6th Graders Collaborate on the Giant Whistle ProjectIt started innocently enough – Some boys were interested in learning how to make clay whistles. I warned them: Clay whistles are hard. It takes a while to get the knack of making a fipple that produces sound (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipple ).
(Click to view video!)
These boys were game. Several small whistles were carefully constructed, one even had four legs and a head. They produced various tones after great determination and practice.
Then it happened. While the whistle-makers were engrossed in their work, a student started making a large hollow bank by draping clay into 2 large wooden salad bowls (not the bowls you eat the salad out of, the ones you SERVE the salad from). It was a huge bank. The whistle-makers got one look at this bank and knew instantly that their NEXT whistle would be a world record-winner.
Then it happened. While the whistle-makers were engrossed in their work, a student started making a large hollow bank by draping clay into 2 large wooden salad bowls (not the bowls you eat the salad out of, the ones you SERVE the salad from). It was a huge bank. The whistle-makers got one look at this bank and knew instantly that their NEXT whistle would be a world record-winner.
Testing the fipple and hoping for a sound
It wasn’t easy, of course. It took persistence, daring, physics and the willingness to get clay on your lips. In fact, it took a team of experts to collaboratively produce not one, but TWO giant clay whistles with two distinct sounds.
If anyone knows of a clay-whistle band in need of a couple of bass whistles, let us know…
