Editing Tin whistle (section)

=== Modern tin whistle ===
[[Image:Tinwhistles.jpg|right|thumb|Contemporary tin whistles in several keys]]
{{listen
 | filename     = AllPlasticTinWhistle.ogg
 | title        = All Plastic Tin Whistle
 | description  = Sample of music played on all plastic tin whistle in the key of D.
 | format       = [[Ogg]]
 | filename2    = MetalTinWhistleWoodenStop.ogg
 | title2       = Metal Tin Whistle with Wooden Stop
 | description2 = Sample of music played on key of D metal tin whistle with wooden stop.
 | format2      = [[Ogg]]
 | filename3    = MetalTinWhistlePlastic Fipple.ogg
 | title3       = Metal Tin Whistle with Plastic Fipple
 | description3 = Sample of music played on key of D metal tin whistle with plastic fipple.
 | format3      = [[Ogg]]
}}

The most common whistles today are made of [[brass]] or [[electroplating|nickel-plated]] brass, with a [[plastic]] mouthpiece, which contains the [[fipple]]. Generation, Feadóg, Oak, Acorn, Soodlum's (now Walton's), and other brands fall in this category.

The Generation Whistle was introduced in 1966, and featured a brass tube with a lead fipple. Founded by businessman and engineer Alfred Brown in Oswestry, Shropshire, their most popular whistle, the Generation Flageolet, was introduced in 1968.<ref name="Generation Whistles">{{cite web | title=Generation Whistles | url=https://bigwhistle.co.uk/generation-whistles/|website=Big Whistle |access-date=28 November 2022}}</ref> The design was updated somewhat over the years, most notably the substitution of a plastic fipple for the lead fipple.

Although most whistles have a cylindrical bore, other designs exist, for example a conical sheet metal whistle with a wooden stop in the wide end to form the fipple, the Clarke's brand being the most prevalent. Other less common variants are the all-metal whistle, the [[Polyvinyl chloride|PVC]] whistle, the Flanna square holed whistle, and the wooden whistle.

Gaining popularity as a folk instrument in the early 19th-century Celtic music revivals, penny whistles now play an integral part in several folk traditions. Whistles are a prevalent starting instrument in [[Folk music of England|English traditional music]], [[Music of Scotland|Scottish traditional music]] and [[Folk music of Ireland|Irish traditional music]], since they are usually inexpensive; relatively easy to play, free of tricky [[embouchure]] such as found with the [[transverse flute]]; and use fingerings are nearly identical to those on traditional six-holed flutes, such as the [[Irish flute]] and the [[Baroque flute]]. The tin whistle is a good starting instrument to learn the [[uilleann pipes]], which has similar finger technique, range of notes and repertoire. The tin whistle is the most popular instrument in Irish traditional music today.<ref name="VallelyCompanion">Vallely et al., p. 397</ref>

In recent years, a number of instrument builders have started lines of "high-end" hand-made whistles, which can cost dozens of times more than cheap whistles, but nevertheless are cheaper than most other instruments. These companies are typically either a single individual or a very small group of craftsmen who work closely together. The instruments are distinguished from the inexpensive whistles in that each whistle is individually manufactured and "voiced" by a skilled person rather than made in a factory.