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tin whistle vs. tin flute

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HEATHER CAMERON

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Dec 16, 1994, 10:34:36 AM12/16/94
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What's the difference between the tin flute and the tin whistle?

Heather Cameron

David Brown

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Dec 16, 1994, 5:44:14 PM12/16/94
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> What's the difference between the tin flute and the tin whistle?
>
> Heather Cameron
Same as the difference between a pennywhistle and fipple flute and so on- NOTHING! All are simple system 6-hole duct flutes. Also same as Indian murali, but it's made of bamboo.

Bob Pegritz

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Dec 17, 1994, 5:08:04 PM12/17/94
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David, Are you a whistle player?

Brad Hurley

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Dec 17, 1994, 5:57:00 PM12/17/94
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The tin "flute" is the same as a tin whistle: the term "flute" in
this case being something of a misnomer if you define a flute as a
transverse-blown instrument. The generally accepted term is
tin whistle, or even just "whistle," since I don't know of any
whistles on the market that are made of tin, and some aren't even
made of metal (plastic and wood being the other common materials).

Brad Hurley

David Brown

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Dec 18, 1994, 6:01:31 PM12/18/94
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> David, Are you a whistle player?
Yes, but not my main instrument. I play guitars, basses, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, tres, cuatro, oud, saz, balalaika, bouzouki, tar, kemenche, zurna, tumbur, congas, drums, dumbek, simple system flute, and of course whistle!
I play salsa, middle eastern, jazz, Klezmer, rock, classical, Russian/gypsy, Italian, and of course Celtic music.
Currently I'm learning the bagpipe practice chanter in order to play the pipes.
FYI, on the name of the whistle- tin whistle seems most common, here are several book titles:
The Tin Whistle Book, Tom Maguire, Ossian
The Complete Irish Tinwistle tutor, McCullough, oak
Tradtional Irish Tin Whistle tutor, Geraldine Cotter, Ossian
Learn to Play the Tin Whistle, Armagh Pipers' club, part 1,2,3,
Fun with the Tin Whistle, Wm. Bey, Mel Bay
Irish Tin Whistle legends, Tommy Walsh, walton's
50 Simple tunes for the Tin Whistle, E and B Vallely, Armagh Pipers Club

Other names include flageolet (but there are other types of flageolet too), tin flute (agreed a flute is more commonly a sideblown inst. but technically it is a fipple flute), of course the Gaelic word
feadog ( from feadan, pipe or tube).
The earliest commercial whistle were made in England by Clarke, about 1843 in Suffolk, soon moved to Manchester. Note that in 1888 they were listed as "tinwhistle manufacturers" so there is much to support the use of tinwhistle as the name for this instrument.
A 1902 Clarke Price list is for "tin whistle, fife and pea shooter"!
The 1900 Bruno ( a music inst. dealer) catalog lists "tin fifes, Clarke flageoletes"- in the key of D!
They were indeed made of a sheet of tin plate, so tinwhistle is also logical; as for "pennywhistle", it didn't cost a penny- originally it was called a "meg", which was a halfpenny in Lancashire dialect. One possible idea is that the tinwhistle was played in the street and the usual donation was a penny.Currently Clarke whistles are available in C and D.For a long time only C was made, although in the 1800's they made a variety of sizes. One reason the Generation whistles became so popular was not their tone, which is inferior to a conical bore whistle like Clarke, Shaw, Susato, Copeland, etc.but the simple fact they were made in D, making playing with fiddle a lot better!

Don Tuite

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Dec 19, 1994, 1:17:08 PM12/19/94
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I bought an interesting 6-hole transverse flute with a fipple held on by
metal bands. Key of D, German silver or something. It was in a junk
store in Oregon. Probably a cheap band instrument. If anyone is curious,
I'll see if it has any markings.

don

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