The main difference between a beginners tin whistle and a professional tin whistle is tune-ability. If you intend to play with other instruments or along to music then you need a tuneable whistle. Non-tuneable whistles are generally cheaper, good to get started on but for serious playing some tune-ability is essential.

The material of the bore does to a certain extent affect the sound of the whistle it can be conical or straight. The resonant quality as well as the hardness of the material affects the sound. Standard plastics and some woods are softer materials creating a more absorptive surface for the resonating body of air, Aluminium is harder but softer than brass or tin. Carbon fibre is hard and stiff. The reality is much more complex but you get the idea! Some woods for example are almost as hard as metal.

Some physicists argue that the body material of a bore wind instrument such as whistles and flutes has no affect on perceived sound quality as long as they are of sufficient hardness, the determining factor being only the dimensions of the bore.

Most musicians think otherwise. Do fluotists spend 30,000 on a gold flute just because they look nice and so that they can brag about it? Atsui finish- In Japan Atsui means hot or deep, powerful and strong and is used to refer to a layer of precious metal (usually gold or silver) added to the body of an instrument in order to enhance and tailer the tone.

The humble tin whistle is a direct descendent of the oldest instrument known to man. Flutes made from bird bone and mammoth ivory, estimated to be between 40,000 and 80,000 years old, have been found.

The whistle has had many names in its lifetime, penny whistle, tin whistle, Irish whistle, flageolet, low whistle, high whistle, Belfast hornpipe, feadóg stáin. It is a type of fipple flute similar to an Irish Flute but with a fipple instead of a simple opening, so related to the recorder, Flabiol, Txistu and tabor pipe. The breath is transformed to sound and thus music in a most elegant way.

The first high whistle was made in Suffolk by Clark in 1843. The modern low whistle is most directly related to a victorian vertical flute, it was first made by Bernard Overton in the early 1970s. Brian Howard making the first brass low whistle, using modern production techniques a few years later.

The popularity of both high and low tin whistles have increased massively in recent years. Low whistles due partly to the success of river dance and the titanic theme tune, my heart will go on. There are now over 70 penny whistle makers worldwide! The high whistle has gone from being made by a handful of makers in the 1970s to over 60 today. The low whistle from only a couple of makers in the 1970s to over 30 today!