Pitch pipe

Date made: c.1810

Maker: Shepherd

Description: This is a pitch pipe made from an unidentified stained wood. This pitch pipe has some extremely unusual features; it appears to have been made from some recorder-type instrument which has been repurposed. The musical instrument originally had six finger holes, all of which have been filled. The finger holes were extremely close together, much closer than is typical of a recorder. The slide has been made from what appears to be a repurposed dowel from a piece of furniture, and it has the names of the pitches carved into it.

This instrument is known to have been used by a Mr Shepherd, the first Music Master in the Isle of Man who taught in Kirk Christ Rushen and and Kirk Arbory in the early 1800s. Mr Shepherd has been described as “the musical apostle of the Island in those days, an educational propagandist with a popular method of sight-singing. This was the 'Fa sol la mi' method which was popular in the 17th century.”

Measurements: overall: 28 x 3.8 cm

Materials: wood

Object name: pitch pipe

Collection: Social History Collection

ID Number: 1954-4250

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