Can you whistle?

My grandpa could pucker up and whistle like a bird. He'd drive you nuts whistling the same thing over and over. It's like he got a happy tune in his head and it came out as a whistle.
He could whistle anything he heard a time or two. He couldn't read music but you knew what song he was whistling after just a few notes.
Whistling isn't something everyone can do. Just as with any instrument one has to practice a lot to get good. Nice thing about whistling is there's nothing to lug around and keep track of. You can practice while sitting on the can...a little weird, but possible.
After he passed I got to missing his whistling. I can still see him working on stuff and just whistling away. Still brings a tear...
Anyway, I puckered up and found that I, too, can whistle. I can whistle just like he did. If I hear a good song a few times I can whistle it. I found that whistling a good song can put me in a good frame of mind regardless of what's going on. It has that effect on people around me, too. Further, I found that I'm more productive when I'm whistling.
But, just like grandpa, I get a song in my head and for days that's what I whistle. I try to be congnescent and whistle softly but that rarely lasts long before I'm full volume again...it drives me nuts sometimes.
My mother couldn't whistle a tune, as a matter of fact she hated whistling and wouldn't allow it in her house. She could blast a long, very loud whistle that us kids learned to respond to immediately, if not, then sooner! I taught myself to do that blast but I have to use my fingers. I can put out an ear shattering blast. I warn people around me to cover their ears if I have to blast one to get someone's attention from distance. My children learned to respond to that whistle. Sitting in a crowded gymnasium attending my son's college graduation, he found me in the bleachers by that whistle.
I ran across a 9 year old boy that can whistle pretty good. He's in the family so we can jam occasionally. He's driving his mother nuts, too. I got the look from hell when she overheard me encouraging him to whistle more.
Can you whistle? What's the tune you do most? Mine is Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

I can whistle a tune, but I don't hubs always whistles "good king wenslaslas" (sp) drives me batty I hate christmas songs, he does it kind of under his tongue makes a hissy whistle not as loud as a "normal" whistle. I do call the dogs with a two tone whiste but that's about it, and I cannot manage to do the one with fingers at all.

I can whistle in both the puckered way and the less-tuneful way with the front of the tongue is up near the hard palate (I think that's the under-the-tongue way).

I don't know how to whistle with fingers. I don't understand it, and until this moment it hasn't even occurred to me to Google it. But I can see how it might come in handy in a pinch.

-CK

yeah, i can whistle. most of time it’s improvisational and not really already existing songs.

I've whistled since I saw the movie 'Pinocchio '  as a kid.  Had to imitate Jiminy Cricket.  Even now, when my voice is shot, I still whistle.  Usually  'Baby Elephant Walk'.

I can whistle, although it was something that took a day or two of trying for me to figure out.

Now if you want to try something that's fun (and not something I've mastered yet), try getting some low harmonies in there by puckering your face to whistle but instead of breathing out, hum!

I love to whistle. Melodies are easy, but it's birdsong that gives me a tough time. Some of those trill-note combinations are really difficult.

I can whistle but not loud. I want to be able to whistle loud, without fingers, like a cowboy, hahaha.

I used to semi-unconsciously whistle the loony tunes theme whenever stupid was happening at work. I actually got called out for it once and that sucked.

Dan Fish wrote:I can whistle but not loud. I want to be able to whistle loud, without fingers, like a cowboy, hahaha.

I used to semi-unconsciously whistle the loony tunes theme whenever stupid was happening at work. I actually got called out for it once and that sucked.

Guess someone caught on ;)

I've been known to whistle the 'Jeopardy ' theme while waiting for something to happen.

Myron Platte wrote:I love to whistle. Melodies are easy, but it's birdsong that gives me a tough time. Some of those trill-note combinations are really difficult.

I can manage a bob white quail occasionally, but you're right. Bird song is tough!

My childhood friend taught me to whistle so loud the windows rattled on every house around. Slight exaggeration...but it really was super loud.

That sweet summer was spent whistling for each other when we were on the way to meet up for the day's adventures. The neighbors probably wanted to kill us lol! It was done with the two index fingers. She went away for a couple of weeks and when she came back I tried to teach her how I figured out how to do it with one hand. She never could get the hang of it. I then "graduated" to being able to do it without help from my fingers, and still can to this day. It is LOUD, but, try as I might, the finger method still is louder than the sans-finger method.

Comes in handy at times.

I have very little talent in whistling tunes.

M James wrote:
I tried to teach her how I figured out how to do it with one hand.

I have the one handed finger thing figured out. I never could blast without fingers as much as I tried.
The finger method has its drawbacks. It might not be the method of choice for, say, a proctologist, but a good wash takes care of all that.
My pinkies are usually clean enough if I absolutely have to blast. I always have to weigh the necessity of blasting against what's on my hands.
Like yours, mine is loud. Real loud. How do we not hurt our own ears when we're blasting?

When we are out and about I call my wife with the bob white whistle when I loose her.  Dad and I used to call in bob whites all of the time.  Right now the whippoorwill is going through my mind.  I usually get griped at for whistling.

Michael Dotson wrote:

M James wrote:
I tried to teach her how I figured out how to do it with one hand.

I have the one handed finger thing figured out. I never could blast without fingers as much as I tried.
The finger method has its drawbacks. It might not be the method of choice for, say, a proctologist, but a good wash takes care of all that.
My pinkies are usually clean enough if I absolutely have to blast. I always have to weigh the necessity of blasting against what's on my hands.
Like yours, mine is loud. Real loud. How do we not hurt our own ears when we're blasting?

That is exactly why I wanted to learn how to do it without using my fingers. I've always been grossed out by putting my fingers in my mouth without washing them first, but when you're outside and need to whistle loudly then, yep, you do what you have to do.

It is so loud it does hurt my ears, and the ears of anybody in close proximity, no getting around that. When I practiced it, I learned to get out in the open instead of being around buildings, because of the sound bouncing right back to me from off the houses, etc. But, how awesomely cool is it to have this skill?! It was worth it. Love it!

I wish I could whistle.

I'm going to try my best to 'teach' myself.

Lets see how that goes!

Yep I like to try and mimic the birds when I'm outside working, my favorite recent tunes I've heard, and have a special one to get the dogs back if they wander off. I love whistling and singing/talking out loud but these are things I typically only do alone at my place! The neighbors probably think I'm nuts - it's amazing out in the country you can hear things a mile away!

The one neighbor I know pretty well calls the crows in just about every morning and afternoon for a little snack, so I'm not worried about what anyone thinks, its better than loud exhaust and gun shots IMO...which are the normal.

I remember trying so hard as a kid to whistle, and Dad giving me pointers, or at least encouragement. He was the family whistler - he had a special one that was only his which was mostly used to gather the family in department stores, or other crowded public places. We knew when it was time to leave the toy aisle by that whistle! It was brief but melodic; not piercing, but pleasant.

It seemed like it took ages, but one day I finally got all the bits positioned right, and a note came out! Now I like to whistle improvised tunes while working. My favorite birds to back-and-forth with are mourning doves. I can't whistle with fingers, and I never could master the way of blowing through your hands using a blade of grass between your thumbs as a reed.

I remember we kids used our whistles for naughtiness: sometimes when Mom had water on we'd imitate a just-boiling kettle's stuttering whistle to get a rise out of her. She was awfully forgiving; I doubt I'd have as much patience as she did in that case.

Sara Hartwin wrote:...I never could master the way of blowing through your hands using a blade of grass between your thumbs as a reed...

The trick is having both thumbs kinked a little at the joint, while getting the grass blade clamped in there, then straightening your thumbs to tighten it up! And a small, kind of tight ""O" with your mouth, blow very hard! I love doing that sometimes! I think the cows over yonder like hearing it, too!

Dad used to whistle for us when we were children. He had a particular whistle that could be heard above traffic, noisy conversation etc. I was discouraged from learning by him (and mum) repeating the saying "A whistling woman and a crowing hen are neither good for God nor men" (Another version states that "A whistling woman and a crowing hen drive the devil from his den). I therefore never learned to whistle either loudly or tunefully but can make a soft sound which is of no use at all! Maybe I should begin now?