Tin whistle of which tone holes the player should cover. The most common format is a vertical column of six circles, with holes to be covered for a given note shown filled with black, and a plus sign (+) at the top for notes in the second octave. Tablature is most commonly found in tutorial books for beginners. The tonic solfa is found in Ireland and possibly Wales, especially in schools. Many schools have printed sheets with tunes notated in tonic solfa, although in Ireland more have teaching by note. With the availability of good standard notation tutor books, teaching is possibly
Shepherd's whistle his working dog. They produce clear, high-frequency tones of an easily modulated and variable pitch, allowing the shepherd to communicate a variety of commands. The pitch is at an optimal frequency for the herding dog's hearing, and for penetration and distance to cut through adverse weather when gathering sheep. There are some standard whistle commands, although the commands in use vary. Oral histories have noted primitive whistles made by of folding over a sheet cut from a tin, a jam lid, or dog-food lid, punching a hole, and smoothing sharp edges. They are also produced commercially. Simple whistles may cost