Gangs of New York... What is that sound...

Whistle
1

So in the movie or soundtrack of Gangs of new york you can hear a flute/whistle/ sound in some of the songs… my question is what is it that is playing. It has bugged me along time sounds like a flute but is really breathy to me… Example song 3 and 5 located

http://www.amazon.com/Gangs-New-York-Howard-Shore/dp/B00007DT8M

2

That should be

http://www.amazon.com/Gangs-New-York-Howard-Shore/dp/B00007DT8M

Strikes me as a whistle on both tracks, played into the third octave and cracking up (presumably on purpose).

3

Hello,

This is my first real post here.

Tract 5 is Othar Turner, a fife player from Mississippi who passed away a few years ago. The tradition of black southern fife and drum performance was a interesting bit of history that pretty much died out with Othar Turner, I think.

-Scott

4

Thank you thank you thank you… that makes sense and brings back memorys of a Jazz History class I took back in college… I forgot about the fife movment of the period… Thank you again.