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.

The Traveler in A, Wicked Good Whistle

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When folks in Maine admire something and decide it is exceptional, they generally say "It's Wicked Good"

"The Traveler" is one Wicked Good Whistle!

This is the newest addition to my line of whistles. Many folks have inquired about a whistle in the Key of A over the past year, and I feel this is the whistle they have been waiting for. I call it "The Traveler" because it fits the bill when you are on the road.

If you play your whistle outdoors, this is the model for you! You can play this whistle in a gale force wind and it will not miss a note. The Traveler will stay in tune in cold weather and the mouthpiece can be easily rotated to the bottom of whistle for playing in the wind. This is a great whistle to take camping, hiking or playing around the fire. I have played this whistle from Northern Maine to Florida and everywhere in between this year and it is a great size to carry when you are traveling or on vacation.

I have improved the Straight Shot mouthpiece in shape and it feels silky smooth against your lip. The mouthpiece has a bevel on the top to fit your lip when the whistle is played in a variety of positions. The tuning slide is made of copper for strength and slides efficiently without sticking. There are no rubber O rings to break and lubricating the slide is optional.

The tuning slide clip is slotted on the back so you can see the amount of adjustment in the slide when tuning to another whistle. It also strengthens the slide and keeps the whistle aligned when rotating the mouthpiece to the down position. If you do not wish to use the tuning slide clip, it is easily removed.

Whistle is fifteen inches long, made for small hands fingering (ladies extra small glove size), Folks with large hands will find the fingering distances to be extra comfortable and uncroweded between fingers. The finger holes on this whistle are not offset on the bottom hole (everything is in a straight line) and are suitable for left handed players, exchange hand players (right hand top, left hand bottom) and make playing the instrument when your hands are stiff more comfortable.

The tone body has been rebored on the foot to give the bottom notes on the lower octave louder volume and better balance to the instrument.

The Traveler lets you play in the Keys of A and D and Bm without having to learn any tricky crossfingering. This is a very handy whistle to add to your collection.

Whistle comes apart for easy cleaning at the slide and breaks down into two pieces for travel. Straight Shot mouthpiece is made of Bristol white polymer and has a clear acrylic plug from TAP plastics. The mouthpiece contains no wood or metal and the top slides completely off for cleaning and can be adjusted to best playing position on the top and bottom octaves.

The Traveler has a rich, full sound you'll enjoy, with balanced high and low octaves. There is plenty of volume for any type of playing.

WhistleSmith Symphony Slide Flute

This Whistlesmith product is no longer available. Our current selection of whistles and other Whistlesmith products and accessories are available here.

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The Symphony Slide Flute is a new Wicked Good product from the WhistleSmith.

The Symphony Slide Flute is pitched to play G (392) below middle C as the lowest note. The Symphony Slide Flute is very mellow and the tone is similar to the Low G Flute. You will be can play all those low notes just like a Low Whistle and play two part music with another person using a Mystic Slide Flute or a keyed whistle.

NO FLUTE EXPERIENCE or embouchure is used playing this instrument. NO LIP PUCKERING and very little breath is necessary. The Side shooter mouthpiece lets you blow the instrument right out of the box!

The Symphony Slide Flute is a great way to learn to play music by ear. The Symphony Slide Flute lets you play two plus octaves of great sounding music using only the slide and blowing like a whistle. You get a full penny whistle flute sound, plus the ability to play real musical slides (Glissando in musical terms) with ease. The flute position is perfect for a great natural feel to move the slide from note to note.

Symphony Slide Flute components are Bristol white pipe and measures 16 inches including the slide.
The Symphony Slide Flute is hand made using Automatic Flute components to produce a nice size instrument for traveling and still have outstanding volume and sound characteristics.

The heavy duty fiberglass slide rod moves like a violin bow and is lubricated with Vaseline and a drop of extra virgin olive oil. The slide seals with a poly plug and is ready to play right out of the box. No break in is necessary and the slide moves effortlessly for easy playing of individual notes.

The Side shooter automatic mouthpiece slides apart for complete cleaning and the entire flute disassembles without tools for maintenance.

The Symphony Slide Flute is a light weight, comfortable instrument to play for a long period of time and is packed with two extra poly plug replacements for the slide, a complete diagram of the flute and tips on playing and maintaining the instrument.

The Symphony Slide Flute is the perfect instrument for anyone with arthritis, a hand or arm disability or even a partial or missing digit.