Make A Willow Whistle

@cipotefello: Personally, a .22 caliber casing works great. However, if you want to do it without any instruments, then it takes practice, patience, and the right shape of tongue. My cousins can do it, I can't. Instructions are available online:

Fingers: [www.natwilson.com]
Fingers Video: [www.metacafe.com]

Without Fingers Video:

+ Watch video

Another Finger Video: [www.metacafe.com]

Picture Instructions with Fingers: [www.tapeonline.com]

Two-handed whistle: [www.highlightskids.com]

Oh yes, and remember to wash your hands according to these instructions: [www.thefreelibrary.com]!-a066355231

maztec

I used to make willow whistles with my grandfather. Except, we would cut really low, pull the wood out, cut the wood off just below the notch, stuff it back in to the notch, put a pin or wood sliver in through the outside bark on the bottom (opposite side the notch) into the wood, to hold the bark on. Then put the long piece back up inside.

The result? Slide whistle! Much more fun. Just slide the wood in and out of the bark.

Could also make a mock-recorder the same way, but make a longer notch and put holes in the outside to cover with the fingers.

And, could also make a warble, that was a bit more complex. You made several notches, then stripped them up to the top. Then, you could pinch the wood between them and get varying multi-tonal whistles.

And, by the way, not just the stick size, but the hole size and notch size make a lot of difference in tone.

Thanks Lifehacker for sharing this! Lot of memories here.

maztec

@thegsusfreek:

(*doh* meant to reply to the above thread)

(No offense, of course. It's just so much fun, I gotta use it when the chance is presented! ;P)

@cipotefello:

Must.... not... ....so hard!

Gah! I give up.

[lmgtfy.com]

I want to learn how to whistle really loud. Any tips?

cipotefello

How about a Willow-Willow-Will-so?

James, I did EXACTLY the same thing! What a memory; thanks for awakening it!

CarterDawes

This is kind of facile (and not a little bit peurile), but I used to select the wider blades of grass that I could find, and pinch them between the balls of my hands (paddy part at the bottom of the thumb) and the tips of my thumbs, and when you blow through the resulting gap with the grass blade, it made a very obnoxious, honky kind of sound, in the same general sonic family as listening to Mr. Punch speak through the swazzle.

Anyways, I'd hold a tissue in my fingers and walk around pretending I was blowing my nose, but that it was making this bizarre sound. I suspect that I was the only one amused by this, but there you are.

James Paskaruk

Simple, but awesome. Going camping on memorial-day weekend, so I think I'll try this then. Maybe I'll impress the family friends that are coming along with us!

@maztec: I have been deeply outclassed, you sir are a master whistle maker. =)

Glad the post brought back such fond memories!

@maztec: YAY! I was just coming in here to relate exactly the same memory (umm.. substitute my grandfather for yours, of course)!!

I remember the day he showed me that, I thought he must have been some kind of magician :)

BingleyJoe

@James Paskaruk: ...

...I still do that. And I suspect that had you bumped into me I would have found it amusing.

Alfonzo

@James Paskaruk: My elementary school had that rough grass that would grow wide enough to make those hand whistles. Fun, fun.

If you like these bush craft stuff, knives, guns, and some neat tips and trick for all of the above, you should really check out cutlerylover on youtube. He shows how to make a whistle out of a soda can, acorn, and like this willow one. Cool stuff

[www.youtube.com]

Whistles? Bah. There was a willow tree on the property across from our elementary school. Not a day went past when someone didn't show up for class with long red marks across their faces, legs, or arms. It was a sad day for us all when the tree was cut down in the middle of the night by Tommy "one eye" Mcquigin's father.

Schell

Another fairly easy instrument is the Appalachian style Mouth-Bow ( [www.motherearthnews.com] )

As for simple games and toys? There's always conkers, squeezing may-pops, folding kudzu leaves into butterflies, daisy chains with weed flowers (Hey, parents...want your yard weeded on the cheap? Send the kids to pluck up the dandelions!)

Hmm...Any bit of twine and you can play string games like Cat's Cradle...the list goes on and on and on

jhendrix84

@James Paskaruk:
Yes... it makes a sound like a peacock.

@James Paskaruk: I used to do this as a kid too. I'm quite a bit older now and still do it on occasion.

Another thing you can do is take a fairly large but thin leaf (There are these maple trees that have huge leaves in the Northeast), make a circle with your thumb and index finger, place the leaf on top of the circle and smack it with the palm of your other hand.

If you do it right, it makes this nice loud pop.

@James Paskaruk: Just did this again on Friday for the first time in maybe 20 years, you can get some interesting trumpety sounds with some subtle tensioning movements, etc.. It's quite the versatile instrument! :)

There's a fun, silent toy we used to make on my great-grandfather's farm when we were kids. All it takes is two feathers (chicken, duck, goose, ect.) and a corn cob. Insert the feathers into the soft part in the middle of the cob and throw strait in the air. I comes down kinda like a 'copter. We called them "whirly birds".

AngeloEspical

Our family became quite artistic on grass blades when the kids were small. Our daughter managed "O Canada" one summer - the first phrase isn't hard, but she did the whole thing. Grass blades are also great for calling peacocks. I find the high-powered hand dryers provide some outlet for musical ambitions. Let the wind whistle between your hands and move them together or apart to vary the pitch.

HanleyFantazmo

Thanks for using my photo for this article. Regards Mirko Macari

ArdelleApsyrtus

straw recorder: If you have a straw and a penknife you can make a loud instrument! Take an ordinary drinking straw and cut one end into a point. squeeze the point flat and blow into it; the two triangles that make the point act as a reed and make a loud noise. You may have to fiddle with the pointy end a bit, also consider cutting the very tip of the point off so you don't stab your tongue. For extra credit you can cut (or melt) a series of holes down the straw and play a tune. Great fun! Be nice and step outside the restaurant before playing extended solos.

FerrisPeleus

An old, old idea but a goody for the kids! I learned to make these, and similar ones using stalks of wheat/corn etc, some 40 years ago as a child when on a camping trip in Scotland, from a man who had been taught by his grandfather who had been in turn taught by his father etc etc. A simple, one unit version of the pan pipes of pre-Christianity. And none the worse for that. You'll get a far superior tune out of the stalks of the grass family if you bake them on an extremely low heat for a while - toughens the exterior ready for the slice.

BrentTubertus

I _love_ this picture of a willow ; could you please tell me where it comes from ?

davidp57

Thanks for featuring my video. I am glad that everybody is enjoying it. I haven't seen lifehacker before, but it looks like a lot of good how-to information. How-to videos are a hobby of mine and I have several other videos on my youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/chuvak1 The Camera stabilizer trick has been one of the most popular.

GilesSimpson