Human whistling is the production of sound by means of a constant stream of air from the mouth. The air is moderated by the tongue, lips, teeth, or fingers to create turbulence, and the mouth acts as a resonant chamber to enhance the resulting sound, thus acting as a type of Helmholtz resonator. Whistling can also be produced by hands, or using an instrument (see whistle), some as simple as a blade of grass. Non-instrumental whistling from the mouth can be accomplished in several ways:
- Pucker (or "pursed lip") whistling, in which the air is expelled or inhaled through pursed lips, producing turbulence
- Roof or palatal whistling, in which the turbulence is produced by air being pushed between the tongue and the roof (palate or alveolar ridge) of the mouth
- Finger whistling or wolf-whistling, in which one or more fingers are inserted into the mouth to shape the opening, allowing a much more forceful stream of air to be blown through. A variation entails pinching at the center of the bottom lip, and sucking in, rather than blowing out, resulting in a very loud and piercing whistle.
- Hand whistling, in which air is blown from the mouth into a resonant chamber formed by cupped hands
- Throat whistling, in which air is blown through the throat with the mouth closed
A whistled tone is primarily a simple oscillation (or sine wave) produced in the resonant chamber, and thus timbral variations are slight. The pitch of a whistle can be altered by changing the volume and shape of the resonant chamber (most typically by using the tongue). It is also possible to whistle and hum at the same time. An easy way of doing this is to shape the throat and lips as if one was going to whistle and softly sing "oooowwww". As you are doing this, slowly start to focus the air towards the front of your mouth and tighten your lips so that you are whistling. With enough practice, it is possible for one to hum and whistle two separate melodies at the same time. One of the most prolific "hum-whistlers" is A.J. Johnson, of Leeds, who, in recent years, has appeared in a number of West End and Yorkshire-based plays demonstrating his craft with a live orchestral backdrop. Some languages and code languages use whistles as a part of their communication; this is referred to as whistled speech. Hand whistling is used to indicate both satisfaction and displeasure, usually at, but not limited to, sporting events, political rallies, social gatherings, and movies. One specific type of whistling (a pitch-bend up, a brief stop, and then a quick pitch-bend up and back down in a continuous manner) can also be used to denote physical attractiveness in the one being whistled at. This is considered very poor manners in the Western world, and can even be considered a form of harassment in a professional setting. The usual setting is a man whistling at an attractive woman, but it can happen between virtually anyone. It may also be used jokingly as a compliment between closer individuals, in a romantic relationship, for example.
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Musical/Melodic whistling
Whistling can be musical: many performers on the music hall and Vaudeville circuits were professional whistlers, the most famous of which were Ronnie Ronalde and Fred Lowery and several notable songs feature whistling in some capacity. The term puccalo refers to jazz whistling. Pucker whistling is the most common form of whistling used in most Western music. Typically, the tongue tip is lowered, often placed behind the lower teeth, and pitch altered by varying the position of the tongue body. In particular, the point at which the dorsum of the tongue approximates the palate varies from near the uvula (for low notes) to near the alveolar ridges (for high notes). Although varying the degree of pucker will change the pitch of a pucker whistle, expert pucker whistlers will generally only make small variations to the degree of pucker, due to its tendency to affect purity of tone. By contrast, many expert musical palatal whistlers will substantially alter the position of the lips to ensure a good quality tone. Venetian gondoliers are famous for moving the lips in a way that can look like singing, whilst they whistle. Examples of whistling include:
- Ronnie Ronalde, a very famous whistler, has an autobiography entitled "Around the World On a Whistle", and many CDs."
- Roger Whittaker was first known as a musical whistler.
- The movie Kill Bill features Daryl Hannah's character whistling the same unnerving tune as from the 1968 film Twisted Nerve.
- Andrew Bird, singer, songwriter, violinist and guitarist bills himself as a professional whistler as well.
- Ilse Werner, German singer and actress, was especially known for her whistling.
- Bobbejaan Schoepen, a Flemish entertainer, singer, guitarist, composer, former actor, and founder of one of the most popular theme parks in Europe: Bobbejaanland. Bobbejaan is well known for his outstanding whistling, but in the late 1980s he lost his whistle gift due to an operative intervention. (in the 1960s Ilse Werner performed in his shows in the Bobbejaanland park)
- Toots Thielemans, is a Belgian jazz artist well known for his guitar, harmonica playing, and also for his highly accomplished professional whistling. He is often credited by jazz aficionados and jazz critics as being among the greatest jazz hamonica players of the century.
- Claude Debussy was going to write the role of the Devil for a whistler in his opera The Devil in the Belfry, but the work was left unfinished.
- Kent uses whistling in their song "Dom Andra".
- Peter Bjorn and John uses whistling in their song "Young Folks".
- Whistling Jack Smith uses whistling in his song "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman".
- Robert Stemmons plays The Loyal Whistler in Cirque du Soleil's Corteo.
- Bing Crosby whistled and trilled in some of his songs, including White Christmas. He could imitate a birdcall and then riff on it with a swing styling.
- Les Paul whistles and is capable of duotone.
- Elmo Tanner who toured with the Ted Weems Orchestra and whistled in "Heart Aches" and "The High and the Mighty"
- Fred Lowery (the blind whistler)
- Chris Ullman, 2000 International Grand Champion.
- Mike Cooney, 2001 International Grand Champion.
- Steve Herbst, 2002 International Grand Champion.
- David Morris, 2003 International Grand Champion.
- Geert Chatrou, 2004 and 2005 International Grand Champion.
- Terry Rappold, 2007 International Grand Champion.
- Louis Armstrong rarely whistled on disk but was very skillful when he did.
- Ron McCroby 1934-2002, jazz whistler.
- Brother Bones 1903-1974, had a big hit with "Sweet Georgia Brown" which was used as the warm up music of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Whistling and Superstition
Whistling in theatre, particularly on-stage, is considered extremely unlucky. Before the invention of electronic means of communication, often sailors were used as stage technicians, working with the complicated rope systems associated with flying. Coded whistles would be used to call cues, so it is thought that whistling on-stage may cause, for example, a cue to come early, a "sailor's ghost" to drop a batten or flat on top of you, or general bad luck in the performance. In Russian and other Slavic cultures, whistling indoors is superstitiously believed to bring poverty ("whistling money away"), whereas whistling outdoors is considered normal. [1] In Serbia, it is said that when you whistle indoors mice will come.
Whistling on board a sailing ship is thought to encourage the wind strength to increase (although this can be good, up to a point, for wind-driven ships, it can naturally become dangerous if the wind becomes too strong). This is regularly alluded to the Aubrey-Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian.
See also
- Puccalo
- Mouth music
- Tin whistle
- Slide whistle
- Wolf-whistling
- Throat singing
- Irish whistling champions
External links
- The Art of Whistling
- How to Whistle
- Whistling Lessons Describing how to pucker whistle, do vibrato and staccato, and how to whistle loudly with two fingers
- How to Whistle With Two Hands
- How to Whistle Loudly
- International Artwhistling Philharmonic Society
- Dictionary of Whistling
- International Whistlers Convention
- Pucker Up: The Fine Art of Whistling: a documentary of the 31st Louisburg International Whistling Convention competition in Louisburg, North Carolina.
- Orawhistle - Global Whistlers Forum This Internet discussion forum has more than 700 members from around the world. It has extensive databases on whistling technique and other whistling-related information such as quotations that refer to whistling, popular songs with whistling in them, words for whistling in other languages, and available whistling CDs and tapes. Owned and moderated by Canadian whistler, Linda Parker Hamilton
- The OnLine Guide to Whistling Records
