I was watching PBS and watched – briefly – a native American playing a flute that had two barrels. During the song, he went to playing both at the same time, with the second portion of his flute providing a drone note. I liked the sound.
A google search has brought some variations on the theme…
So…has anyone done something similar with tin whistles?
Yes, this has been done. It can be seen at renaissance faires.
There are two ways to do it your self. You need two whistles in the same key. Put tape over all the holes on one. Hold them side by side with rubber bands, and play.
The other way still needs two whistles in the same key. Put tape over the three bottom holes on one, and tape on the top three holes on the other. Hold side by side with rubber bands and play. This set up will take a little more practice.
Double pipes / flutes / whistles have been around for at least a few millennia. Greek double aulos (diaulos), circa 500 BCE:
The Greek aulos may have been a double reed, but the idea is the same. See this page for a reconstruction:
http://www.ancestral.co.uk/romanmusic.htm
I think in this arrangement you actually want to leave the first whistle untaped, and just tape the top holes on the second one. That way you get the top hand notes on the first whistle, and the bottom hand notes on the second.
Also remember that you can cover 4 holes with one hand on the untaped whistle by using the pinkie. See the kwela videos posted here in a different thread for an example of how to do this.
You don’t have ask very far to find that out. I’ve made biwhistles that have one mouthpipe shorter than the other so that you can separate the drone. Also, I believe “Eric the Whistlemaker” has made something like this as well.
Thank you, seems I was a bit hasty in my description.
http://www.eriktheflutemaker.com/Double_Flutes.htm
It’s just 2 Susatos together, with the top holes of one of them pre-plugged.
Daniel, I looked for a photo of your double whistle, too, but no luck. 
No prob, Tommy. It does seem logical to tape the tops of one and the bottoms of the other, until you think about it. 
Actually, the pic on Erik the Flutemaker’s page above is a good illustration of the hole arrangement.
The problem with two whistles played together like tat is that they both will overblow together. It is a feature of quite a number of folk double whistles from the Balkans, Roumania, Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine. (Probably a couple more, for that matter, from te area) Try Googling “dvojnica”, “dvojanka” and see for yourself. As to anyone trying this sort of thing, well, I make them. Have a look at my website. There are clips, too. True, they are not 6-hole whistles, though I have made those too, with drones. At present the ones I make have 7 finger and 1 thumbhole, so they really are, erm, re******s. Still, have a look.
Yes, if you tie them together at the top so that the mouthpieces effectively share the same embouchure and airstream.
But after a few minutes experimenting with both arrangements (#1 - D drone, and #2 - high/low pair), I find that if you keep the whistles separate and position them apart on opposite sides of the mouth, you can control the embouchures separately and so overblow them separately to the 2nd register. Tricky, but possible. I’ll post a clip if I feel ambitious.
Also, for the D drone it seems to help to use a larger bore/windway whistle that takes more air than the other whistle before it flips registers.
There are some fine Slovakian double Dvojacka whistes to be had at http://www.fujara.sk/instruments/folkart_slovakia/shepherd_pipes/double_whistle.htm, though not as nice as the one I bought at Knock-on-Wood in Leeds 16 years ago, which has heavy brass mounts. This is in low-G (an octave below the Generation G) & the drone pipe makes a fine overtone flute in itself. As for overblowing, you can control the amount of breath going in the drone pipe with your tongue to keep it playing low.
Here’s a pic; it’s in the middle there, just to the right of Davie Stewart.
Lots of other double-whistle around, like the Bosnian Dvojnice - there’s two there in the picture, and I noticed a couple of nice ones on ebay the other day. Dan Moi do a Moldavian double whistle carved from a single block:
http://danmoi.de/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=39
This used to be one of Packie Manus Byrne’s party tricks, I gather. Chiff’s SteveJ might be able to tell you more about it.
Just messing about 
, I’ve tried my low G with my high C together, some lovely harmonies,they sound a bit like organ pipes.I didn’t tape them together, just held the like in the greek picture.
http://www.wood-n-bone.co.nz/ Very interesting site with whistles, ocarinas, puppets, did I miss anything?
They do look very nice, and well made.
i had two spair d fedogs, so i did the tape the top of one and bottom of other, been mucking about with it for a few hours now, possibly the most fun i have had with my clothes on.
The Double Flageolet was a very popular instrument in victorian times:
Here it is:
This one has three holes on each shaft but the shaft are removable and can be reconfigured in many different ways.
I do need to get a better picture. Next time I make another of these.
Speaking of Double Barreled:
I made a keyed Flageolet for Flageolets.com. That was tedious!
http://www.flageolets.com/buying/newreviews.php Second one down.
And yes, those barrels are removable. Soft soldered and tiny #0-80 Screws, springs, complete with silencer keys. Plays like an antique Flageolet. I Need to come up with an easier way to make keys - those were nerve raking - but the brass keys do hold up well.
Made a triple barreled whistle once.
Only the bottom is a slide drone.
I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but there is a Fairy at the Colorado Renaissance Fair that plays one of these as her only aural communication. The harmonies are in 4ths if you start with D on one whistle and G on the other and it is an other-worldly but pleasant sound. This trick is only one of the things this wonderful woman does right, and whenever you see her she is followed by a throng of young children that just cannot resist her charms.
The woman at the REn Fairs is Twig, I think “Twig Thistlebottom” if memory serves. She is truly wonderful.
As to the double whistles: The one I own is a standard D whistle on one side and a D with only the three bottom holes on the other. The idea of three upper holes on one side and three lower on the other will cost you a note in the middle (think about it) and you will lose the possibility of using four fingers on one side to give you some extra harmonizing possibilities. Among the cool things you can do with one like mine: play in thirds or fourths, play a melody complete with harmonies (yes you can overblow only one side and it is not hard to learn), or play on the complete whistle and have a drone G on the other (and by taping shut other holes you can have a drone on G, F#, E, or D).
They are fun… I keep thinking I’ll sneak my double into the Ren Fest and have a conversation with Twig.
Corwen, the Chap who Organised the Bear Feast (and made my Overtone flute) wanted a double-barrelled Low whistle and I was happy to make one for him. Basically they were two low-Ds, with half the regular holes.
One pipe was 544mm from blade to bell-end, with three holes 375, 408 and 454mm from the blade.
The other had four holes: 245, 272, 322 and a covered hole 454mm from the blade.
I had them lashed with string but the bloody thing came apart in the cold. I’d use gaffer tape next time.
And for a classic double barreled tune check the follwing:
http://www.irishflute.info/mp3/Danny_Boy_with_harmony_for_1.mp3
Best wishes.
Steve