Irish Penny Whistles and 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 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 whistle is an alto whistle, and is listed on the low whistles page. Many Irish whistle players add a G to their collection of whistles and flutes.

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.

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.

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 above 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.

Please indicate C or D whistle when ordering. If you don't know which key you prefer, we suggest getting a D first, since this is the standard Irish key that Irish music sessions play.

PW1. Original Clarke whistle in key of D. $19
PW2. Original Clarke whistle in key of C. $19

We currently have a couple of the Clarke silver-colored D whistle with no markings @ $15.

Waltons Penny Whistles

Made in Ireland

PW3A. Waltons brass whistle (shown at left). This traditional D whistle is made of brass-plated metal, with a green plastic mouthpiece. We'll include a simple playing chart if you request it. $7

PW3B. The Waltons Little Black Whistle: This metal whistle looks like the brass whistle except that it is all  black (naturally!), and is lighter in weight. Key of D. We'll include a simple fingering chart if you request it. $5

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. $9

PW5. Waltons Rainbow Whistle. We have one of these left, in Irish green, after which we plan to discontinue them. Key of D, packaged in clear plastic with playing leaflet included.  $8

Guinness Whistle Pack

by Waltons of Ireland

PW7. 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 penney whistle. $20

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. $19

Tony Dixon Instruments

Our Tony Dixon instruments now arrive in a sort of square plastic 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.

 

Traditional Brass Tony Dixon Whistle

TDSW4. Traditional D brass penny whistle by Tony Dixon. Brass body with black plastic head. (Note: this whistle is not to be confused with the heavy Dixon TDSW10 below). Tony's customers told him that his other whistles are just fine, but that they don't have proper Irish "chuff." Tony then designed this whistle, which he guarantees does have the right "chuff." $23

 

One-Piece Tony Dixon Plastic Whistle

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

Two-piece (Tunable) Tony Dixon Soprano Plastic Whistles

TDSW2A. Two-piece whistle, key of D. 11 1/2" long. $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. $41 for three- piece set.
TDSW3B. Tony Dixon High C Whistle/Piccolo Duo. Three pieces: high C body, whistle head and piccolo head. $43

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. $14
TDSW3E. Whistle head only. $14

Plastic Tony Dixon Whistle with Brass Slide and Whistle/Piccolo Brass Slide Duo

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

TDSW7A. Whistle/Piccolo Duo in D $60
TDSW7B. Whistle/Piccolo Duo in C $62

Aluminum Tony Dixon High Whistle and Whistle/Piccolo Duo

Dixon has made a design change in this whistle, and at the moment we have some of both the old and new design here in stock, as indicated below. We show the old design at left, and the new at right, below.

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! These come in a two-piece plastic box that just fits the whistle. Whistle players consider aluminum to produce a somewhat brighter sound than plastic.
TDSW8A. Key of D. $51
TDSW8B. Key of C. $52

TDSW9A. (Not shown) High D aluminum whistle/piccolo duo. This three-piece set has an aluminum body as shown immediately above, and black plastic piccolo and whistle heads, both of which have brass slides. $68 New-style whistle.

TDSW9B. High C aluminum whistle/piccolo duo. This three-piece set has an aluminum body as shown immediately above, and black plastic piccolo and whistle heads, both of which have brass slides. $66 Old-style whistle.

Tony Dixon Solid Brass High Whistles

Tony Dixon has changed the design of this whistle slightly; his old design is shown at left; his new design is shown below it

 The whistles listed below are the new design unless otherwise indicated.

TDSW10A. Tunable high D whistle with a solid brass body (the brass has an antiqued look, but is actually somewhat brighter than the photo). This whistle is considerably heavier than the ones with plastic or aluminum bodies. $68 New design.

NOTE! TDSW10B. Because of demand from our customers, Tony Dixon has specially made a few of his old-style high D tunable brass whistles for us. We are offering these at $75.

TDSW11A. Tuneable high C whistle  with a solid brass body (the brass has an antiqued look, but is actually somewhat brighter than the photo above). This whistle is considerably heavier than the ones with plastic or aluminum bodies. New design. $70.

TDSW11B. Tuneable high C whistle  with a solid brass body (the brass has an antiqued look, but is actually somewhat brighter than the photo above). This whistle is considerably heavier than the ones with plastic or aluminum bodies. Old design. $70.

If you wish to hear the solid brass D whistle above, click here. The musician is our 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.

Most of our Tony Dixon whistles are now coming in a plastic two-piece container as shown at left (except the duos).

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

PWC1. A case is always good idea, because it will protect your instrument from grubby hands or anything else. Our newest case, made by Tony Dixon, looks like the one at left. It will take either a C or D high whistle. Made of padded black fabric. $12 Out of stock.

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