This looks like it might be interesting to a collector? Which I’m not, and besides, it looks like it’s got ‘recorder’ fingering, which I know not and don’t wish to learn at this late stage in me whistlin’ career.
Just thought I’d post it here in case there’s anyone on the board interested in collecting such items. Besides, the gadgers selling it will only accept paypal from US bidders, which is a bit of a drag.
Dunno… It’s not to be confused with the free reed accordion type flutina though.
Looks whistle-like, with in-line holes and a fipple mouthpiece. Difficult to tell from the photo though.
I’m sure Zoob’ll know, ‘flutina’ sounds suitably gallic to me. Possibly an instrument used by French fakirs to charm reluctant snails from their shells, or to lure recalcitrant amphibians from their lily-pads. “Alors! Les escargots! Vite, donnez moi la flutina…!”
EDITED to add:
There’s an http://www.flutina.com which sells another kind of flutina…a transverse six-hole simple-system whistle! Held and fingered like a flute, but it looks like it’s got an internal fipple arrangement. A side-blown whistle! And less than 20 bucks!
The picture isn’t very good, but the ‘flutina’ on eBay looks like it’s one of the variants of the song flute type which seems to have been popular as a school instrument prior to WWII. I have one called a “Fitchhorn Flute” but there were competitors. You often run across them on eBay or in antique stores.
If I’m right, it’s neither a whistle nor an ocarina, but comes closer to a recorder than anything else. The key would be “C” with seven finger holes usually set in a couple of shallow arcs and a thumb hole. The fingering is tight for an adult male, but then they were apparently designed for kids.
If Chuck is right, this is a one-octave toy instrument. I thought it might be an occarina (i.e.: closed at the end) because of the shape, but i dont’ know how they’d get the fingering to work. It may be a neat little toy to have in the old collection. I wouldn’t spend more than $25 on it, but YMMV.
Here’s an attempt at getting some detail from the picture:
Looks a lot like what was called a “Tonette” that I played in school at about 8 years old (along with the rest of the class). I was pretty good at it, but went to French Horn (a serious instrument) when I was “old enough” for band in school. If I had heard tin whistle music, and known someone who played it, I might have picked it up back then…
All I have to say when I see one of these is…Why? Both whistles and recorders can be bought dirt cheap. Why invent some kind of Crap-o-phone for school kids?
One day in the future, after they grow up, they could remember thier fourth or fith grade music, and maybe pick up a whistle or recorder from a local music shop and play. That ain’t gonna happen with a stupid Poot-o-phone.
Why reinvent the wheel with a worse wheel?
Good question, but I think the people
who made the decisions didn’t know
any better. I spent many happy hours as
a child playing these sorts of things.
Did you know that ocarinas were issued to
American GIs during WWII? One of these
figures in the movie Stalag 17.
Looking at the Fitchhorn Song Flute variant that I have, It’s clear that it’d be better for small children than a C recorder or D whistle. The fingerholes are small and close together and the reach is improved even more because they are set in two arcs of four holes (left) and three holes (right). Akso, unlike the recorder, it doesn’t have the odd-feeling doubled C and D holes.
OTOH, it has a funny, deep, ‘fruity’ sound that is unlike either the recorder or whistle.
BTW, in canse some haven’t seen it, we now have a “Flute-o-phone” which is just another cheap plastic recorder.
Yeah, Tonette, Songflute, Flutophone and Precorder are recorders aimed at younger schoolchildren than so-called Baroque recorders, by having raised finger holes, so they’re easier to feel, and a more “ergonomic” finger positioning.
Well, I think they should give young students a plastic version of a trombone. Maybe call it a Prebone. You could call fourth grade players Preboners. Does that mean that befor the fourth or fith grade are the Preboners years? I can just see that. Looking back and remembering my Preboner years…
Although I think I probably should have started at about the age of six or seven.
Ah-là-là, how can you imagine the country of Descartes and Nicéphore Niepce ever devising this morganatic offspring of a Baroque Blurdy Blockfloete with Helmholz Holeycrap Hybridization!
It just looks like one of the many American “patented” children instruments which seem to have flourished in first half of 20th century.
As to the question of why not just whistles or recorders for them schools, the logic was probably and basely commercial:
Patented
Proudly invented AND made in the US of A–this was a valid argument at the time.
Not Irish (ethnic and God forbids! Catholic) nor German
No competition once you’ve managed to get them in the school program
The only problem was probably “selling” the concept to the school authorities, but is there anything money can’t buy, for instance if you “donate” a new sports field or pom-pom uniforms to the school? The good old logic of “my profit does the whole community some good”.
However, since musical instruments seem to obey Darwin’s laws of evolution, these Crap-o-phones ended as the giant lizards…
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that on musical initiation instruments Germany has a consistent lead. Same for its innovation in popular, mass-produced instruments: recorders, mouth-harps (and free reeds generally), ocarinas, etc. This not to put down the Irish musical education policy, which is one of the greatest achievements of Eire.
• The German fingering wasn’t a bad idea for children recorders. It’s still used in many schools for initiation.
• The Melodica (piano-keyboard mouth harp) is an even better and less questionable innovation: not all parents could afford a piano.
• The Waldorf schools in Germany (however questionable the philosophy behind them) have the great idea on teaching the youngest on Pentatonic (Major), just-tuned sopranino recorders. It’s easier, and you can hardly screw up the harmony…
Now, I’m nothing like a collector–so I’d rather concentrate on the survivors, not Jurassic Flutosaurs.
To quote an old but authentically Gallic saying: Vae victis!
There’s an 
