in the days when I had't heard of such a thing as a Worldwide Web, back when MS-DOS was the operating system of choice among most PC-users, I had two Coopermans (Coopermen?), and these would have made great whistles for the person desiring to practice quietly. One was like an extra-breathy Clarke, and the other was like an extra-breathy paper towel tube, for those times when you want to be
truly silent.
Actually, I second you on the Hoover narrow-bore. I ordered a tabor pipe in this model. Great sound, not loud, and, unlike the Cooperman, low breath requirement. However there is a serious drawback in narrow, or small whistles, and that is, the narrow windway clogs easily, much more easily than a roomier windway (it stands to reason).