How to Make a Poplar Whistle

Making a poplar whistle is one of the rites of spring and a heritage well worth passing on the next generation. I learned to make these whistles from my childhood friend, Victor Bear who had been taught by his father.

You make poplar whistles in the spring time when the sap is running and the trees are leafing out. The sap in the bark makes it easy to slide the whistle apart when you take the bark off to cut the inside out.

You can make these whistles from succulent trees like aspen, poplar, red alder, and willow. Other types of trees generally are too even in spring or they lack bark strong enough to take the tapping that dislodges the bark. You may have trees in your area that are suitable to make whistles from that I'm not familiar with...most fruit bearing trees like pear, apple and cherry should work.

Pick out a nice piece of branch that is straight and has no imperfections in the bark. The section should be about the diameter of a man's thumb and about three inches long.

Take your pocket knife and carve the curve for the mouthpiece similar to the diagram and remove it. Cut the air hole straight down about a quarter of the way through the stick and the cut several times toward this vertical cut until you have a nice hole that is straight toward the mouthpiece and curved toward the butt end of the whistle. If the hole is too small, the whistle will be high pitched, but not very loud. If the hole is too large, the whistle will be hard to blow and may not make any sound at all. Experiment with this hole and you will find which size you like best.

Next you need to score the bark completely through and all the way around the stick as shown in the diagram. You will need to line up the ends of your cut and do this operation smoothly. You may want to practice this operation several times to get really good at it.Do not be afraid to cut into the stick itself, it won't bother the whistle from playing and you will be sure the bark will come off without catching.

Now comes the tricky part of making your whistle. You must tap gently, but firmly on the bark while turning the stick. Use your pocket knife handle if it is smooth and heavy enough. Every part of the bark must be loosened without breaking or cracking it. After you have tapped the bark until you are confident it is loosened, wet the whistle end of your stick by placing it in your mouth or in a glass of water. Old timers always used the spit method and it works best!

Take the whistle in your hands and turn firmly. The bark should turn loose and you can then carefully pull it off the whistle end. Carve out the inside of the whistle to look like the diagram. Be sure the vertical cut stays the same as when you cut the air hole and then carefully shave a sliver off the top ot the stick so you have a channel for your breath to enter the whistle. This should be as thin as possible and still make the whistle blow.

Lick the wooden part of the whistle and replace the bark sleeve. Blow your whistle and see how it sounds. If it is weak, make the airway a tiny bit larger. Experiment and you will soon be a Poplar Whistle expert.

Poplar whistles dry out and don't play after a while. You can try putting the whistle in a seal a meal bag with a little water to keep it going for a while...but they are fun to make and longevity is not really important. It's the making that counts, especially when you get to be a Grandpa and another generation comes along.

Warning! Everyone loves a Poplar Whistle and you will be in demand for years to come by parents wanting you to teach their children how it's done. Posted by The WhistleSmith at November 4, 2006 3:10 PM | TrackBack