Description

Swanee Nightingale slide whistle

On sale here is an early 20th century slide whistle or slide duct flute. It is crafted in Ebonite . This type of woodwind instrument goes by many other names too… bird whistle, lotus flute, piston flute or bicycle pump whistle. It has a fipple, or mouthpiece – a bit like a recorder mouthpiece. It is hollow, but has a plunger made of metal that can be moved in or out when blown. This enables the performer to shorten or lengthen the sounding length of the tube and therefore the pitch of the funny tone produced. It is also possible to play sustained single notes on the slide whistle and therefore a whole tune – with loads of practice of course!