Jan 29, 2018 As indicated, do not bevel the fipple edge! This would alter the sound in a hard-to-control way. Bevelling the fipple is required for alto and low whistles, not sopranos. Remember, the fipple block is the most important piece of your whistle: the sound quality depends on how accurately you shape it.
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A PDF version of this guide is available here.
Italian translationhere,
Brazilian translation here, thanks to Adriano Soriano Caetano.
Spanish translation here, thanks to GermánGarcía
Sticky. I have too little time and too many things to do.Sorry, but I have decided not to reply to email regarding whistlemaking any more. All I know is in this guide, and I think thisguide is clear enough :-) Updates (if any) will only covernew or updated whistle plans. If you need help, please go toChiff and Fipple. Sorry folks, but I'm overwhelmed!
Sticky: Mr. Richard Cooper reports that he'llmake and sell Low-Tech whistles to raise funds forSifra Homes.
Introduction
I attended my first tin whistle workshop on St. Patrick's Day Festival2004, where Inis Fail's LucaCrespi taught me the golden rule: it must not be played like arecorder...
Like many beginners, I suffered from Whistle ObsessiveAcquisition Disorder. The problem was, I couldn't find a whistle Ireally felt comfortable with. How can you possibly play an instrumentyou don't like?
In my view, the reason for WOAD is twofold. First of all, the poorquality of many low-cost whistles: you're forced to try out severalwhistles until you're lucky enough to find a good one. Secondly, Ifound out that whistles are not like recorders, which more or lessshare a similar sound. A Susato Kildare, a Dixon polymer and a ClarkeSweetone are completely different instruments, each with its owncharacter and peculiarities.
Another problem is that I have a good musical ear, and I can't standbadly tuned instruments. This is often an issue with low-costwhistles.
I live in a smallish town in northern Italy, Verona (ring a bell?Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, the Two Gentlemen...), where the tinwhistle is virtually unknown. Even Generations are difficult to find.When I eventually stumbled across one, it was a horribly out-of-tune,shrill, squeaky thing that put me off. I brutalised it until I made itplayable, but I wanted something better.
I was forced to order my whistles abroad, without a chance to try themout beforehand. Very annoying.
Make One Yourself
I'll save you the sad story of a year spent trying to get a whistle Iliked. At the end of that year, I was nearly satisfied with aDixon Polymer, aSusato Kildare, aClarke Sweetone and a Meg.
The Dixon has a lovely tone but, in my humble opinion, is a bit tooquiet in the first octave. The Susato is loud, but it sounds too muchlike a recorder! (I actually love recorders, but that's anotherstory.) Both are reasonably in tune, but they could be better. Ididn't like the sound of the Sweetone back then; now I do, but tuningis still an issue.
I wanted a whistle that was sweet and easy to play like a Dixon, butlouder and cheap. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it. (Yes, I'm a fussykind of person...)
A recent addition to my collection is the Dixon Trad. What a fantasticwhistle! Had it been available back then, I probably wouldn't havetried to make my own. Read on, though...
Driven by frustration, I decided I'd try and make a whistle myself.However, I had no power tools like a drill, a bench vise, a lathe andwhat have you. Besides, most whistle making tutorials assume that youuse copper pipe: hard luck, without proper tools! PVC is widelyavailable though, so I decided I'd give it a try.
After some experiments (all of which, amazingly, produced playablewhistles), I came up with a design that is easy to reproduce andworks very well. I call it the `Low-Tech Whistle' because I only usevery simple tools and materials.
Low technology, but high quality sound! Low-Tech Whistles in the keyof D boast the following features:
Of course, there are defects, too:
If you're dissatisfied with cheap whistles, try to make a Low-Techwhistle. I'm confident to say that you'll get a very nice instrument.Furthermore, the design is very forgiving: it's almost impossible tofail.
Sounds too good to be true? Don't take my word for it, try ityourself!
The great thing about making your very own whistle is that you can getit exactly how you like it. You can customise everything tosuit your needs: hole placement, loudness, type of sound, tuning.Moreover, you can't imagine the feeling when you realise that you'vebuilt an instrument that sounds better than several you find in shops!
Materials and Tools
Here is the list of materials and tools you will need for a Low-Techwhistle in the key of D:
In addition to the materials, you will need:
All of these items are cheap and commonly available at hardwarestores. Craftsmanship and patience are within your reach if you're,say, 12 or older.
The PVC pipe I use has external diameter (e.d.) = 16 mm, bore = 13 mm,wall thickness <= 1.5 mm. It is used for electrical conduits. Isuggest that you do not use pipe with bore larger than 13--14 mm,unless you want to make alto or low whistles.
It doesn't matter if you use different pipe: just make sure that youuse thin (less than 2 mm) and stiff pipe. In fact:
I once thought that the material did not count that much, but evidencemade me change my mind. Not all PVC pipes are created equal. I obtainconsistently better sounding whistles using one brand, but you'll getreasonably good results with any brand of thin and stiff pipe.
Schedule 40 half-inch PVC pipe, commonly available in the U.S.A.,might be too thick. Whistles made of this pipe are playable,but very breathy. Luckily, there's a solution; please see Dealing with Thick Pipe. Schedule 200 irrigationpipe is probably a better choice. Thanks to Floyd Brigdon for thisinformation.
People also reported that CPVC pipe, used for hot water plumbing,works well. It's available at Home Depot and Lowe's stores.
In my opinion, using aluminium or copper pipe isn't worth the effort.They're much harder to work with, and you basically can't make awhistle unless you have power tools. Besides, I was given a couple offine home-made aluminium whistles, and they sound exactly the same asmy PVC whistles. (I expected them to be louder.)
Now you're ready to try this at home - better, in the garden orwherever it doesn't matter if you make a bit of a mess with PVC scrapsand sawdust. But, beware:
Hacksaws, scissors and cutters have sharp blades. If you don't payattention, you may slice your fingers: it hurts like hell. Take care,mind your fingers, wear protective gloves. And if you don't believeme, then ask my left thumb.
Also, do not breathe wood and PVC sawdust: I'm pretty sure it's nothealthy.
PVC Health Issues
You should be aware that PVC might be dangerous for yourhealth. Please have a look at the Wikipedia page on PVC.
However, I talked to a chemist friend of mine and asked for hisopinion on the matter. He said that all PVC pipes sold in Italy arechemically inert. They must be extremely stable, as they must lastdecades embedded in walls. Therefore, it's very unlikely that awhistle made with this PVC will release nasty chemicals.
So, I assume that using PVC for whistles is pretty safe. Besides, allPVC, ABS and in general plastic whistles on the market don't ship witha health certificate, do they?
How to Get your Favourite Sound
The following figure shows the names of whistle parts:
The most important part of a whistle is the mouthpiece. Its dimensionsdefine the sound of the whistle:
Take this information into account when you decide what your whistlewill sound like.
Other factors influence the whistle volume. Big holes make the whistleloud, small holes make it quiet. A whistle with a small window and bigholes will sound louder and sweeter than a whistle with a big windowand small holes. Blowing harder also increases the volume and sharpensthe pitch! When you tune the whistle (see below), you'll have todecide how hard to blow it.
For any given pipe bore, the lower the key (that is, the longer thepipe), the quieter the whistle. Instead of just enlarging the windway,you should experiment on the width-to-length ratio of the window. Forexample, on a C whistle an 8 x 5 mm window produces a much bettersound than a 10 x 4 mm window.
My favourites D whistles have a 20-mm-long mouthpiece and a 7.5 x 4 mmwindow. The tone is sweet, the volume is fairly loud, and the twooctaves are well balanced.
The Art of Tuning
Let me start this section with a witty remark by whistle teacher Brother Steve:
The same concept is stressed upon by a renowned flute maker, DougTipple, who writes in his flute pages:
I quote these wise words completely. In fact:
Due to the physics of the instrument and the way it's played,cylindrical whistles cannot be exactly in tune. And don't complain:uncorrected cylindrical flutes are even worse, not to talk ofbagpipes.
First of all, the player's blowing pressure can alter the pitch of anote by a third of a tone, or even more. Secondly, with cylindricalwhistles the second octave is slightly flatter than the first octave.Third, the whole tuning is affected by air temperature.
Fourth, and this may sound strange to you: a few notes should be tunedpurposedly flatter than their 'right' pitch (G and C sharp onD whistles, for instance). This way they will sound better. It's acomplex subject called temperament.
All this blurb to support my opinion: checking each note on achromatic tuner is not a great deal. I suggest that you use the tunerfor only one note: the key note of the whistle in the second octave.For example, the second D on whistles in the key of D; you'll tune theother notes by ear. Trust your ears! Take your favourite blowingpressure into consideration, and warm up the whistle for at least 20seconds beforehand.
Finally, bear in mind that high-pitched notes stand out much more thanlower-pitched notes. While flat high notes sound really horrible,sharp low notes may go nearly unnoticed. Keeping all this in mind, youmay want to tune the second octave D (or the equivalent base note)just a bit sharp, e.g. 5 cents. The second octave will sound in tune,the first octave will sound slightly sharp.
Whistle Plans
A first approximation of the hole positions is given by the followingtable. It specifies the hole positions as a percentage of thelip-to-foot length, calculated from several soprano D whistles I made.For example, the first value (42%) is calculated as:
distance of first hole from the lip / lip-to-foot distance.
This table is just a rough approximation! Actual hole positionsmay differ by several millimeters! Besides, different tables apply forsoprano, tenor and low whistles. As far as I know, there is no'perfect' formula as there are many factors involved.
In the following plans, all measurements were calculated for whistleswhose central note is exactly on pitch. Unit is millimeters. Click onthe images to download a PDF version of the plan.
If you want a session-grade whistle you can blow harder, add 2 mmto each figure. That is, add 2 mm to the whistle length and 2 mmto the distance of each hole from the lip.
Here's a mm-to-inches chart, kindly provided by Stuart Wier:
By request, here is a 'whistle-chanter' in Bb. It is designed to beplayed using the same closed fingering as a GHB chanter:
(it sounds awful: don't even think about replacing a real chanter withthis ugly thing.)
These whistles in the key of D provide an additional bottom hole forplaying C sharp or C natural. Beware: the bottom D is weaker than ina standard whistle!
Starting from the key of C, you will want to use pipe of wider bore (Iswitch to 20 mm e.d. pipe). Conventionally, whistles in the key of Bbdown to G are called 'Alto whistles'.Wider-bore whistles are louder and have a much stronger bottom note,if you rig the fipple as explained in Section Rigging the Fipple:
Still wider bore is required for Low whistles, which conventionallystart from the key of F down to low C or even Bb. Moreover, the windowshould be enlarged a bit. I use 25 mm e.d. pipe.
The following table provides the hole positions for low whistles, asobtained from my low D:
This picture shows a low C, a low D, and a soprano D whistle:
This is the fingering chart for the model in the key of D:
These measurements are not carved in stone. Other factors mayinfluence the tuning, such as pipe thickness, type of PVC, windowsize. Please take them with a pinch of salt. In particular: if thebore of your pipe is less than 13 mm, the whistle will be a fewmillimeters longer; and vice versa.
To some extent, the hole positions and diameters may vary. I'll giveyou the measurements I chose for my own convenience, but feel freeto experiment. The basic rule is: if you move a hole upwards (i.e.closer to the mouthpiece), you'll have to reduce its diameter; andvice versa. This rule allows you to adjust the holes' positions inorder to make the whistle more comfortable to your hands. Besides, ifyou make a mistake positioning a hole you'll be able to correct it byvarying its diameter.
Have a look at these two whistles. They are tuned exactly the same,but one has a small window, small holes and is even shorter than theother. It's a quiet whistle, and I call it the `lager' as opposed tothe `stout', that is a louder whistle. Notice that the holes areplaced differently in each whistle.
Lastly: your first whistle will probably take more time to make thanthe second. Don't worry, don't rush. Have fun.
Roll Up Your Sleeves
The following instructions assume that you are going to make astandard whistle in D, with a 3-cm-long mouthpiece. If you want tomake a whistle in a different key, the only difference is the lengthof the initial PVC piece. For instance, if you want to make a Cwhistle, the pipe will be 3.5 cm longer.
Please bear in mind that boring the holes is the easiest part of thejob. The tricky part is making the mouthpiece! Also, do not takemeasurements from the pictures; use the drawings above.
I suggest that you read all the instructions before you start. Allpictures were taken during the actual construction of a whistle.
First of all, you will want to make square cuts. It's fairly simple:
And now, go ahead!
You may want to make two whistles with different sounds, which I callthe `stout' and the `lager'. The `stout' whistle is loud (windowdimensions: 8 x 5 mm), has some backpressure and is good for outdoorsor session playing. The `lager' whistle has a more delicate sound(window dimensions: 7 x 3 mm) and it gives its best at playing airs.
To get a hint of their volumes, my `lager' is approximately as loud asa Sweetone, while my `stout' is almost as loud as a Susato. But itstill sounds like a whistle...
Dealing with Thick Pipe
As I stated above, when the pipe is more than 1.7 mm thick, the soundwill become too breathy. One possible solution is to make the windwaythinner. This can easily be done by glueing a bit of plastic sheetunder the windway cap. I found that plastic obtained from notebookcovers works best.
Cut out a rectangle that is as wide as the curved windway. It can beas long as the windway cap, but I suggest that it be shorter toproduce some Bernoulli effect. Trim the part that would extend overthe window. If you need to fine-tune the windway height, Teflon tapeis recommended.
A simpler but more effective solution is make the window smaller, say6 x 5 mm. Thanks to Phil Hatmaker for this trick.
A completely different fipple design is outlined by R. Jay Goos in hispage: http://rjaysplace.com/exofipple
Grooved Holes
In his excellent (flute pages, agentleman called Rick Miller suggests a technique for improving thefeel of a PVC flute under one's fingers. His technique consiss inchamfering, i.e. grooving the holes.
I tried this techinque on my whistles, with interesting results. Asshown in the picture, I rolled some fine-grained sandpaper around alength of pipe. Then I used this round file to sand a groove centeredaround each hole. The finger pads rest more comfortably against thegrooved holes.
As a welcome side-effect, the tone seems to improve a bit due tosmoother holes. Tuning is not affected.
Rigging the Fipple
When you make an alto or low whistle, the fipple and lip need animportant modification:
These tricks were kindly provided by Jem Hammond. Thanks!
Make it Tuneable
Making a whistle tunable is straightforward. There are several ways Iuse: a quick-and-dirty hack, and two ``professional' methods. Othermethods involve hot air guns or boiling water, which may work on somepipes. It didn't work on the PVC pipes I tried, but you might beluckier. Here is what I do:
Using Poster Putty
This method is only effective if your whistle is slightly sharp tobegin with.
While playing a G, slowly slide your finger over the whistle window.The sound will go flat, then the volume will start to decrease.Modifying the window size is the simplest way to tune a whistle.
Using a small ball of poster putty to partly cover the window will dothe trick:
Using a Tuner Pipe
With a bit of luck, you should be able to find some plastic pipe withbore equal to the outer diameter of your whistle. Cut out a 3 or 4 cmlong piece, which we shall call the tuner pipe. Then - highlytraumatic moment! - saw your whistle in two parts, halfway between thelip and the uppermost hole. Insert the two whistle parts in the tuner:if they fit tightly, you're done; otherwise, roll some adhesive tapearound the whistle ends. I actually glue the upper part and tape onlythe lower part for better stability.
Pipe connectors are usually available for any pipe size. I tried withthe ones available in Italy but they didn't work well for me, becausethey have slightly conical bore. Again, you might be luckier than me.
Using Acetone
A piece of PVC pipe can be softened and expanded by soaking it inacetone. A 1-litre can of acetone costs around 5 Euro.
Acetone is a nasty solvent! Usual safety rules apply. Don't breathe it and keep it away from flames.
After half an hour or more in acetone, PVC turns to soft rubber andexpands. When the pipe has expanded enough, wash it under runningwater, then fit another piece of pipe in the expanded section. Irecommend that you apply some cork grease and/or wrap some paperaround the pipe.
It takes several hours for PVC to harden and shrink back a bit,possibly up to two days or even more. At the end of the process, youwill get a tight fit between the two parts. One of them will becomethe whistle head, the other the whistle body. Never leave the twoparts separated for long, because the expanded section may shrink toomuch.
Apply some cork grease again, and enjoy your tunable whistle. Also,bear in mind that acetone removes plumbing marks quite easily.
Reducing Building Time
I spend most of the time shaping the fipple block. If you manage tofind wooden (or plastic) sticks that have the same diameter as thebore, you'll save yourself a lot of work. You may ask a carpenter whohas a turning lathe.
Furthermore: if you have a drill press and the right bits for wood,boring the holes will be a matter of minutes. The slower the drill,the better the holes.
To Glue or Not to Glue
The mouthpiece holds together even if you do not glue the fipple blockand the windway top. Once you've played the whistle for a while andare satisfied with its sound, you may glue the fipple block intoplace; but if you don't, you'll be able to adjust the fipple blockposition as needed.
I strongly suggest that you do not glue the windway top. Bymoving it closer to the lip, you'll be able to make the whistlequieter; moving it farther will make the sound breathy.
Preventing Condensation Build-Up
The curved windway is, by design, less affected by the well-knownmoisture effect. I have never had one of my whistles clogged bycondensation, but the wooden fipple block does absorb some moisture.As a result, the space under the lip space reduces and the whistleslooses volume.
The problem is easily solved if you apply some cork grease on thefipple block top. Cork grease, commonly used for woodwinds, is cheapand is available at any music store. Remove the windway top, greasethe fipple block, then put the windway top back on.
A better method is boiling the fipple block in melted candle wax for afew minutes. Air and humidity will be replaced by the wax, which isimpervious to moisture. If you choose this method, beware: some typesof wood will shrink! This can be an advantage and save you somesanding.
One Head, Two Whistles
The same mouthpiece can be used for two whistles, one in D and one inC:
Although I bet your first whistle will be a perfectly playableinstrument, errors might occur; or you may want to make someimprovements. These are the most common cases.
The sound is too weak
Lower octave notes flip into the second octave too easily
Second octave notes are shrill and flip into the first octave
Second octave D and E tend to flip a fifth higher
The whistle is OK, but the bottom D is too quiet and a bit flat
The whistle is tuned a bit flat
All notes are OK, but the first octave E is too quiet
How do I cut the 45 angle for the fipple/pipe/cap?
I wish I could get 1 Euro each time people ask me.
Simple answer: just try. Good ol' trial and error. There's no trick!
My pipe is thicker/wider/narrower
If you can't find PVC pipe having the very same geometry as mine,don't worry:
What about a thumbhole?
In my opinion, it's a dumb idea.
A thumbhole is used in recorders to get notes in the high register,but whistles are smarter in this respect: just blow harder. Athumbhole is completely redundant in a whistle. So, why bother?
It sounds a bit like a recorder
Excellent! Aren't you happy?
Seriously, if your whistle has a recorder-ish sound, all you have todo is slightly blunt the lip.
Could you explain better how to...
Sorry, I can't.
I tried to write the instructions as clearly as I could, but I haveonly a limited command of the English language, and I'm afraid I can'texplain how to make a whistle any better than I did. (Come to think ofit, I couldn't write better explanations in my native language(Italian), either.)
To put it bluntly: if you don't understand something, tough! Youshould seek help from whistle forums, such as a Chiff andFipple. Besides, the purpose of this guide is to encourageeveryone to experiment, not to encourage everyone to ask me...
Can I make a flute using your whistle plans?
Sure you can; but you will get a very poor flute. Unless it iscorrected using a special device called the Fajardo wedge, cylindricalpipe is not good for transverse flutes or fifes; the second octavesounds too flat.
Good manual, but I still have a question
Every now and then, people ask me how to make a whistle that plays inthe Gyzragyan or Putzyculian scale; or how to implement alternativefipple design; or about very long or thick pipe, hyperbass whistles,alternative materials, whistle-like instruments, or to solve weirdproblems, and so on so forth.
If it's not already explained in this guide, I'm afraid I'm totallyhelpless! Please don't expect me to be a guru with the ultimatequestion to every aspect of instrument making. I'm just a poor lad whohappened to write a simple how-to guide, but that's all. :-)
Why are you giving away your instructions?
Or, as some people put it: ``Excellent instructions, why didn't youpatent your building method?'
Patenting the whistle? Are you kidding?
I believe that sharing is one of the things that make this world aless filthy place. I have a steady job thanks to all those generousgeniuses who wrote GNU/Linux and free software in general (I'm asystem manager) and shared it on the net. I just gave back a littlefraction of what I received.
The very idea of patenting the whistle makes me sick with laughter!
Now that you have a whistle, it's time to play some music. Being abeginner, I turned to the Internet for tutorials and collections.There are lots of sites dedicated to the whistle!
I found the following tutorials very useful:
Next, I downloaded excellent tune collections from these sites:
Most tune collections are written in ABC. If you want to know moreabout the ABC music notation, please refer to these official sites:
I maintain the latter site, where you can find ready-to-use softwareand documentation.
Since I published this guide on the net, I have received a lot offeedback. It looks like my instructions work! Here is what Kyle Stuartfrom California wrote me:
(Reproduced by kind permission. Thanks!)
I had no doubts about the quality of the sound of the LTW, but now Ihave a confirmation. Please read the review available at http://www.tinwhistler.com/music/reviews/srcreview.asp?keyword=lotech.Many thanks to the Wandering Whistler for the review.
A review of my Low-Tech Low D was published onChiff andFipple.
Also, I was flattered when Keith and Sandra from Canada wrote thefollowing:
(Reproduced by kind permission. Thanks!)
Please let me know what you think of this tutorial; suggestions arealways more than welcome. And if you make a whistle you like, I'll beglad to hear it!
All the information in this guide may be freely used for any purpose.If you sell whistles you make using my directions, good for you! But Iask you to play fair and give me proper credit. Please point yourcustomers to this page... and send me one of your whistles for mycollection.
Mission Accomplished! (For real!)
Wayne Hubin from Watertown, Minnesota, wrote me some of the mostrewarding feedback I could hope for:
Draven Blaze from Kentucky moved me to tears as he wrote:
This is the ultimate reward I could ever dream of!
Whistle making at the 'Grandkids Week'. By kind permission of JimBerry, the pretty girls, and their moms.
Whistle making at Auriville, India'. By kind permission of JuliusSchretzmann.
To contact me, drop me an email: guido.gonzato (at) gmail.com
Figures were drawn with XFig.
Proofreading kindly provided by Simon Bidlakecorser.
This document is released under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license,
Last updated: January 29, 2018
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