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The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed
woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...
instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the
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, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. A tin whistle player is called a whistler. The tin whistle is closely associated with Irish traditional music and
Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considera ...
. Other names for the instrument are the flageolet, English flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, tin flageolet, or Irish whistle (also ga, feadóg stáin or feadóg).


History

The tin whistle in its modern form is from a wider family of fipple flutes which have been seen in many forms and cultures throughout the world. In Europe, such instruments have a long and distinguished history and take various forms, of which the most widely known are the
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
, tin whistle, Flabiol, Txistu and tabor pipe.


Predecessors

Almost all primitive cultures had a type of fipple flute, and it is most likely the first pitched flute type instrument in existence. Examples found to date include a possible Neanderthal fipple flute from
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
, which according to some scientists may date from 81,000 to 53,000 BC;The Clarke Tin Whistle By Bill OchsThe Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle By Grey Larsen a German flute from 35,000 years ago; and a flute, known as the Malham Pipe, made from sheep's bone in
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
dating to the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
. (A revised dating of the Malham Pipe now places it within the early medieval period.) Written sources that describe a fipple-type flute include the
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tibia and Greek aulos. In the early Middle Ages, peoples of northern Europe were playing the instrument as seen in 3rd-century British bone flutes, and Irish Brehon Law describes a flute-like instrument. By the 12th century, Italian flutes came in a variety of sizes, and fragments of 12th-century Norman bone whistles have been found in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, as well as an intact 14 cm Tusculum clay whistle from the 14th century in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. In the 17th century, whistles were called flageolets, a term to describe a whistle with a French made fipple headpiece (common to the modern penny whistle); and such instruments are linked to the development of the English flageolet, French flageolet and recorders of the
renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
and
baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...
period. The term flageolet is still preferred by some modern tin whistlers, who feel that this better describes the instrument, as the term characterises a wide variety of fipple flutes, including penny whistles.Mel Bays Complete Irish Tin Whistle Book By Mizzy McCaskill, Dona Gilliam


19th century

The modern penny whistle is indigenous to
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, in particular to England, when factory-made "tin whistles" were produced by Robert Clarke from 1840 to 1889 in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
, and later New Moston, England. Down to 1900, they were also marketed as "Clarke London Flageolets" or "Clarke Flageolets".Dannatt The whistle's fingering system is similar to that of the six-hole, " simple system Irish flutes" ("simple" in comparison to Boehm system flutes). The six-hole, diatonic system is also used on
baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...
flutes, and was of course well-known before Robert Clarke began producing his tin whistles. Clarke's first whistle, the Meg, was pitched in high A, and was later made in other keys suitable for Victorian parlour music. The company showed the whistles in
The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...
of 1851. The Clarke tin whistle is voiced somewhat on an organ-pipe with a flattened tube forming the lip of the fipple mouthpiece, and is usually made from rolled tin sheet or brass. They were mass-produced and widespread due to their relative affordability. As the penny whistle was generally considered a toy, it has been suggested that children or street musicians were paid a penny by those who heard them playing the whistle. However, in reality, the instrument was so called because it could be purchased for a penny. The name "tin-whistle" was also coined as early as 1825
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
br>online edition
/ref> but neither the tin whistle nor the penny whistle name seems to have been common until the 20th century. The instrument became popular in several musical traditions, namely:
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
, Scottish, Irish and
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
traditional music. Due to its affordability, the tin whistle was a popular household instrument, as ubiquitous as the harmonica. In the second half of the 19th century, some flute manufacturers such as Barnett Samuel and Joseph Wallis also sold whistles. These had a cylindrical brass tube. Like many old whistles, they had
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...
fipple plugs, and since lead is
poisonous Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
, caution should be exercised before playing an old whistle.


Low whistle

While whistles have most often been produced in higher pitches, the "low" whistle has historically been produced. The Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, has in its collection an example of a 19th-century low whistle from the Galpin collection.


Modern tin whistle

The most common whistles today are made of
brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...
or nickel-plated brass, with a
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adapta ...
mouthpiece, which contains the fipple. Generation, Feadóg, Oak, Acorn, Soodlum's (now Walton's), and other brands fall in this category. The first mass producer of tin whistles was The Clarke Tin Whistle company, with the company's founder, Robert Clarke producing his first tin whistle in 1843 with the help of a local blacksmith. The company expanded production from a factory in New Moston, Manchester. The Generation Whistle was introduced in 1966, and featured a brass tube with a lead fipple. Founded by businessman and engineer Alfred Brown in Oswestry, Shropshire, their most popular whistle, the Generation Flageolet, was introduced in 1968. The design was updated somewhat over the years, most notably the substitution of a plastic fipple for the lead fipple. Although most whistles have a cylindrical bore, other designs exist, for example a conical sheet metal whistle with a wooden stop in the wide end to form the fipple, the Clarke's brand being the most prevalent. Other less common variants are the all-metal whistle, the PVC whistle, the Flanna square holed whistle, and the wooden whistle. Gaining popularity as a folk instrument in the early 19th century Celtic music revivals, penny whistles now play an integral part of several folk traditions. Whistles are a prevalent starting instrument in English traditional music, Scottish traditional music and Irish traditional music, since they are usually inexpensive; relatively easy to play, free of tricky embouchure such as found with the
transverse flute A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows across the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length. Transverse flutes include the Western concert f ...
; and use fingerings are nearly identical to those on traditional six-holed flutes, such as the
Irish flute The Irish flute is a conical-bore, simple-system wooden flute of the type favoured by classical flautists of the early 19th century, or to a flute of modern manufacture derived from this design (often with modifications to optimize its use in Ir ...
and the
Baroque flute The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in Ameri ...
. The tin whistle is a good starting instrument to learn the uilleann pipes, which has similar finger technique, range of notes and repertoire. The tin whistle is the most popular instrument in Irish traditional music today.Vallely et al., p. 397 In recent years, a number of instrument builders have started lines of "high-end" hand-made whistles, which can cost hundreds of US dollars each—expensive in comparison to cheap whistles, but nevertheless cheaper than most other instruments. These companies are typically either a single individual or a very small group of craftsmen who work closely together. The instruments are distinguished from the inexpensive whistles in that each whistle is individually manufactured and "voiced" by a skilled person rather than made in a factory.


Tuning


Whistle keys

The whistle is tuned
diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...
ally, which allows it to be used to easily play music in two major
keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (m ...
a perfect fourth apart and the
natural minor In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which ...
key and Dorian mode a major second above the lowest note. The whistle is identified by its lowest note, which is the tonic of the lower of two major keys. This method of determining the key of the instrument is different from the method used to determine the key of a
chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a p ...
instrument, which is based on the relationship between notes on a score and sounded pitch.Wisely Whistles are available in all 12 chromatic keys; however, the most common whistles are pitched in D, followed by whistles in C and F, G, and then B and E, with other keys being somewhat more rare. The D whistle can easily play notes in the keys of D and G major. Since the D major key is lower these whistles are identified as ''D whistles''. The next most common whistle tuning is a ''C whistle'', which can easily play notes in the keys of C and F major. The D whistle is by far the most common choice for Irish and Scottish music. Although the whistle is essentially a
diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...
instrument, it is possible to get notes outside the principal major key of the whistle, either by ''half-holing'' (partially covering the highest open finger hole) or by ''cross-fingering'' (covering some holes open while leaving some higher ones open). However, half-holing is somewhat more difficult to do correctly, and whistles are available in all keys, so for other keys a whistler will typically use a different whistle instead, reserving half-holing for accidentals. Some whistle designs allow a single mouthpiece to be used on differently keyed bodies.


Low whistle

During the 1960s revival of traditional Irish music, the low whistle was "recreated" by Bernard Overton at the request of
Finbar Furey Finbar Furey (born 28 September 1946) is a multi-instrumental Irish folk musician, best known for his band of brothers, The Fureys. The Fureys were formed in Ballyfermot, Dublin, where they grew up. Early life Finbar Furey was born on 28 Septe ...
.Hannigan and Ledsam There are larger whistles which, by virtue of being longer and wider, produce tones an octave (or in rare cases two octaves) lower. Whistles in this category are likely to be made of metal or plastic tubing, sometimes with a tuning-slide head, and are almost always referred to as ''low whistles'' but sometimes called ''concert whistles''. The low whistle operates on identical principles to the standard whistles, but musicians in the tradition may consider it a separate instrument. The term ''soprano whistle'' is sometimes used for the higher-pitched whistles when it is necessary to distinguish them from low whistles.


Playing technique


Fingering and range

The notes are selected by opening or closing holes with the fingers. Holes are typically covered with the pads of the fingers, but some players, particularly when negotiating the larger holes and spacing in low whistles, may employ the "piper's grip". With all the holes closed, the whistle generates its lowest note, the tonic of a
major scale The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at doub ...
. Successively opening holes from the bottom upward produces the rest of the notes of the scale in sequence: with the lowest hole open it generates the second, with the lowest two holes open, it produces the third and so on. With all six holes open, it produces the seventh. As with a number of woodwind instruments, the tin whistle's second and higher registers are achieved by increasing the air velocity into the ducted flue windway. On a transverse flute this is generally done by narrowing the lip/embouchure.Wolfe Since the size and direction of the tin whistle's windway is fixed, like that of the
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
or fipple flute, it is necessary to increase the velocity of the air stream. (See overblowing). Fingering in the second register is generally the same as in the first/fundamental, though alternate fingerings are sometimes employed in the higher end of the registers to correct a flattening effect caused by higher aircolumn velocity.Gross Also, the tonic note of the second register is usually played with the top hole of the whistle partially uncovered instead of covering all holes as with the tonic note of the first register; this makes it harder to accidentally drop into the first register and helps to correct pitch. Recorders perform this by "pinching" open the dorsal thumb hole. Various other notes (relatively flat or sharp with respect to those of the major scale) can be accessed by ''cross fingering'' techniques, and all the notes (except the lowest of each octave/register) can be flattened by ''half holing''. Perhaps the most effective and most used cross fingering is that which produces a flattened form of the seventh note (B instead of B on a C whistle, for example, or C instead of C on a D whistle). This makes available another major scale (F on a C whistle, G on a D whistle). The standard range of the whistle is two octaves. For a D whistle, this includes notes from D5 to D7; that is, from the second D above
middle C C or Do is the first note and semitone of the C major scale, the third note of the A minor scale (the relative minor of C major), and the fourth note (G, A, B, C) of the Guidonian hand, commonly pitched around 261.63  Hz. The actual fr ...
to the fourth D above middle C. It is possible to make sounds above this range, by blowing with sufficient force, but, in most musical contexts, the result will be loud and out of tune due to a cylindrical bore.


Ornamentation

Traditional whistle playing uses a number of
ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration * Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve o ...
to embellish the music, including cuts, strikes and rolls. Most playing is legato with ornaments to create breaks between notes, rather than tongued. The traditional music concept of the word "ornamentation" differs somewhat from that of
European classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" als ...
in that ornaments are more commonly changes in how a note is articulated rather than the addition of separately-perceived notes to the piece.Larsen Common ornaments and articulations include: ;Cuts: ''Cuts'' are very briefly lifting a finger above the note being sounded without interrupting airflow into the whistle. For example, a player playing a low D on a D whistle can cut the note by very briefly lifting the first finger of his or her lower hand. This causes the pitch to briefly shift upward. The cut can be performed either at the very start of the note or after the note has begun to sound; some people call the latter a "''double cut''" or a "''mid-note cut''." ;Strikes: ''Strikes'' or ''taps'' are similar to cuts except that a finger below the sounded note is briefly lowered to the whistle. For example, if a player is playing a low E on a D whistle the player could tap by quickly lowering and raising his or her bottom finger. Both cuts and taps are essentially instantaneous; the listener should not perceive them as separate notes. ;Rolls: A ''roll'' is a note with first a cut and then a strike. Alternatively, a roll can be considered as a group of notes of identical pitch and duration with different articulations. There are two common types of rolls: :* The ''long roll'' is a group of three slurred notes of equal pitch and duration, the first sounded without a cut or strike, the second sounded with a cut, and the third sounded with a strike. :* The ''short roll'' is a group of two slurred notes of equal pitch and duration, the first sounded with a cut and the second sounded with a strike. ;Cranns: ''Cranns'' (or ''crans'') are ornaments borrowed from the
Uilleann piping The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...
tradition. They are similar to rolls except that only cuts are used, not taps or strikes. On the tin whistle they are generally only used for notes where a roll is impossible, such as the lowest note of the instrument. ;Slides: ''Slides'' are similar to portamentos in classical music; a note below or above (usually below) the intended note is fingered, and then the fingering is gradually shifted in order to smoothly raise or lower the pitch to the intended note. The slide is generally a longer duration ornament than, for example, the cut or the tap and the listener should perceive the pitch changing. ;Tonguing: ''Tonguing'' is used as a means of emphasizing certain notes, such as the first note in a tune. Some tin whistle players usually do not tongue most notes, but this varies depending on the player and their background. To tongue a note a player briefly touches their tongue to the front of the roof of the mouth at the start of the note (as if articulating a 't'), creating a percussive attack. ;Vibrato: ''
Vibrato Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...
'' can be achieved on most notes by opening and closing one of the open holes, or by variation of breath pressure (this last is actually both vibrato (pitch modulation), and tremolo (amplitude modulation)). Of the two, fingered (i.e., true) vibrato is much more common than diaphragmatic (breath) vibrato (i.e., tremolo), except on notes like the lowest note on the whistle where fingered vibrato is much more difficult. A common method of achieving vibrato is to finger a note, and then quickly flick a finger on and off, not the hole below the fingered note, but the hole two below the fingered note, leaving an open hole in between. This technique can be heard on The Chieftains' iconic air, Women of Ireland (Chieftains IV).


Some tricks

;Leading tone: ''Leading tones'' are the seventh just before the tonic, so named because melodic styling often uses the seventh to lead into the tonic at the end of a phrase. On most tin whistles the leading tone to the lowest tonic can be played by using the little finger of the lower hand to partially cover the very end opening of the whistle, while keeping all other holes covered as usual for the tonic. ;Tone: The tone of the tin whistle is largely determined by its manufacturing. Clarke style rolled metal whistles tend to have an airy "impure" sound, while Generation style cylindrical instruments tend to have clear or "pure" whistle sounds. Inexpensive rolled metal whistles, such as those from Cooperman Fife and Drum (which also produces high-end instruments) may be very airy in sound, and may be difficult to play in the upper register (second octave). Often placing a piece of tape over one edge of the fipple slot (just below the mouthpiece) to narrow the fipple will improve the instrument's tone and playability significantly. Another method of tone improvement on some molded plastic mouthpieces is to lengthen the block with a small piece of poster-putty inserted on the downstream side of the mouthpiece, to lengthen the block and maintain a narrow airstream prior to the fipple's edge. ;Scales: While, as mentioned under Fingering, a player will usually play a given instrument only in its tonic key and the key beginning on the fourth (e.g. G on a D whistle), nearly any key is possible, becoming progressively more difficult to keep in tune as the player moves away from the whistle's tonic, according to the
circle of fifths In music theory, the circle of fifths is a way of organizing the 12 chromatic pitches as a sequence of perfect fifths. (This is strictly true in the standard 12-tone equal temperament system — using a different system requires one interval of ...
. Thus a D whistle is fairly apt for playing both G and A, and a C instrument can be used fairly easily for F and G.


Repertoire

A number of
music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from '' musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are som ...
s commonly feature the tin whistle.


Irish and Scottish music

Traditional music from
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
is by far the most common music to play on the tin whistle, and comprises the vast majority of published scores suitable for whistle players. The tin whistle is very common in Irish music to the point that it could be called characteristic of the genre and fairly common in Scottish music.


Kwela

Kwela is a genre of music created in South Africa in the 1950s, and is characterized by an upbeat,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
y tin whistle lead. Kwela is the only
music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from '' musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are som ...
created around the sound of the tin whistle. The low cost of the tin whistle, or jive flute, made it an attractive instrument in the impoverished, apartheid-era townships; the Hohner tin whistle was especially popular in kwela performance. The kwela craze accounted for the sale of more than one million tin whistles.Schaldach In the late 1950s, mbaqanga music largely superseded kwela in South Africa, and so it followed that the
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
surpassed the tin whistle as the township people's wind instrument of choice. Kwela master Aaron "Big Voice Jack" Lerole continued to perform into the 1990s; a few bands, such as
The Positively Testcard ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
of
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, continue to record kwela music. Kwela
sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, ...
is rarely published, and many of the recordings of founding kwela artists are
out of print __NOTOC__ An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a boo ...
. One representative compilation is ''Drum: South African Jazz and Jive''.


Other music

The tin whistle is used in many other types of music, though not to the extent that it could be called characteristic as with Irish music and kwela. In some Irish music composed for symphonic ensembles, it is often replaced with
piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...
. It is not unusual to hear the tin whistle used in praise music and
film soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
s, notably the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings and
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...
. Published scores suitable for tin whistle performance are available in both of these genres. The tin whistle also appears in "crossover" genres like world music,
folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...
,
folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exam ...
and
folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in ...
.


Notation

Tin whistle music collections are generally notated in one of three different formats.


Standard musical notation

It is common to score music for the whistle using standard
musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation f ...
. The tin whistle is not a
transposing instrument A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing ...
- for example, music for the D tin whistle is written in concert pitch, not transposed down a tone as would be normal for transposing instruments. Nevertheless, there is no real consensus on how tin whistle music should be written, or on how reading music onto the whistle should be taught. However, when music is scored for a soprano whistle it will be written an octave lower than it sounds, to spare ledger lines and make it much easier to read. The traditional music of Ireland and Scotland constitutes the majority of published scores for the whistle. Since the majority of that music is written in D major, G major, or one of the corresponding musical modes, use of the D major or G major key signatures is a ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' standard. For example, the "C whistle" edition of Bill Ochs's popular ''The Clarke Tin Whistle Handbook'' is scored in D and differs from the D edition only in that the accompanying audio CD is played on a C whistle.Ochs Reading directly onto the C whistle is popular for the obvious reason that its ''home key'' or ''name key'' is the ''all-natural'' major key (
C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
). Some musicians are encouraged to learn to read directly onto one whistle, while others are taught to read directly onto another. The whistle player who wants music to read on to all whistles will need to learn the mechanics of written transposition, taking music with one key signature and rewriting it with another. Tablature notation for the tin whistle is a graphical representation of which tone holes the player should cover. The most common format is a vertical column of six circles, with holes to be covered for a given note shown filled with black, and a plus sign (+) at the top for notes in the second octave. Tablature is most commonly found in tutorial books for beginners.


Tonic solfa

The tonic solfa is found in Ireland and possibly Wales, especially in schools. Many schools have printed sheets with tunes notated in tonic solfa, although in Ireland more have teaching by note. With the availability of good standard notation tutor books, teaching is possibly moving in this direction.


ABC notation

Since the majority of popular tin whistle music is traditional and out of copyright, it is common to share tune collections on the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
.Open Directory ABC notation is the most common means of electronic exchange of tunes. It is also designed to be easy to read by people, and many musicians learn to read it directly instead of using a computer program to transform it into a standard musical notation score.


Well-known performers

; In Irish traditional music During the 1960s, Tommy Makem played the tin whistle as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, one of the most influential Irish folk groups, especially popular during the
American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-B ...
. In 1973,
Paddy Moloney Paddy Moloney ( ga, Pádraig Ó Maoldomhnaigh; 1 August 1938 – 12 October 2021) was an Irish musician, composer, and record producer. He co-founded and led the Irish musical group the Chieftains, playing on all of their 44 albums. He was parti ...
(of The Chieftains) and
Sean Potts Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...
released the album ''Tin Whistles'', which helped to popularise the tin whistle in particular, and Irish music in general.
Mary Bergin Mary Bergin (born ) is an Irish folk musician who is widely acknowledged as one of the great masters of the tin whistle. She plays in both the Irish Traditional and Baroque styles. Biography Mary Bergin was born in Shankill, County Dublin, ...
's '' Feadóga Stáin'' (1979) and '' Feadóga Stáin 2'' (1993) were similarly influential. Other notable players include Carmel Gunning,
Micho Russell Micho Russell (25 March 1915 – 19 February 1994) was an Irish musician and author best known for his expert tin whistle performance. He also played the simple-system flute and was a collector of traditional music and folklore. Biography Ru ...
, Joanie Madden, Brian Finnegan,
Cathal McConnell Cathal McConnell (born 1944) is a musician and singer best known as the mainstay of traditional band The Boys of the Lough, of which he was a founder member. His main instruments are the Irish flute and the tin whistle. Early life McConnell ca ...
, and Seán Ryan. Many traditional pipers and flute players also play the whistle to a high standard. Festy Conlon is considered by some to be the best slow air player. ; In Scottish traditional music Award-winning singer and musician
Julie Fowlis Julie Fowlis (born 20 June 1978) is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Early life Fowlis grew up on North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, in a Gaelic-speaking community. Her mot ...
recorded several tracks on the tin whistle, both in her solo work and with the band Dòchas. ; In kwela Aaron "Big Voice Jack" Lerole and his band recorded a single called " Tom Hark", which sold five million copies worldwide, and which
Associated Television Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and ...
used as the theme song for the 1958 television series ''The Killing Stones''. But the most famous star of the kwela era was Spokes Mashiyane.
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
's 1986 album '' Graceland'' draws heavily on South African music, and includes pennywhistle solos in the traditional style, played by
Morris Goldberg Morris Goldberg is a South African saxophonist who is recognised as one of the early pioneers of Cape Jazz, along with Dollar Brand and Chris McGregor. Biography Born in Cape Town, Goldberg grew up in Observatory, a suburb of Cape Town. He le ...
. ; In popular music As a traditional Irish musical instrument, the Irish rock bands The Cranberries and
The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...
(with Spider Stacy as whistler) incorporate the tin whistle in some of their songs, as do such American
Celtic punk Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. Celtic punk bands often play traditional Irish, Welsh or Scottish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions.P. Buckley, ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' (London: Rough Gui ...
bands as
The Tossers The Tossers are an American six-piece Celtic punk band from Chicago, Illinois, United States, formed in July 1993. They have toured with Murphy's Law, Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22, Dropkick Murphys, The Reverend Horton Heat, Flogging Molly, ...
,
Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (19 ...
, and Flogging Molly (in which Bridget Regan plays the instrument). Andrea Corr of Irish
folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...
band
The Corrs The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Carol ...
also plays the tin whistle. Saxophonist LeRoi Moore, founding member of the American
jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...
Dave Matthews Band, plays the tin whistle in a few of the band's songs.
Bob Hallett Robert "Bob" Hallett (born 1966) is a Canadian musician, author, producer, and entrepreneur, best known as a founding member of the Canadian folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, ...
of the Canadian folk rock group
Great Big Sea Great Big Sea was a Canadian folk rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year Irish, Scot ...
is also a renowned performer of the tin whistle, playing it in arrangements of both traditional and original material. Icelandic post rock band
Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fr ...
concludes their song "Hafsól" with a tin whistle solo. Barry Privett of the American Celtic rock band Carbon Leaf performs several songs using the tin whistle. Lambchop uses the tin whistle in the song "The Scary Caroler." The Unicorns use the tin whistle in the song "Sea Ghost". Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull plays a tin whistle on "The Whistler" from the '' Songs from the Wood'' album (1977) ; In jazz Steve Buckley, a British
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
musician is renowned for using the penny whistle as a serious instrument. His whistle playing can be heard on recordings with
Loose Tubes Loose Tubes were a British jazz big band/ orchestra active during the mid-to-late 1980s. Critically and popularly acclaimed, the band was considered to be the focal point of a 1980s renaissance in British jazz. It was the main launchpad for t ...
, Django Bates and his album with
Chris Batchelor Chris Batchelor is a British jazz trumpeter and composer. He gained his first professional experience with Dudu Pukwana's Zila aged 17, at the suggestion of Harry Beckett. He subsequently became a founder member, composer and soloist with Loose ...
Life As We Know It. Les Lieber is a celebrated American Jazz Tinwhistle player. Lieber has played with
Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...
's Band and also with the
Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...
Sextet. Lieber made a record with Django Reinhardt in the AFN Studios in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
in the post Second World War era and started an event called "Jazz at Noon" every Friday in a
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
restaurant playing with a nucleus of advertising men, doctors, lawyers, and business executives who had been or could have been jazz musicians. Howard Johnson has also been known to play this instrument. Musical polymath Howard Levy introduces the tune True North with a jazz and very traditionally Celtic-inspired whistle piece on Bela Fleck and the Flecktones' UFO TOFU. ; In film and video game music
Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and '' The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...
called for a tin whistle in D for a passage in his " Concerning Hobbits" from ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. The tin whistle symbolizes the
Shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...
, together with other instruments such as the
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
, the
double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
, and the
bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...
. The tin whistle also plays a passage in the
main theme In music, a subject is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based. In forms other than the fugue, this may be known as the theme. Characteristics A subject may be perceivable as a complete mu ...
in the same trilogy. The tin whistle is featured prominently in the song " My Heart Will Go On" by
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
in the movie ''Titanic''. The song's introduction consists of a tin whistle solo which has become iconic. Famously performed by
Abigail Butler and Emily Black Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later marr ...
. The tin whistle also features prominently in the soundtrack of the film ''How to Train Your Dragon'', and is connected to the main character, Hiccup. The tin whistle is heard at the start of the 1984 short film '' The Adventures of Andre and Wally B'' The tin whistle is featured in the winning song of the
2013 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Euphoria" by Loreen. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...
Only Teardrops "Only Teardrops" is a song recorded by Danish singer Emmelie de Forest. The song was written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen and Thomas Stengaard, and it was produced by Frederik Thaae. It is best known as Denmark's winning entry to the ...
by
Emmelie de Forest Emmelie Charlotte-Victoria de Forest (born 28 February 1993) is a Danish singer and songwriter. De Forest represented Denmark with the song " Only Teardrops" in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden, winning the contest. Her debut ...
. The tin whistle is featured in ''
Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It features the ''Mario Kart'' series' game mechanics, in which players drive go-karts using ''Mario'' franchise characters in various race formats. Items placed a ...
s track Wild Woods of the DLC Pack, ''Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8''.


See also

* *


Notes


References


Citations


General

* * Dannatt, Norman (2005) ''The History of the Tinwhistle.'' The Clarke Tinwhistle Co. * * * * * * * * * *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tin Whistle Welsh musical instruments English musical instruments Celtic musical instruments Internal fipple flutes Irish musical instruments Scottish musical instruments Folk music instruments