Tin whistle

Did You Know?

• Kwela is the only music genre created around the sound of the tin whistle.
• The kwela craze accounted for the sale of more than one million tin whistles.
• Music for the D tin whistle is written in concert pitch, not transposed.

History

The tin whistle in its modern form belongs to a wider family of fipple flutes found in many forms and cultures worldwide. In Europe, such instruments have a long history and include the recorder, Flabiol, Txistu, and tabor pipe. Almost all early cultures had a type of fipple flute, likely the first pitched flute-type instrument. Examples include a possible Neanderthal fipple flute from Slovenia that may date from 81,000 to 53,000 BC; a German flute from 35,000 years ago; and the Malham Pipe, a sheep's bone flute from West Yorkshire dating to the Iron Age, though a revised dating places it within the early medieval period.

Written sources describe fipple-type flutes such as the Roman tibia and Greek aulos. By the early Middle Ages, northern Europeans played the instrument, as seen in 3rd-century British bone flutes and Irish Brehon Law. In the 12th century, Italian flutes came in various sizes, and fragments of Norman bone whistles from that period have been found in Ireland, along with a 14 cm Tusculum clay whistle from the 14th century in Scotland. In the 17th century, whistles were called flageolets, a term for a whistle with a French-made fipple headpiece, linking them to the English flageolet, French flageolet, and renaissance and baroque recorders.

Tuning

The whistle is tuned diatonically, allowing it to play music in every standard mode. It is identified by its lowest note, which is the tonic of the major key, a method different from that used for chromatic instruments. Whistles are available in all 12 chromatic keys, but the most common are pitched in D, followed by C, F, G, B♭, and E♭. A D whistle can easily play in D and G major, and is the most common choice for Irish and Scottish music.

A C whistle can play in C and F major. Although essentially diatonic, notes outside the principal major key can be obtained by half-holing or cross-fingering, though half-holing is more difficult. For other keys, a whistler typically uses a different whistle, reserving half-holing for accidentals. Some designs allow a single mouthpiece to be used on differently keyed bodies.

During the 1960s revival of traditional Irish music, Bernard Overton recreated the low whistle at the request of Finbar Furey. Larger whistles, longer and wider, produce tones an octave or rarely two octaves lower; these are usually called low whistles or concert whistles. The low whistle operates on identical principles but may be considered a separate instrument. The term soprano whistle is used for higher-pitched whistles when distinction is needed. Low whistles are typically hand-made in small workshops by individual makers or small teams.

Playing technique

Notes are selected by opening or closing holes with the fingers, typically using the pads of the fingers, though some players use the piper's grip for larger holes on low whistles. With all holes closed, the whistle produces its lowest note, called the bell tone. Opening holes successively from the bottom upward produces the scale: the lowest hole open gives the second, the lowest two open give the third, and so on; all six holes open produce the seventh.

The second and higher registers are achieved by increasing air velocity into the ducted flue windway, as the windway size and direction are fixed. Fingering in the second register is generally the same as in the first, though alternate fingerings may be used in the higher end to correct flattening from higher air velocity. The tonic of the second register is usually played with the top hole partially uncovered to avoid dropping into the first register and to correct pitch.

Various notes can be accessed by cross fingering, and all notes except the lowest of each octave can be flattened by half holing. The most effective cross fingering produces a flattened seventh note, making another major scale available. The standard range is two octaves; for a D whistle, this includes notes from D5 to D7. Sounds above this range are possible with sufficient force but are typically loud and out of tune due to the cylindrical bore.

Well-known performers

In Irish traditional music, musicians such as John Sheahan and Ciarán Bourke of The Dubliners, and Tommy Makem of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem played the tin whistle during the 1960s and beyond. In 1973, Paddy Moloney and Sean Potts released the album Tin Whistles, which helped popularise the instrument. Mary Bergin's Feadóga Stáin (1979) and Feadóga Stáin 2 (1993) were similarly influential. Other notable players include Carmel Gunning, Micho Russell, Joanie Madden, Brian Finnegan, Cathal McConnell, and Seán Ryan.

Festy Conlon is considered by some the best slow air player. In Scottish traditional music, Julie Fowlis recorded several tracks on the tin whistle. In kwela, Aaron 'Big Voice Jack' Lerole and his band recorded 'Tom Hark', which sold five million copies worldwide; the most famous kwela star was Spokes Mashiyane. Paul Simon's 1986 album Graceland includes pennywhistle solos by Morris Goldberg.

In popular music, The Cranberries, The Pogues, The Tossers, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, and Andrea Corr of The Corrs incorporate the tin whistle. Daniel Lanois credits his musical beginnings on the penny whistle at age nine as a major influence. LeRoi Moore of Dave Matthews Band plays the tin whistle in a few songs. Bob Hallett of Great Big Sea is a renowned performer. Sigur Rós concludes their song 'Hafsól' with a tin whistle solo.