The more you cover the window, the more it quiets the whistle, and the airier the sound. I usually use clear tape, but it didn't show in the photos very well so I've used blue painting tape in the photo at right for illustrative purposes. The Tape Tweakįor this tweak cover part of the window with tape as illustrated. The further you put it towards your mouth, the more it quiets the whistle, and the airier the sound. The Blu-Tac™ Tweakįor this tweak, make a small ball of "Blue-Tac"/poster putty and put it in the window of the whistle. The "regular" model, mounted on the whistle in the photo, has a somewhat larger window than the "quiet" model. They're available in "quiet" and "regular" varieties. The Hoover Whitecap is a line of replacement fipples handmade by Mack Hoover, which sell for about $25 each. The words didn't become popular enough to be reflected in dictionaries or encyclopedias until the last half of the 20 th century.Clarke and Clarke's company called their products "flageolets" for at least part of their history.It would seem that the speculation that the words "tin whistle" and "pennywhistle" date back to the first mass production, namely, Clarke's instruments, is probably incorrect: 2) 29 "I went down the lane to buy a penny whistle, A copper came by and pinch my penny whistle." 233 " Pipes!-They look more like penny-whistles."ġ931 N. 64 "Musicians with Halters about their Necks-Their Instruments strung behind, penny Whistles, Trumpets, and so forth, in their Hands"ġ817 Scott Rob Roy I. The OED has multiple citations for "penny whistle:" 1730 Gabriel Odingsells Bay's Opera III. Note that, unlike most dictionaries, OED inclusion and citations are chronological rather than by popularity so an OED citation does not mean that a word was in common use.Īt any rate, the OED's citation for "tin whistle" comes from John Neal's 1825 novel Brother Jonathan: As if he were sounding a charge with. With the aid of my friendly local librarians I found citations in the Oxford English Dictionary. I checked some early 20 th century reference books, and neither the dictionary nor the thesaurus nor the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica mention either term, although the latter's whistle entry does mention metal flageolets.Īlthough usage seems to be uncommon, however, both terms do predate Robert Clarke.
![chiff and fipple product chiff and fipple product](https://www.flutenet.com/Recorders.jpg)
![chiff and fipple product chiff and fipple product](http://pipersgrip.50webs.com/carbd1.jpg)
Robert Clarke began selling his instruments around 1843, but his company was advertising them as "Clarke London Flageolets" or "Clarke Flageolets" in 1900. I've been doing some research on the origin and use of the words "pennywhistle" and "tin whistle." It seems that usage was uncommon until the 20 th century.