The tin whistle, also called the tinwhistle, whistle, penny whistle , Irish whistle, feadóg, or feadóg stáin is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the flageolet, recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments. A tin whistle player is called a tin whistler or whistler.
L.E. McCullough notes that the oldest surviving whistles date from the 12 century, but that...
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The tin whistle, also called the tinwhistle, whistle, penny whistle , Irish whistle, feadóg, or feadóg stáin is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the flageolet, recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments. A tin whistle player is called a tin whistler or whistler.
L.E. McCullough notes that the oldest surviving whistles date from the 12 century, but that, "Players of the fealodan are also mentioned in the description of the King of Ireland's court found in the Brehon Laws dating from the 3 century A.D." The Tusculum whistle is a 14cm whistle with six finger holes, made of brass or bronze, found with pottery dating to the 14 and 15 centuries; it is currently in the collection of the Museum of Scotland.
The term "penny whistle" was coined on the streets of Dublin in the late 1500s because of the whistles' prevalence among the beggars and vagabonds in Ireland. The word "tin-whistle" was also...
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