Thread: Do You Know How TO Whistle?

For me it took 3-4 years before i coud whistle, tho i cannot do the thing with the tongue. Even making this click sound im tryin this since i was 5 years old im 17 now and still can barely do it

Originally Posted by mkk911

Most the people I know know how to whistle! and they're surprised that I don't know how to. the keep telling me that's it's easy! you just do this with your tongue and blow and stuff! but doesn't matter how much I try and nothing happens

Who else doesn't know how to whistle or have just recently learned how to?

I feel you on this one, man. Twenty years and I still can't whistle. Perhaps someone here can finally shed light on that one piece missing to masterful whistling.

Originally Posted by DarkComrade

For me it took 3-4 years before i coud whistle, tho i cannot do the thing with the tongue. Even making this click sound im tryin this since i was 5 years old im 17 now and still can barely do it

wow! 3-4 years! ... now I'm really disappointed ... but at least I can do the click sound and I can do it very loud! it's really easy! just put your tongue at the roof of your mouth (somewhere in front not in the middle or back) then ... how do I say it? lol try to pull down your tongue as hard as you can and keep your tongue touching the roof of the mouth at the same time! then drop your jaw down and release you tongue hard lol I hope you understood because it's really hard to subscribe something like this

Originally Posted by GestaltAlteration

I feel you on this one, man. Twenty years and I still can't whistle. Perhaps someone here can finally shed light on that one piece missing to masterful whistling.

Yeah I know it's devastating! specially every one who can do it says like "I can't BELIEVE you can't whistle!! it's really easy!" or something like that! so I have to learn how! and the thing is after we learn how to do it we'll be like "I can't believe I didn't know how to do it! it's easy! " and so on! but like you said I hope a pro whistler can teach us some kind of technique

I can't whistle

I can only whistle with my tongue, I don't know what you're supposed to do with your fingers to make the noise. Go play ffX to learn how.

Or read this for the tongue.

http://www.wikihow.com/Whistle-With-Your-Tongue

I learned how to whistle at a young age, may be 5 or 6. My dad practiced whistling when he was younger and is very good at it, trills and all. Ever seen Mary Poppins? He can whistle the parts from "Spoonful of Sugar." I can whistle reliably, but I don't have a very wide range and it's not very loud.

As far as the difference between whistling with the tongue or the lips, when you whistle with the tongue, is that by directing air between the tongue and teeth? If that's the case, then I can do that as well, but it's not very loud.

Originally Posted by Amethyst Star

I learned how to whistle at a young age, may be 5 or 6. My dad practiced whistling when he was younger and is very good at it, trills and all. Ever seen Mary Poppins? He can whistle the parts from "Spoonful of Sugar." I can whistle reliably, but I don't have a very wide range and it's not very loud.

As far as the difference between whistling with the tongue or the lips, when you whistle with the tongue, is that by directing air between the tongue and teeth? If that's the case, then I can do that as well, but it's not very loud.

Put your tongue against the ball of the top of your mouth. Blow at your tongue instead of your teeth. If you blow at your teeth you wont make a whistle sound.

Actually, it doesn't matter much where you put your tongue, as much as the shape of your tongue. You can do it without even touching the top of your mouth but if you put your tongue to the roof of your mouth that way and blow at your tongue I can't imagine not being able to do it, so to learn how to do it I suggest trying it that way first.

I can whistle with my toungue and teeth, but not my fingers.

One thing I notice is that I tense my cheeks into a sort of echo chamber as well as the ceramic gravy ladle shape of my tongue. If you have ever gotten a small mouthful of too-hot soup or hot chocolate, cupped your tongue, pursed your lips, and inhaled quickly to cool it, that's about the right shape.

Whistling rocks. It's a great way to relax. And annoy others.

I can whistle with the back of my mouth in some way. Not quite sure how, but it's not exactly whistling. It's deeper and has a low range of tones, though adjusting volume is easy.

I remember being 3 or 4, and wanting to whistle.
Then I remember being 7 and being able to whistle with very good range and tone, wondering why no-one could whistle.
What happened....

My tongue seems to move to whatever shape it needs to for me to whistle whatever note.
The most familiar thing to whistling for me that I've found, is playing the trumpet. Not with tongue use, but the way the air flows out, and the same minor changes my lips make to change tone/octave.

I find that cool air increases the strength of the whistle and dramatically how high and low I can go.

I can't whistle.

If I try do it, I can only make a really faint one.

I've always known how to whistle, I don't think I ever really learned. It's one of those things that you either know how to do, or you don't.

IMO it's not a big deal. Go learn to play guitar, it trumps whistling any day.

I can whistle with my lips rather well, but not as loud as doing it with your tongue. Can't do it with my tongue.

I can whistle tunes like Lord of the Rings music and Tina from FFVI and a few other things.

Edit: This is Tina:

You guys really can't whistle? I can whistle on command an extremely high-pitched noise that really fucks with your ears, I can do a low-pitch that sounds like a dove, and I can do everything in between.

I don't use my tongue, teeth or fingers, I only need my lips. I've never even heard of people using their teeth.

Originally Posted by Black_Eagle

You guys really can't whistle? I can whistle on command an extremely high-pitched noise that really fucks with your ears, I can do a low-pitch that sounds like a dove, and I can do everything in between.

I don't use my tongue, teeth or fingers, I only need my lips. I've never even heard of people using their teeth.

You can't not use your tongue, the tongue is the (word for stone that supports the other stones). It is what directs the air to your lips...It is like saying you speak without your tongue...just your lips.

I can whistle a continuous two octave range using the space between my tongue and lips, and hit notes accurately. I can also hit a few notes quite a ways below that range and make a Mourning Dove kind of sound. And I can do a sort of double chamber whistle at a very narrow range of pitch, where I make the sound with a space between my tongue and the roof of my mouth, and then amplify it to a really loud level with the space between my tongue and my lips. The latter is so loud that I cover my own ears when I do it! lol

I can't whistle blowing out, only inhaling air

Originally Posted by Marvo

I can whistle with the back of my mouth in some way. Not quite sure how, but it's not exactly whistling. It's deeper and has a low range of tones, though adjusting volume is easy.

They did this in Get Fuzzy. Satchel (a laborador/shar-pei mix) thought he could whistle. Rob (the owner) tries to explain why that isn't whistling. And Bucky (the angry siamese cat) yells at the to stop pucker-screaming so he can get some sleep. Meh, the comic itself was pretty funny.

@jeff777: I do that too. i practiced for a long time to be able to seamlessly transition between an inhale-whistle and a regular whistle, just to unnerve people by doing one low whistle for several minutes without stopping to breath.

I can't whistle too.

I can whistle with my lips, tongue, fingers/thumbs

Originally Posted by Sandform

I can only whistle with my tongue, I don't know what you're supposed to do with your fingers to make the noise. Go play ffX to learn how.

Or read this for the tongue.

http://www.wikihow.com/Whistle-With-Your-Tongue

I CAN'T DO IT!!

All attempts for this wikihow and related whistle topics returned as fail. Fail.

EDIT: I could whistle actually, but with my own personal technique. I can't whistle loud and I can't control the tones, because it would destroy the sound completely. Oh well, as long as it attracts attention.

I couldn't whistle until 8th grade I think. One night I just stayed up and wouldn't go to bed until I could whistle. It took a couple hours if I recall correctly. Now I whistle all the time!

I can whistle!