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“Celtic” Whistle:

Origins and Developments

It was also during this time that more

experimentation was done to extend

the musical range of the instruments

with extra tone holes. The "recorder"

is still very popular today and is a

variation of the "open-hole," six-hole

design, where an extra tone hole and

thumbhole was added, making eight

holes instead of the classic six-hole

design that is characteristic of the

"Celtic Style," whistle.

The six-hole, open tone-hole, flute or

whistle is referred to as a "simple"

flute because the notes are created

by covering the six tone holes with the

pads of the fingers. For this reason,

there are some limitations to the

range of notes that one can create on

the tube, simply due to the physical

limitations of the dimensions of the

hands themselves.

Making sharps and flats in the natural

"diatonic" range of a key with the six-

hole flute or whistle is accomplished

by the careful application of half notes

and alternate fingering. Some still

believe that the simple flute has much

more feeling than the keyed,

orchestration flutes, and providing this

flexibility with simple flutes and

whistles is still proof of the player's

skill and mastery of the instrument

Keyed flutes became so

sophisticated, especially with the work

done by Theobald Boehm

As the craftsmanship in creating

woodwind instruments improved,

keyed flutes and whistles became

popular. Starting in the 15th into the

16th centuries. Keyed flutes began to

overcome keyless flutes, as the need

for added notes increased, especially

in the demands made by playing the

instruments within orchestrated

groups.

(Muenchen, Germany) in the late

1800s, that the "typewriter keyed

flutes," as they were called at that

time, practically overwhelmed the

"serious" music worlds to the point

where the craftsmanship in making

open-hole, six-hole flutes and whistles

almost became extinct.

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