It is customary for serious musicians to make special modifications and adjustments (“tweaking” or “voicing”) to bring out the full musical potential of this traditional folk instrument.

The windway, mouthpiece interior and, if necessary, soundblade edge have been tweaked by Jerry Freeman to:

• Fine-tune the airflow so the instrument produces more musical sound and noticeably less “breathiness” for a given amount of air blown in.

• Create an optimal amount of “back pressure” so the whistle is more receptive to subtle breath control. This produces a more expressive and responsive instrument. The sensation is that this whistle “sings.”
• Reduce the amount of air needed without sacrificing volume.
• Improve the strength and stability of the lowest notes, which tend to break into the upper register too easily on many of the factory run whistles.
• Make the whistle tunable by enabling the mouthpiece to be moved up or down on the body.

These adjustments make the whistle even easier to play than the mass-produced untweaked Sweetone, which, even without these improvements, is widely appreciated as being one of the most easily played whistles in the world.

Because it is so easy to play and one of the better in-tune whistles, the Clarke Sweetone is considered to be the best whistle for every beginning whistler.

This tweaked Sweetone preserves all the qualities that have made the instrument so well-loved, while minimizing those that might be thought undesirable and releasing the full potential of this whistle’s authentic voice.

Both beginning and established whistle musicians will appreciate this instrument.

Enjoy your whistle!

Best wishes,
Jerry

P.S. FOR A REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE TWEAKED SWEETONE WHISTLES (on the Chiff and Fipple Message Board), Click Here.

Text in this box is used by kind permission of Jerry Freeman
© COPYRIGHT 2003, HOMESTAR PROPERTIES, L.L.C.