Low whistle grip" may be required due to the distance between the holes. They belong to the same woodwind instrument family of end-blown fipple flutes. Though the tone of this instrument varies subtly among makers, low whistles are generally characterised by a more breathy, flute-like sound than traditional tin whistles. While the precise history of the low whistle is often debated, it is known that various kinds of vertical fipple flutes have existed in antiquity. The fipple flutes developed during the 16th century were the ancestors of today's low whistle, carrying through from early transverse flutes the six-holed design tradition and conical
Tin whistle "cross-fingering" (covering some holes while leaving some higher ones open). However, half-holing is somewhat more difficult to do correctly, and whistles are available in many keys, so for other keys a whistler will typically use a different whistle instead, reserving half-holing for accidentals. Some whistle designs allow a single fipple, or mouthpiece, to be used on differently keyed bodies. There are larger whistles, which by virtue of being longer and wider produce tones an octave (or in rare cases two octaves) lower. Whistles in this category are likely to be made of metal or plastic tubing, sometimes with a tuning-slide