You may wonder why we put the lesson about the tin whistle care and maintenance just after we learned how to produce the sound out of it. That’s because we want to make sure that you keep your whistle in excellent playing condition. If you are a beginner, you want to be clear if that squeaky or muffled sound comes from your playing or as a result of a dirty and clogged whistle. So, here are a few things that will help to keep your whistle in good shape.
How to clean a tin whistle?
The mouthpiece is a fundamental part when it comes to the whistle sound. And the common thing is that it can clog quite often if you play actively. It depends on windway narrowness but also on the playing style. First and foremost, never use a piece of metal, such as needles, to pick out the parts of dirt from your mouthpiece. It may cause permanent damage to the instrument.
The first thing you want to try is to cover the mouthpiece window with your finger and blow into the whistle really hard a couple of times. In most cases, you will get rid of sudden condensed drops.
What some people found as the best “tool”, is to cut off a narrow strip of an old credit card. You can easily put it into a mouthpiece and take the dirt and moisture off. Or, as an alternative, you can use a folded piece of paper, but make sure that it’s strong enough that it doesn’t bend. The great thing is that you can carry it in your wallet (as guitar players do with picks) and use it whenever it is urgently needed, such as in a session or a live concert.
Of course, you can use the same procedure to clean the finger holes too, but this is definitely something not necessary to be done frequently.
The best “tool” to clean the whistle mouthpiece is a narrow strip of an old credit card.
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Cleaning the inner body of a tin whistle
For cleaning the inner body (tube) of a whistle, there are special brushes used for other instruments such as flutes or clarinets. Or, what some people use are gun/rifle cleaning rods. Also, there are other cleaning brushes and mops usually made for small bottles, keyboards, and other home stuff. It seems they come in various materials and sizes so you can pick the one that suits your whistle best.
Polishing a tin whistle
To be honest, many people like to see the “scars” of the instrument. It showcases how much it was played. So, you can just wipe the whistle off with a cloth or a towel from time to time. However, if you are inclined to keep it shiny and without finger marks around the holes, please avoid using any strong chemicals (such as dish polishing paste or bathroom cleaners). It may take the tiny parts off the whistle surface, and it can (if done often) damage the instrument in the long run. As a safe solution, you can just put a small amount of toothpaste to rub your whistle, and it will do the job. Also, many people are praising that ketchup is the best ingredient to polish brass whistles. Thus you can try so as well.
Deep cleaning (and also tuning) tin whistles
If you do the cleaning regularly, then the deep cleaning is probably something you won’t need to be doing at all. Or at best, once in a couple of months of active playing. Keep in mind that this only applies to plastic or metal whistles, never do it with wooden ones. Wooden whistles take special care and we strongly advise you to consult the whistle maker before you try anything out yourself.
If you are using a classic whistle with a metal body and plastic mouthpiece, just put the whistle head into hot water. After a couple of minutes, you should be able to gently twist the whistle head (mouthpiece) off. Adding a little bit of dish soap is fine too. Not sure why, but if they are not originally made tuneable, most of the brass/nickel whistles always come with a glued mouthpiece. Thus, hot water will help to melt the glue and take it apart. This way, you can also reach the mouthpiece from inside. You can also use a credit card to take the dirt off, but maybe the better solution is to use ear scoops in this case.
The cool thing is that after you did this once, the detached mouthpiece becomes the tuning slide and you will be able to tune your whistle to a perfect pitch whenever it’s needed! Just move the mouthpiece slightly up or down and find the sweet spot to get the whistle in the correct pitch if you play together with other musicians.
