Instrumentation Question ?

[mixolydian]

::

I give up, this is getting pointless anyways.

[skajerk]

Look. It's a whistle, it's legal, it's in the show to stay. End of discussion.

[mad_scotty]

Where do you get yours? I am a percussionist with a masters degree. What more do you want to know. It is considered a percussion instrument, even if it is considered an effect instrument....end of story.

ummmmm....okay, i'll bite. a masters degree in what?

[DutchCousin]

percussionist love to beat on whistles

[BACMom]

I wondered the exact same thing but was too worried about being flamed for asking. Thanks for being braver than I am.

See why I was afraid to ask?

[luvs me sum mello!]

It's legal, end of story.

Try to find some other loop hole to bring their score down....

[eightyonepointthree]

I now declare 1992 Velvet Knights disqualified!

Also, 1988 Sky Ryders for their bird whistle.

2005 Scouts for their multiple whistles....add 1988 Suncoast, 1985 SCV, and anyone else to the list.

Any others? Someone needs to get an eraser and change the record books.

[GREENBLUE]

.....and SCV fiddler show 1992, with the bird whistles

[Huntington Mallets]

I don't have any problem with it being in any shows, but how can you honestly call a whistle/slide whistle a percussion instrument?

[jplattSCV]

I now declare 1992 Velvet Knights disqualified!

Also, 1988 Sky Ryders for their bird whistle.

2005 Scouts for their multiple whistles....add 1988 Suncoast, 1985 SCV, and anyone else to the list.

Any others? Someone needs to get an eraser and change the record books.

From wikipedia...

Most instruments known as "aerophones" are defined as wind instruments such as a saxophone whereby sound is produced by a person or thing blowing air through the object. However, the following example instruments, if played at all in a musical context, are played by the percussionists in an ensemble. Examples of aerophones:

* Whips

* Siren

* Pistols: The explosion of hot expanding gases from the muzzle of a starter pistol produces sound.

Not that wikipedia is the best source, but this sounds reasonable to me. I am guessing that a whistle would fit in this category because it is not intended to play specific notes. Though not technically a percussion instrument, its not a woodwind either. So, it is legal. And its an instrument that is typically played by the percussionist, but it is clearly not a percussion instrument.

My personal experience with a slide whistle was definely a big fail. At the beginning of the 1991 season in SCV, we tried to use a slide whistle to play the Flute sound from the Overture to Miss Saigon since a a flute or recorder was not allowed. This proved to be impossible because A) it was impossible to control the pitch and B) it was not nearly loud enough. If you blew hard enough to get any volume it would go dog whistle on me. Sounding quite a bit like what they are getting this year from the Cavies pit. Incidentally. That was Jim Casella's age out year in the bass line. He probably doesn't remember that we tried this in the pit that year because it was very short lived, but it is an interesting link. Eventually one of the sops played the part instead. This was the first sop solo about 30 seconds or so into the opener. The sop played it way better than I ever played it on slide whistle and the sound projected more than 6 feet, which was nice.