How the slide whistle makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the slide whistle belongs to the flutes (edge-blown): an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating – flutes, recorders, whistles and panpipes.
More broadly it is one of the aerophones (wind instruments), where sound comes from vibrating air.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
A slide whistle (variously known as a swanee or swannee whistle, lotus flute, piston flute, or jazz flute) is a wind instrument consisting of a tube with a piston in it, and a fipple mouthpiece similar to a recorder at one end. This enables the player to vary the pitch with a slide while blowing the whistle, producing an ascending or descending glissando. Because the air column is cylindrical and open at one end and closed at the other, it overblows the third harmonic.
Other flutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a slide whistle sound like?
As one of the flutes, its sound comes from the way an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating.
What type of instrument is the slide whistle?
It is classified as flutes (edge-blown) (Hornbostel–Sachs 421.221.312).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q656696 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Slide whistle – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Ferbr1 – CC BY-SA 3.0