Apito

The apito (whistle) is a woodwind instrument used as well in music as in sports and traffic. The sound is produced by causing the smooth flow of air to be split by a narrow blade. It was traditionally made of wood, but nowadays apitos of metal and bronze are used as well. Some apitos have little holes in their sides that are covered with the fingers to produce different tones. The player can also control the duration and the intensity of the sound. In music, it is used mainly in samba. In samba music it is as well used to play rhythmical repetitive patterns as used to announce a new section, the start, or the end of a piece of music. In a samba school the master of the percussion section is responsible for these signals. For him, the apito - together with the repinique - functions as the baton of a teacher. The apito is capable to produce strong and weak, long and short, open and closed sounds.