A Conversation for How do I...?
... play a penny whistle?
Cheerful Dragon Started conversation Jan 14, 2000
My mother-in-law gave me a penny whistle for Christmas. (Richard is still sulking!
) I used to play the recorder when I was a kid, so most of the technique comes fairly easily. What is causing me problems is getting the upper octave. The little book that came with the whistle says that you 'overblow' to get the upper octave, but doesn't say what this entails. The only way I have found involves tightening the lips round the mouthpiece and blowing a bit harder than normal. Is this correct? It makes my lips a bit numb if I do it for too long, and the results are variable at best.
Please help before Richard goes mad / murders me / divorces me!
... play a penny whistle?
Borin Olnaim Posted Jan 14, 2000
Yep, you got it. To overblow is simply to blow a little harder. With practice you'll find that you don't have to blow much harder at all. There are loads of books available on playing the flagiolet (SP?) 
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... play a penny whistle?
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