I guess the subject pretty well says it all! I was just curious. As well, does anyone know of any websites which give the history of the whistle?
PEACE EVERYONE!
Sara Michelle
http://www.kentnet.co.uk/whistles/ehistory.htm
here’s one for the Clarke company, but bone & Bamboo whistles? Since pre-historic times!
Hey Sara, I haven’t come across any really extensive history sites yet (will let you know if I do)… but I did come across a pennywhistle flower in my searches! LOL Here’s a new type of pennywhistle to feed your WhOA:
http://www.vireya.net/R.Pennywhistle.htm
,
Andrea ~*~
http://www.eriktheflutemaker.com/
There’s history of the flute there, with old bones and stuff.
While living in South America, I collected several pre-columbian musical instruments. No whistles like we know them, but several metal and 2 bone flutes/whistles with 3-4 holes with quena notches for playing. They range in size from 3 inches to about 4-5 inches long from the Chancay period of about 900 ad to 1400 ad. There are a couple of bamboo quenas with 7 holes from about the same period from the north of Peru and a pan flute of ceramic of the Nazca period from about 100bc to about 300ad. There seems to have been lots of music in those parts of the world at a very early time. How did they get the knowledge to build these instruments? I don’t know, but the music they make is every bit as emotional as our traditional Irish seems to be…
This is like a chicken or the egg thing.
At the North Texas Irish Festival the woodwind workshop guy (if I understood him right) said the wistle was patterened after the pipes.
I read a news report of a 5000 year old simple whistle found in china a few years back.
What came first the whistle or the pipes?
Angie
I have been doing some musical research for fun lately, and I came across some interesting info pertaining to wind instruments.
Apparently, in addition to being called the names we know, instruments such as whistles, flutes, recorders, ect were called ‘Pipes’ at one time (middle ages, renaissance, ect.) because of their shape. Didn’t matter if they were really ‘pipes’ (like bagpipes, uillean pipes, ect) or not.. they just had to be a wind instrument with a blade that separated the air to make pitch, tone holes (sometimes not even these), and had a some type of shaft that the air goes down.
Personally, I found this really cool.
Well a couple years ago, a bone fragment with holes drilled in it in a whistle-like patter was found at an archeological dig. It was from prehistoric men, cromagnon I believe, or perhaps neandertal. I don’t remember exactly.
Nothing was left of what would have been the mouthpeice, so there’s no telling what the exact design of it was, but obviously pipe or flute-like instruments are as old as modern man…
To be specific,The “Tin Whistle History” can be found in a very good C&F article by L.E.McCullough here…
The](http://www.chiffandfipple.com/lehistory.html%22%3EThe) C&F Tin Whistle History Article
Take a look at my posting in this recent C&F Topic…
How](http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=2804&forum=1%22%3EHow) long has the pennywhistle been around?
Here are 2 sites for ancient whistle/flutes
The](http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/flutes.html%22%3EThe) 9,000 yr old Jaihu flutes
The](http://www.webster.sk.ca/greenwich/fl-compl.htm%22%3EThe) Neanderthal Bone Flute
[ This Message was edited by: Thomas-Hastay on 2002-03-14 20:39 ]
Thanks for the links and info!
Andrea, I didn’t know there was a flower called a pennywhistle - wonder why it’s called that! Thanks again for the links!
Peace and creativity,
Sara