Properties of brass? (AKA whistling in the rain?)

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Wed Mar 27, 2002 10:12 pm

Hey all -

My new friend the Laughing Whistle just came back from its trip home to Canada. Brought it to campus yesterday, while we were having somewhat of a rain/snow downpour. My question is, will it be damaging to brass to be in a somewhat wet/humid environment? Or is it safe to play it in the semi-sheltered bus stop while it's raining? I know brass is used on ships but that's the limit of my knowledge.

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Wed Mar 27, 2002 10:28 pm

I have A Laughing Whistle that gets fairly regular use in Houston. We have humidity in the 80%-100% range (in fact, it's exactly 80% right now), and the whistle hasn't suffered any adverse effects. I've taken it with me in the rain a few times, likewise, with no apparent ill effects.

Greg

On 2002-03-27 23:12, avanutria wrote:
Hey all -

My new friend the Laughing Whistle just came back from its trip home to Canada. Brought it to campus yesterday, while we were having somewhat of a rain/snow downpour. My question is, will it be damaging to brass to be in a somewhat wet/humid environment? Or is it safe to play it in the semi-sheltered bus stop while it's raining? I know brass is used on ships but that's the limit of my knowledge.

JohnPalmer · Post by **JohnPalmer** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 12:31 am

Brass is used on ships, in a highly corrosive environment, as connectors for fire hoses, bells, you name it. The water faucet for your hose at your house is made out of brass. Brass instruments are made out of...you guessed it. The stuff doesn't corrode, is light weight, and perfect for getting wet. Use a brass cleaner to shine it up, but don't worry about it in the whether. JP

Alhren` · Post by **Alhren`** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 1:15 am

Brass damaged in rain??? I've played brass instruments (euphonium) in downpours and blizzards- all that happens is they tend to fill up with water. Aluminum and brass whistles will have no problems whatsoever.

JohnPalmer · Post by **JohnPalmer** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 2:36 am

So tell me, what's the difference between a euphonium and a baritone? Closer relations to the tuba, conical bore, and all that? JP

claudine · Post by **claudine** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 2:54 am

Euphoniums have a bigger bore and a nicer sound, big and mellow.

MarkB · Post by **MarkB** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 6:42 am

I might be more worried about lightning than rain.

MarkB

bozemanhc · Post by **bozemanhc** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 7:07 am

You can even drop a brass whistle in the ocean or even the Dead Sea without harm. Just be sure to wash it off with fresh water before the salt crusts on it or it will look like Lot's wife.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 8:14 am

"Brass damaged in rain??? I've played brass instruments (euphonium) in downpours and blizzards- all that happens is they tend to fill up with water. Aluminum and brass whistles will have no problems whatsoever."

No wonder those tubas with the upward-pointing bells never caught on. A player could wind up marching with his own weight in water on his shoulder.

Brass will tarnish more quickly in damp environments and may need to be polished occasionally if looks matter. The sound qualities are more affected by cold than mere damp.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 8:15 am

Brass will be fine in the rain. What do you think they make a lot of plumbing fixtures out of? No problem at all-- may tarnish a bit, but this won't harm the metal. (Call it a patina, if you don't like the sound of tarnish...).

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 8:30 am

Thanks for the info guys. That's pretty much what I thought but I wanted to make sure. I know I want to buy a second laughing whistle, but not because I ruin the first one! =)

On that note, I have made the Laughing Whistle Hard Case Version 1.0, and will be posting pics in a few days.

ndjr · Post by **ndjr** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 10:43 am

Just chiming in towards the end here, but the relative humidity of the air passing down the inside of most any whistle bore is right near 100% while it's being played anyway. There's an interesting article on the C&F site regarding the actual nature of the fluid involved, but nonetheless I think the estimate is still accurate.

What does happen if one plays in the rain, as in raindrops actually falling on your head, is that droplets of water on the whistle, on your fingers, or in and around the tone holes, foul up the frequencies your whistle generates and your tunes become remarkably less tuneful. This effect goes away when you remember to come in out of the rain and dry the thing off.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 10:48 am

Hmm that reminds me of another question I had, but not about brass this time. Well, maybe it is, what's a redtop generation made of?

I've got an old red-top generation G that has been lost, found, relost, mistreated, and presumably resided under a dresser for several years. It's (unsurprisingly) developed all sorts of brown specks, spots, and scrapes on the outside. Nevr-Dull Polish didn't help.

A) Is there anything I can do about it, and

B) what keeps the insides of whistles from deteriorating?

[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-03-28 11:49 ]

ndjr · Post by **ndjr** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 11:18 am

On 2002-03-28 11:48, avanutria wrote:

I've got an old red-top generation G that has been lost, found, relost, mistreated, and presumably resided under a dresser for several years. It's (unsurprisingly) developed all sorts of brown specks, spots, and scrapes on the outside. Nevr-Dull Polish didn't help.

A) Is there anything I can do about it, and

My approach would be to appreciate the "character" the whistle has acquired, and leave it as-is. It can be a conversation point when you're playing with others: "You'll never guess what this whistle has been through!"

B) what keeps the insides of whistles from deteriorating?

Eventually they do, from outside and in. As the bard said, "everything put together falls apart." In this case, they just do so very slowly. One significant difference between the outside and the inside of your whistle is that, except for those with rather large bores, you can't get your fingers on the inside surfaces. I suspect that perspiration and other corrosives on your skin play a large part in the patina -- as I like to think of it -- that develops on the outside surface of a whistle that is actually played.

NicoMoreno · Post by **NicoMoreno** » Thu Mar 28, 2002 4:55 pm

The euphnium and baritone are different instruments. Unfortunatly, in some playes baritones are called euphoniums...

Yeah! A Euphonium has a slightly different ratio of concical to straight bore, maybe it does have a bigger bell, but I don't think so, but really is only different in that it has a fourth valve to enable the lower register of playing!

Nico