Still Mucking About with Whistles

[PhilO]

I know once you've tried your first flute, you're supposed to be hooked and never play a whistle again. However, I've had a lovely bamboo Olwell F for a while now and still find myself playing almost completely whistles. Still working on the same old stuff - new tunes, better breath control, phrasing, ornaments, etc. Now, I'm even going to go back and try some whistles I used to play - Overtons. I once had a full set D to D and sold them all. Now I'm working on getting an Overton soprano D again. Could be the Bloomfieldian influence or just coming full circle. Beats me.

Philo

[markbell]

Ah, there is a Zen-like simplicity yet complexity to the little whistles, isn't there?

I'm heading toward the 20-year mark playing whistles, and it seems like all that I have learned is how much I have to learn...

[fluti31415]

I started on flute (well, actually, I started on oboe, and went to a wooden flute for fun). I had two Generations that a friend of mine gave me a few years ago, but never really played them, because, well, why would I, if I had a flute?

THEN -- this board changed my entire outlook. I heard how you all played in the car. So I put a Generation in the car. It sounded awful, but it served its purpose. Since it sounded awful, I bought a set of three Susatos to play when I wasn't in the car. Now I am playing the whistle more and more. The response from the whistles is different enough that when I work on my ornaments, I hear different things between the whistle and flute. It is helping my technique tremendously.

Now I am thinking of getting really nice whistle, and demoting my Susatos to the car. What have you all done to me??

[ChrisA]

I play flute -far- more than I play the whistle, but, still, I play the whistle when,

... I'm away from home (and not at a session) - there's always one in the car, if not my pocket
... my lips have turned to rubber from too much flute playing but I still want to play.
... I want to try another key besides D (a full range of flutes is beyond my means...).
... I'm trying to pick up a tune by ear off a whistle tutorial cd.
... I want a quick tune but the flute is disassembled and packed away in its case.
And of course, when I just durned well feel like playing whistle.

The longer I've been on the flute the more play it gets compared to whistle, but I don't
think it'll ever displace the whistles completely.

[Pete D]

I love the whistle and have no desire to play flute. I like the sound and the abilities of the whistle.

[alespa]

Philo,

I'm waiting on my FIRST flute, an Olwell bamboo G . . . so you're post, and others about the same subject have me wondering what my experience will be like. Of course, it will have something to do with how well I can play the flute!

matt

[Jayhawk]

I played whistle from the late 80s until the turn of the century (that makes it sound like a realllly long time, doesn't it? ). Now that I play flute, I primarily play flute...but I still play whistle - some tunes just sound better on whistle, and they're so darn portable!

Eric

[alespa]

just throw the word "century" in and the casual careless reader will think you said just century! That's like using the word decades, which most of us can use. For instance, I can say it's been decades since I got out of school . . . makes me sound old, no?

[Jayhawk]

Go on now, you must be old if it's decades since you've been out of school!



My High School is having a 20 year reunion this summer, so I can say decades, too!

Eric

[walrii]

The ages of man:

Infant - you lived in days that were many days ago
Youth - you lived in months that were many months ago
Middle age - you lived in years that were many years ago
Old - you lived in decades that were many decades ago
Ancient - you lived in a century that was a century ago

Women, as we all know, are only as old as they look.