I recently found out that the fife, and the keyless flute, have the same fingerings as a tin whistle. This got me thinking; what other instruments can be played using whistle knowledge? I’m not looking for exact equivalents, but instruments that basic tunes could be played on within say, a week. I want to make a definitive list of these instruments. I have written down the few I can think of, please post more, and if you have experiences and information about any, that too. Thanks
If you can play the tin whistle, you could try these:
The six holes of the whistle and flute are the basis of the Böhm system, so you could pick up a whole host of Böhm woodwinds. Maybe you are the next Coltrane or Bird and of course, if you tape the first and thumb holes of a German fingered re_ord_r, you can play that as well.
Sorry, none at all, I just like having a moving picture so I can see my own posts better, and that is the only one small enough I could find! On reflection, I may change it, as I can imagine how it could be interpreted.
edit: its been changed. The old one was a x on fire.
Gaita Galega (Galician Bagpipes) have the same fingerings with the addition of a C# pinkie hole and a left hand thumb hole for playing a couple notes in the second octave.
If you are as lucky as me and run across a CD by Susana Seivane for $6 in the sale bin at your local book[sic]store, grab it and take it home for a listen.
Amazing stuff - Celtic-influenced music of northwestern Spain with galican bagpipes, tin whistle (!), traverse flute, diatonic accordion, djembe, bodhran, etc. etc. etc…
As I recall, Martin Milner used to use that same image.
I think that Appalachian dulcimer ought to be included in the list. It has the same notes, and there’s not much to fretting it. The whistler just needs to learn the strumming.
Don’t all of the reed-based instruments actually have different fingers in the second octave? Likewise, it might be a little misleading to suggest that one could move easily from the whistle to the pipes
Saxophone - the basic 6 holes are almost identical. The basics are pretty simple and then you add all those other keys that allow you to play ALL the notes…
Most of the conical bore reeds (sax, oboe, bassoon) and some early conical bore brass play much like the pennywhistle, including being able to jump octaves, as do most of the transverse and end blown flutes. The cylindrical bore reeds, the most common being the clarinet, jump by 12ths, so only the first octave is the same. Some ocarinas also play somewhat like the pennywhistle, including the gemshorn. Also, remember the pennywhistle and Irish flute are but a small sample of flutes from all over the world that use that fingering for the pentatonic scale.
Here in Sweden we have a folk music flute called the Spila pipa. It closely resembles the whistle. There are a wide range of different types from 6 to 8 finger holes and boot major and minor keyes. The 6 hole type would suite a tin whistle player!
