Flageolet (irish whistle)

A wind instrument with six holes similar to a simple flute, also known in Poland as the "Polish fletik". The instrument originates from 16th century France, with various variations also from England and Germany. In the 18th and 14th centuries, it gained immense popularity in our country.

Compared to the simple flute, the flageolet has many advantages that make learning to play this instrument much easier. This is due to the smaller number of holes (6 instead of eight), as a result of this difference, only the most agile fingers are used to play (the left thumb and right little finger are excluded). The chords are easier than on the simple flute, and the second octave is achieved only by blowing harder (there is no change in fingering). The embouchure is also easier - especially when it comes to producing low sounds. These differences make the flageolet an ideal instrument to start learning to play, especially for children. The price is also not insignificant. To have a simple flute suitable for playing (excluding plastic toys from supermarkets, etc.), you have to pay at least 50 PLN (www.tands.pl for a soprano flute, because larger ones are a different caliber :)). Flageolets suitable for learning due to their simple construction (metal tube with 6 holes + plastic mouthpiece) cost a dozen or so zlotys.
Of course, simplifications also have disadvantages - it is much more difficult to achieve chromaticism on the flageolet (usually this requires covering half of the holes), hence flageolets are available as transposing instruments in all popular scales.

Where to buy?

The flageolet can be a cheap alternative to the simple flute. Good quality instruments can be purchased for less than 100 PLN. For example:
Clark flageolet D

See more flageolets at muzyczny.pl.