Musical Performance

Do you have a whistle at home? If you have, you know that it is a narrow pipe topped with a special part to blow into, called a mouthpiece. Just below the mouthpiece there is a narrow hole cut out of the pipe. When you blow into the mouthpiece, the air is aimed right onto the sharp edge of the hole. This makes it easier to blow a clear note. Whistles with this narrow hole cut into them are also known as duct flutes.

Duct flutes made from many different materials are found all over the world. A very old Chinese flute from the 900s which is made from bamboo. Most modern whistles, like the ones below, are made from metal, plastic or wood, but whistles can be made from bone or clay.

Finger holes

You already know that to change the pitch of a note, you need to change the length of the tube. If you look at the diagram above, you will see that you can also change the pitch by adding finger holes to your tube. When you cover all the holes with your fingers, the tube is long. The air travels right down the length of the tube. When you cover only the lower holes, you are letting some of the air escape higher up the tube, so the tube is shorter and the note is higher. When you leave all the holes open, the air escapes out of the first hole it reaches and the note is higher still.

Different shapes

Not all whistles have long, straight tubes. Many are small and have a rounded shape. You may have a toy whistle with a round body and a straight piece to blow through. The referee’s whistle on the right has a piece inside it that rotates to give a better sound.

Ocarinas

An ocarina is a small whistle with finger holes and a rounded body. Ocarinas come from Portugal and are popular in South America, where they are often made of clay moulded into interesting shapes like birds or people. It has a chain attached to it so that you can wear it as a piece of jewellery.

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