Low whistles operate on the same principles, and are generally fingered in the same way as traditional pennywhistles although for many, a "piper's grip" may be required due to the distance between the holes.

Unable to repair it, Overton attempted to produce a metal replica and Finbar and himself spent many hours in the shed at the back of Bernard's house in Rugby, designing, testing and ultimately perfecting the flute.

The first resulting instrument was essentially an oversized tin whistle made of copper pipe with a wooden plug but was quickly replaced by the aluminium one.

Some of the most famous low whistle players are: Michael McGoldrick, Kevin Crawford, Phil Hardy from England, Davy Spillane, Paddy Keenan, John McSherry (musician) from Ireland, Brian Finnegan from Northern Ireland, Fred Morrison, Rory Campbell (musician), Tony Hinnigan, and Ross Ainslie from Scotland.

In rock music, the multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley occasionally plays a low whistle with the symphonic metal band Nightwish.

[2] To others it is viewed as a "transition instrument" for players seeking to eventually learn the seemingly more prestigious (and expensive) flute or uilleann pipes.

Much like the Irish flat-backed bouzouki, the low whistle can be seen as a product of a period when experiments in instrumentation were commonplace in traditional music, and musicians sought diverse and innovative means of expression.