Irish Penny Whistles (Tin Whistles)

Also called soprano whistles or high whistles

Irish whistles and flutes fall into the same category of instruments because they have the same six fingering holes. In general, it is called a whistle if you put the mouthpiece into your mouth to blow, and it is a flute if you blow across a hole. This means that the cheapest penny whistle is a close relative of the most expensive concert flute.

Penny (tin) whistles are also called high or soprano whistles; this is to distinguish them from low whistles, which are twice as long in the same key. For instance, a D penny whistle is called a high D whistle and is half as long (and a lot thinner) than the low D whistle. The Irish mostly play D whistles in their music.

Penny whistles have become a very important part of the Irish music scene, and it's amazing how great they sound in the hands of an expert. James Galway, the famous Irish flute player, plays it; we remember seeing him play a penny whistle on the Johnny Carson show, and it sounded fabulous.

Whistles that fall between the high and low categories are called alto whistles; our G and F whistles are alto whistles; they are listed on the low whistles page. Many Irish whistle players add a G to their collection of whistles and flutes; the F is less common.

There are whistles in other keys; one of the common ones is key of C, and many whistle players include a C whistle to their collection of Ds.

The very large whistles, called low or concert or tenor whistles, plus the alto whistles, are on our Low Whistles page.

Important Information if You are Buying Your First Good Whistle

Sometimes we receive complaints that our better whistles do not play well in the low notes. This usually comes from people who up to then had only played the cheap whistles, and who now had just bought a better one. The answer is that good whistle technique requires that you change your mouth shape as you go from the bottom notes up to the top. The mouth is wide and relaxed for the bottom notes, and gradually narrows and tightens as you go up the scale. (Cheaper instruments appear to be more forgiving of players who do not change their mouth shape on the notes when they play.) Good whistle players, and players of other instruments such as trombone etc, do this mouth change automatically and do not always think of telling beginners to do this. In any case, this is how to get good bottom notes on your whistle. If you are having trouble, play in front of a mirror and watch your mouth shape.

We often get asked about the quality and weight of these whistles. We've added the weight to the description of each D whistle. Since the C whistle is slightly longer than the D, it will weigh a bit more.

Waltons Penny Whistles

Made in Ireland

These inexpensive whistles are popular with teachers for music classes. We try to maintain good stocks of these to accommodate last-minute quantity requests. However, at times our supplier, who depends on monthly containers to arrive from Ireland, is out of them and we have to wait to get more. If you need these for a certain date, we suggest ordering two months in advance if possible.

PW3A. The Waltons Little Black Whistle: This traditional metal whistle is lighter in weight than the two whistles below. Key of D. We'll include a simple fingering chart if you request it. Weight: 0.5 oz. $6

PW3B. Waltons brass whistle (shown at left). This traditional D whistle is made of brass-plated metal, heavier than the Little Black Whistle above, with a green plastic mouthpiece. We'll include a simple playing chart if you request it. Weight: 1.3 oz. $9
 

PW3C. Waltons nickel whistle. Nickel-plated D whistle looks like the brass whistle above, with green mouthpiece, but is slightly heavier in weight. We'll include a simple playing chart if you request it. The nickel finish on this whistle is more durable than the finish on the two whistles above. Weight: 1.2 oz. $12

Guinness Whistle Pack

PW7. Waltons of Ireland three-piece set that includes:

1. Aluminum Guinness black D whistle,
2. Waltons Irish Whistle Book, and
3. Accompanying CD. The CD plays all the pieces in the book "as they should be played" with instrumental accompaniment.
Because all the tunes in the book are diagrammed (i.e., have finger charts for every note), it is not necessary to know how to read music to learn to play.

With its attractive box, this makes a very nice gift for someone who wishes to play the penny whistle. $25

Waltons Whistle Pack

PW8. Three-piece set that is packaged in an attractive box like the Guinness one above, except that this box is green with a music note motif. Contents: Waltons brass whistle with green plastic mouthpiece, Waltons Irish Whistle Book, and accompanying CD. A nice gift for a beginner. $24

Absolute Beginners DVD Whistle Pack

PW9. Three-piece set containing: Waltons brass whistle with green mouthpiece, whistle instruction book, and instruction DVD. This whistle method was developed by Harry Long, a renowned player in traditional Irish music circles. Twelve easy-to-follow lessons show you how to play! $34

The Original Clarke Penny Whistles

Clarke was the first company to produce these commercially; they founded their company in 1843.  These instruments were called penny whistles because when itinerant musicians played them on the street, people would throw them a penny. The Clarke whistle shown is made of tin, painted black, with gold markings, and a wood mouthpiece (fipple) inside. It comes in an attractive box, with a fingering chart and a couple of tunes to play. We regret that we no longer have any in key of D; we have a few left in key of C. $21.      

Tony Dixon Instruments

Traditional Brass and Nickel Tony Dixon Whistles

TDSW4A. Traditional D brass penny whistle by Tony Dixon is fully tunable. Brass body with black plastic head. (Note: this whistle is not to be confused with the heavy Dixon TDSW10A below). Weight: 1.1 oz. $23.

Tony's Irish customers told him that his other whistles are just fine, but that they don't have proper traditional Irish "chuff." Tony then designed this whistle, which he guarantees does have the right "chuff." $23

TDSW4B (not shown). Nickel traditional whistle, like the brass "trad" above, but with nickel body and black plastic head. Tunable. $27

Our customers sometimes ask us about the difference between brass and nickel instruments, since the nickel always costs more. The answer is that the nickel is a harder metal than brass and wears better, and doesn't show fingerprints as easily.

 

The Tony Dixon instruments below arrive in a sort of square plastic protective tube, which can serve as a case (except the high D and C duos, for some reason). Beware: if you play your instrument and then put it into a closed plastic tube, germs can multiply because of the moisture from your breath. Always leave the end off the plastic tube to let the instrument dry out thoroughly before closing the tube. For this reason, cloth cases work better, as they breathe and allow your instrument to dry out.

 

One-Piece Tony Dixon Plastic Whistle

TDSW1. One-piece penny whistle, key of D. 11 1/2" long. Weight: 0.8 oz. $18
 

Two-piece (Tunable) Tony Dixon Soprano Plastic Whistles

TDSW2A. Two-piece whistle, key of D. 11 1/2" long. Weight: 0.9 oz. $27
TDSW2B. Two-piece whistle, key of C. Just under 13" long. $31

Tony Dixon High Whistle/Piccolo Duos

TDSW3A. The Tony Dixon High D Whistle/Piccolo Duo. You get three pieces: a high D body, a whistle head and a piccolo head (a piccolo is a small flute). This means that you get two instruments out of the three pieces. Embouchure plate on piccolo head. These both play in the range of a penny whistle. Whistle is 11 1/2" long, piccolo slightly longer. $43 for three- piece set.
TDSW3B. Tony Dixon High C Whistle/Piccolo Duo. Three pieces: high C body, whistle head and piccolo head. $45

For piccolo only, go to flutes page.

Tony Dixon Individual Plastic Pieces

Tony Dixon separate pieces for the TDSW2 and 3 above. Normally you can add pieces to what you already have. However, over the years, Dixon has made some minor design changes, and it is possible that current pieces may not fit or be in tune with old ones.
TDSW3C. High C body. This fits the TDSW3A set above, and turns the whistle and piccolo into C instruments. 9 1/2" long (C body only). $17
TDSW3D. Piccolo head only. $16
TDSW3E. Whistle head only. $16

Plastic Tony Dixon Whistle with Brass Slide

TDSW6A. Tunable plastic penny whistle with brass slide, key of D, in plastic container. Weight: 1.0 oz. $43
TDSW6B. Tunable plastic penny whistle with brass slide, key of C, comes in plastic container as shown below. $45

The black cloth case shown is not available.

Aluminum Tony Dixon High Whistle and Whistle/Piccolo Duo

At left we show Tony Dixon's new design with brass slide, with an enlargement to show the head.

TDSW8. The Tony Dixon tunable aluminum high whistles, black plastic head, and brass slide, now available in key of D or C.   This is a really nice         whistle! Whistle players consider aluminum to produce a somewhat brighter sound than plastic.
TDSW8A. Key of D. Weight: 1.8 oz. $60
TDSW8B. Key of C. $64

TDSW9. (Photo to come.) Tony Dixon tunable aluminum whistle/piccolo duo, with brass slide. You get three pieces: body, whistle head and piccolo head. In C or D.
TDSW9A. High D aluminum whistle/piccolo duo. This three-piece set has an aluminum body with brass slide, and black plastic piccolo and whistle         heads. $75
TDSW9B. High C aluminum whistle/piccolo duo. This three-piece set has an aluminum body with brass slide, and black plastic piccolo and whistle         heads, both of which have brass slides.  $78

Tony Dixon Solid Brass High Whistles

Tony Dixon has improved the design of this whistle by adding a brass slide. These newest whistles look like the ones at left. The upper one is shown with the head pushed in all the way, and the lower one is pulled out slightly to show the brass slide.

TDSW10A. Tunable high D whistle with a solid brass body and Tony's new brass slide. This whistle is considerably heavier than the ones with plastic             or aluminum bodies. Weight: 4.4 oz. $81

TDSW10B. Tunable  high C whistle with a solid brass body and Tony's new brass slide. This whistle is considerably heavier than the ones with                 plastic or aluminum bodies. $92

If you wish to hear the solid brass D whistle above, click here. The musician is our Emmy-winning son, David Hab, who composed this Celtic-style piece that he calls "Eye of the Storm." (Please note that this is a large file, a couple of MB in size, and you need a broadband connection to the internet for this.) You will need to wait a few seconds until the music downloads and starts.

Playing Books and Video for Penny Whistle
and other Irish Musical Instruments

Ordering information and Order form

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The Harp and Dragon
25 Madison St, Cortland, NY 13045 USA
Tel 607-756-7372   Fax/Ans mach 607-756-0366