Name this instrument

Whistle
1

Hey guys - first time poster - I’m wondering if anyone knows what this interment is and where I might find one.

Its played just like a Tin Whistle - fingering and all - except that its all wood and played like a flute. Yes I know its a flute! But it isn’t- instead of blowing over the hole you blow right into it and the air takes a right turn or something and goes in/over the flipple. Any ideas? I was looking at something like a melody whistle or but those are all metal. Its the same side as my D whites if that helps.


Thanks,
Ryan

2

It’s called a Melody Flute. I recall them in the key of C. Basically similar to a fife with a built-in “cheater” to direct the airstream. I don’t think they are in production these days but they do show up on eBay. Have at it…

Melody Flutes

Feadoggie

3

Thanks - That is what I meant by Melody “Whistle”. The odd thing is that it was all wooden and the flipple was within the instrument itself- nothing sticking out of the side and all one piece.

4

In that case it probably was a fife with a cheater on it. But you say nothing was sticking out. Hmmmm?
Cheater Page

5

Yes, the C Melody Flute is often what people are thinking of with the description of a side-blown whistle. Try this Chiffboard Google search for quite a few hits:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q="melody+flute"+site%3Aforums.chiffandfipple.com&aq=f&aqi=&aql=f&oq=&gs_rfai=

The MF is a heavy, plated metal. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a side-blown wooden whistle per se.

WhistleSmith in Maine (Wicked Good Whistles) do make what they call a side-shooter “auto flute” head for their lower whistles. No nib, just a side-blown hole and fipple.

http://www.whistlesmith.com/archives/000180.php

6

https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/review-flutina/18507/1

Found it - sort of - it basically was one of these sort of items but a whole lot better constructed. 100% Unpainted wood - and carved pretty fancy.

7

That’s good hunting, Ryan. :slight_smile: Very interesting.

If you find the nicer one you were looking for, let us know.

8

Shoot, for a second I thought be a miss identified Bawu.

9

There’s an interesting version of this on e-bay here

Best wishes.

Steve

10

That looks like you might be able to remove the cheater and have an interesting old fife. Melody Flutes had the things permanently attached, with no lip plate and a square hole where the embouchure should be, so this may have been an old pewter (test for lead?) add on.

Take a look at this advertisement 1885, top right fife and a cheater at the bottom left.
http://www.dillonmusic.com/historic_fifes/pepper3_cat.htm

and the bottom one from 1894
http://www.dillonmusic.com/historic_fifes/pepper2_cat.htm

'96
http://www.dillonmusic.com/historic_fifes/pepper_cat.htm

It seemed that the rubber embouchure (gutta-percha?) became the only option by 1913 although they seemed to have the option at least back to '91.
http://www.dillonmusic.com/historic_fifes/JG_Richards_catalog.htm

Sold in the keys of C and B (not Bb?) with a length of 16 3/4, I would guess that it would be in the key of B (A=440??) which seems odd, but it does have a longish head.
Edit This from 1880 states C and Bb, in which case I’d bet Bb and “B” was just shorthand.
http://www.dillonmusic.com/historic_fifes/zimmermann_1880.htm

All of this is speculation, and I am not an expert.

Here is the Historic Fifes page listings I was searching.
http://www.dillonmusic.com/historic_fifes/historic_fifes.html

Similar fife in the Dayton C Miller collection
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dcmhtml/dmhome.html
DCM 1575: Anonymous / Fife in B-flat


Perhaps not 100% back on topic, but the the The Sallow Flute/ seljefloyte on this page has a similar style of embouchure (but radically different finger chart).
http://www.naturinstrumenter.no/
11

Lets go back to the instrument that started all this. Do I understand that it plays like a whistle and looks like a flute - except that the tone hole is in the side and you blow directly into it rather than across it? If so, is it also a light (weight) wood, painted, about 3/4 inch to an inch in diameter?

The “instrument” I’m thinking of is not more than maybe 5-6 years old. They were produced by a married couple somewhere down south and sold both directly and on ebay. Key was roughly “C”.

It was called a “flutina” and came in a drawstring bag with a little music book in standard whistle notation.

I bought one on a whim. It was no fun to play. The large diameter made the fingering feel uncomfortable, the smallish hole didn’t allow enough air passage so the tone was breathy and muddy. The ends and air hole were rather roughly finished and I always wondeed whether some of the breathiness didn’t come from the inside of the cylinder not being smoothed sufficiently.

I have one -somewhere. Haven’t tried to play it in years and doubt I ever will.

12

Yes, the link that Ryan posted above points to your old review (2004) of the flutina.

According to our fancy-schmancy net tools, flutina.com is located in Seattle.

13

It wasn’t one of the flutina’s - it was unpainted and probably made out of some sort of hard wood aprox 3/4th of an inch across in most places. Some what fancy as it looked like it was turned on a lathe - especially the “plugged end”. Fairly breathy but not more than my Tourist Shop Cooperman Tin Whistle which for some reason I like so much (I guess cuase it plays more Historically Accurate in my mind).

14

Yea for facebook! I found a picture of it -

15

Hello. I’m a first time poster as well.

I found some some side-blown “whistles” on loc.gov:

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/dcmflute.1455

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/dcmflute.0446

16

Nice find, they also had another metal one listed.
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/dcmflute.1453

17

H’okay, now I’ve got it. I have one pretty much like the one I.D.10-t linked to. Picked it up on eBay back in '03. Brass, pretty much a flute with a brazed on airway to direct breath across the tone hole. The attachment is round, rather than flat, and is a bit ‘rough’ in appearance.

This is the best we could come up with back then.

“It is NOT a flageolet - at least not in the traditional sense … last year. Thomas Hastay identified it for me as a “Dummy’s Flute”, probably 19th century German.”

Same principle as the brass and plastic “Melody Flutes” made in Baltimore in the '50s and '60s.

18

Thanks Guys! - I was putting random countries into google next to the word side whistle but didn’t get far.. Now I just need to watch ebay and maybe something will turn up.