What does fipple mean?
A fipple is the block or plug set into the mouthpiece of certain flutes — most familiarly the recorder and the tin whistle — that shapes a narrow channel, or windway, guiding the player's breath onto a sharp edge called the labium. When the airstream strikes this edge it splits rhythmically, setting the air column inside the instrument vibrating and producing its tone. The word may refer either to the plug itself or, by extension, to the whole mouthpiece assembly, and flutes built on this principle are known as 'fipple flutes,' distinguished from transverse flutes like the concert flute, which the player blows across directly. Fipple is essentially a specialist term: it appears chiefly in discussions of early music, instrument making, and acoustics rather than everyday conversation. Its obscurity is part of its charm — a small, unglamorous piece of wood quietly responsible for some of music's most distinctive sounds.
nounThe block or plug in the mouthpiece of a fipple flute (such as a recorder or tin whistle) that forms a duct directing the player's breath across the sound-producing edge; by extension, such a flute's mouthpiece itself.
- The plug or block forming the windway in the mouthpiece of a ducted flute such as a recorder or tin whistle.
- The entire ducted mouthpiece of such a flute.
"He carved a new fipple from boxwood to replace the worn mouthpiece of his recorder."
"The recorder's fipple directs the breath against the labium, splitting the airstream to create sound."
"Old tin whistles often crack at the fipple, where moisture collects during long playing sessions."
Standard plural; used mainly when discussing instrument parts in bulk or repair contexts.
"The workshop keeps spare fipples on hand for repairing school recorders."
Every time you blow a recorder, you're playing through a fipple — the humble wooden plug that turns your breath into music.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fipple
The word fipple first appears in English in the early seventeenth century, but its deeper origins remain uncertain, and no definitive ancestor language has been established. Some sources connect it to older English words for a lip or pout, though this link is conjectural rather than proven. What is clear is that the term became attached to the plugged mouthpiece of ducted flutes, giving rise to the established compound 'fipple flute.'
Related word forms
How fipple is actually used
A technical term used mainly by musicians, instrument makers, and organologists; unfamiliar to most general readers. The compound term 'fipple flute' is more widely encountered than 'fipple' alone.
Easily confused with fipple
Nipple is a small projection or teat-like part (or a pipe fitting), whereas fipple is the breath-directing block in a ducted flute's mouthpiece.