Pipe (instrument) Pipe (instrument) A pipe is a tubular wind instrument in general, or various specific wind instruments. The word is an onomatopoeia, and comes from the tone which can resemble that of a bird chirping. Fipple flutes are found in many cultures around the world. Often with six holes, the shepherd's pipe is a common pastoral image. Shepherds often piped both to soothe the sheep and to amuse themselves. Modern manufactured six-hole folk pipes are referred to as pennywhistle or tin whistle. The recorder is a form of pipe, often used as a rudimentary instructional musical instrument at schools, but so
Tin whistle head, and are almost always referred to as "low whistles" but sometimes called "concert whistles". The low whistle operates on identical principles to the standard whistles, but musicians in the tradition may consider it a separate instrument. The term "soprano whistle" is sometimes used for the higher-pitched whistles when it is necessary to distinguish them from low whistles. The notes are selected by opening or closing holes with the fingers. Holes are typically covered with the pads of the fingers, but some players, particularly when negotiating the larger holes and spacing in low whistles, may employ the "piper's grip". With