Mike Bosco Kwela Pennywhistle Solo

This footage is from the Isavutha Kwela Pennywhistle Revival Workshop held at the Happy Valley Hotel in Nguboyenja, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1993. Mike Bosco Ncube plays a Hohner G whistle here. These old-style whistles — made by Hohner, Generation, et al. before the advent of the plastic mouthpiece — consisted of a straight metal tube with a metal plug (often lead) that sealed off the end to make the mouthpiece.

The older type of mouthpiece was smaller than the mouthpieces of most contemporary whistles. This allowed the older whistles to be inserted deep into the mouth and led to the characteristic traditional kwela embouchure that is seen in this clip. This embouchure produces the distinctive pennywhistle timbre that is associated with kwela music. For another example, see the Reuben Nkomo pennywhistle solo from the same workshop at:

   • Reuben Nkomo Kwela Pennywhistle Solo  

The guitarist here is Bishop Dube.