What is the quietest woodwind?

[Venom]

Feel free to answer without reading as I am something of a rambler.

I know that it is probably a pointless question: surely decibel output would vary by manufacturer, material used, key of instrument, etc, but it's something that I really wish to know.

I have tried and failed at different instruments throughout my life. At the beginning of the year I finally tried a woodwind instrument (I had always written them off due to my deviated septim, impossible, I thought). I play the penny whistle, very amateurly. I have just ordered myself a recorder, I am hoping that I can learn to play this too.

HOWEVER, I am blessed if I can squeeze in 20 minutes practice time a week. My wife hates woodwind, I live in Scotland so playing outside is a rare thing (the first time my daughter seen a dry day she asked me where the rain was). The only time I get to practice is a small window in work.

I know I can shove blu-tac in the whistle, but it alters the sound too much for me to know if I'm playing right or not. Some people just practice fingering, but that's not too good for me.


So, what is the quietest woodwind, generally speaking? If there was one that I could play without disturbing others, I could get a lot of practice in. Ideally, something as quiet as a clavichord

 

[Steve]

I think it really depends upon how you approach playing.
For instance, I can practice my saxophone at night whilst others are asleep.
I adjust my airstream where (blowing normally) the reed barely vibrates and I can practice as normal except really, really softly.
You can practice this by using a bit too hard of a reed for your playing style.

There's always muting instruments too. You can get mutes for String instruments, brass and wind instruments.

 

[KMP]

You should cross the recorder off your list for the two reasons already given: 1) learning to play the recorder well requires considerable practice, 2) if you are trying to play so as not to disturb your family, you will never develop a decent (and in tune) sound. But with only 20 minutes per week for practice, I don't see much chance of this going anywhere, regardless of instrument choice.

 

[saxhound]

If you really want quiet, you might consider an EWI. You can play an electronic wind instrument directly into headphones with absolutely no external noise. A good one will be able to replicate a lot of the woodwind instruments (and more). Unfortunately, this doesn't really replicate playing a true woodwind, other than the fingering.

 

[BarrySachs]

I can play flute very softly as long as I don't go too high. I can almost play as quietly on recorder too. But flute is the instrument I take on long trips so I can practice quietly in hotel rooms and keep up my fingering technique that translates well to sax and clarinet. An electronic one like the EWI mentioned above would be ideal since it can be completely silent (Yamaha makes a fairly cheap one based on sax fingerings).

I recommend you stick with the recorder and penny whistle. I love playing traditional Scottish and Irish duets on penny whistle with my daughter who plays violin. So maybe the best solution is to get another family member interested in music so you can play together?

 

[KMP]

I can play flute very softly as long as I don't go too high.

With only 20 minutes of weekly practice I don't think that will be a problem. If you stick the to bottom five notes and don't pay too much attention to such things as concert pitch, then the recorder won't be a problem, either.

 

[BarrySachs]

With only 20 minutes of weekly practice I don't think that will be a problem. If you stick the to bottom five notes and don't pay too much attention to such things as concert pitch, then the recorder won't be a problem, either.

Right you are. 20 minutes per week, especially at ppp, is pointless anyway. If you want to play a woodwind well, at some point, you're going to have to make some noise and put in some significant practice time.

 

[Venom]

Right you are. 20 minutes per week, especially at ppp, is pointless anyway. If you want to play a woodwind well, at some point, you're going to have to make some noise and put in some significant practice time.

The thing is, if I can play something quietly, without irritating my wife or waking my child, I would have much more than 20 minutes a week

 

[KMP]

The thing is, if I can play something quietly, without irritating my wife or waking my child, I would have much more than 20 minutes a week

Ain't gonna work IMO. In 2-3 years, perhaps, but in the early days you need to be able to focus entirely on tone production without disturbance. They're "wind" instruments, after all.

 

[KMP]

Maybe you can find a room somewhere to practice. For a while I went across the street a couple times a week to a children's community center that had an empty room. At home, I'm often asked to move to the bedroom, especially when playing the smaller flutes. Perhaps there is a nearby community center, or church? I've also practiced in the basement of our apartment building, in several bathrooms at various locations. These days I have access (mornings) to a practice room in the nearby music school -- that has been great. But it costs me a bit and is really only suitable if you are retired or have a very flexible work schedule (not to mention a very cooperative music school).