Step 1: Body

• Make 2 pinch pots and attach them to create a hollow form

Step 2: Nozzle• Take a small block of clay and

attach it to the clay body 

• The top of the block should be aligned with the top of the sphere

Step 3: Opening

• Insert a thin stick into the nozzle, through the nozzle and into the hollow body 

• The top of the stick must be aligned with the inside top of the clay body 

• Using any sharp tool, cut an angled opening in the top of the whistle as shown in the diagram 

•The edge of the opening must be vertical and at the point where the stick enters the clay body.  The other edge must be at an angle (say, 45 degrees)

• Improper Opening Placement In this figure, examples 1 and 2 show improper opening placements.  The whistle will sound best when the opening begins directly above the spot where the nozzle enters the clay body

• The Drooping Opening When forming the angled cut of the whistle opening, it is easy to push the surface down into the hollow cavity.  This leads to poor sound quality.  It is much better to have the inside surface of the clay (at this angled cut) in-line with the nozzle, see the figure to the right.

• To correct this situation, cut open the whistle and push the angled cut back into place.  Reseal the whistle with some clay slip and continue.

Sound

Too small, won’t work! Too big, won’t work!

• Play around till you find a good sound

Step 4: Pitch• Once you have the whistle body made, you can put

holes in it to change the tone (or pitch) • Vary the Hole Sizes

If you put more than 1 hole in the whistle, you may want to consider making the holes different sizes.  This will maximize the number of tones it will produce. 

Step 5: Embellish

CarveAdd on

Add texture

Step 1: Body & Beads

• Make 2 pinch pots

• Set aside

• Make the beads that will create the noise

• They should be varied sizes- small, big, long, short

Step 2: Make it shake!

• Fill no more than half of the total size with beads

• Attach pinch pots (with beads inside)

• Poke a small hole to let air out

Will not make noise until dry and/or fired

Step 3: Embellish

CarveAdd on

Add texture

Your challenge…

• Create a whistle and rattle set

• They must be related somehow: visually, diptych, themed, etc.

• Think about final product…will they be on a string (worn) or sit on the table?