G'day Blackcatter,

The question is where you split "recorder" and "whistle". Some sort of wood / reed / cane / bone whistle has been made for thousands of years ... the Dolmetsch (1919)-revived recorder represents the most developed (contrived ... ?) form of that. Lots of simpler instruments were played by "ordinary" people ... but note that "recorder" meant (~) teaching / training (aid) ... and refered to the use of recorders to teach tunes to whistling birds! (Maybe not by the Irish hearthside - unless the family made a livong on the side selling whistling birds!)

Pied Piper: The various schemes to fill the undercut of the platic moulded fiples are common ... lots mentioned in Chiff & Fipple site's "Tweaking Whistles" pages.

Regards,

Bob (turned of music for half a decade of early life but school year 5 recorder lessons!)