Clarke, the Stradivarius of the people.Р”Р„t the time the industrial revolution was taking hold and he had grand ambitions. And if it is good enough for James Galway to have learned onРІР‚В¦well, we need say no more. That signature tone of their original penny whistle is perfect for beginners and accomplished musicians alike. True purveyors of quality and tradition, Clarke Tinwhistle crafts stunning instruments that can be enjoyed by everyone. It played like a dream and its РІР‚ВchiffРІР‚в„ў (the sound it makes) is unique to Clarke through its conical bore - in fact, it is still the same today as all those years ago. And being an ingenious sort alongside being very poor, Clarke fashioned this out of one of his wifeРІР‚в„ўs corsets. But the new tin whistle still needed a wooden fipple (the mouthpiece). He had already whittled and fashioned a whistle out of wood and asked a local blacksmith to re-create his wooden design in tin plate. A poor farm labourer Robert Clarke heard about a new way of manufacturing tin plate. The story of the Clarke Tinwhistle goes back over 170 years to a small village in Suffolk, Coney Weston.

Each of these has their own unique quality and a whistler must decide what is right for them personally.When people talk of a tin whistle or a penny whistle there is only one name on peopleРІР‚в„ўs lips Clarke Tinwhistle. These include the Burke Whistle, Sindt Whistle, Chieftain Whistle, Dixon Whistle and of course the Killarney Whistle. These instruments are distinguished from the inexpensive whistles in that each whistle is individually manufactured and РІР‚СљvoicedРІР‚Сњ by a skilled person rather than made in a factory. These companies are typically either a single individual or a very small group of craftsmen who work closely together. In recent years a number of instrument builders have started producing high quality, hand-made tin whistles, which can cost hundreds of dollars each - expensive in comparison to cheap whistles, but nevertheless cheaper than most other instruments. As a whistler improves, and becomes more discerning regarding tone, tuning, and the overall quality of their instrument, they usually need a higher quality instrument to bring out the best in their playing. They are ideal for children starting the whistle. These instruments are inexpensive as they are mass produced. Generation, FeadР“С–g, Oak, Acorn, Waltons, and other brands fall in this category. The most common whistles today are made of brass, or nickel-plated brass tubing, with a mouthpiece. Whistlers such as Mary Bergin, Paddy Moloney, Sean Potts, Micho Russell, Joanie Madden and Sean Ryan have played an important role in establishing the tin whistle as an important main-stream Irish Traditional Music instrument. The tin whistle is most popular in Irish Traditional Music. Gaining popularity as a folk instrument in the early 19th century, the Tin Whistle is now an integral part of several folk traditions. In the 17th century whistles were called flageolets a term to describe a whistle with a French-made fipple and such instruments are linked to the development of the English flageolet, French flageolet and recorders of the renaissance and baroque period. Fragments of 12th-century Norman bone whistles have been found in Ireland and an intact 14 cm Tusculum clay whistle from the 14th century has been found in Scotland. In the early Middle Ages peoples of northern Europe were playing the instrument: Irish Brehon Law describes a flute-like instrument. Written sources that describe a fipple-type flute include the Roman and Greek aulos and tibia. A possible Neanderthal fipple flute from Slovenia dates from approx 60,000 B.C. Almost all primitive cultures had a type of fipple flute and is most likely the first pitched flute-type instrument in existence.

The tin whistle, in its modern form, is from a wider family of fipple flutes, which have been seen in many forms and cultures throughout the world. The tin whistle is also called the Irish Whistle, Penny Whistle, FeadР“С–g StР“РЋin, and English flageolet.

Chiff and fipple new pennywhisle