Whistling facts for kids
Whistling is when you make a sound by blowing or sucking air through a small gap in your lips. You can also use your tongue, teeth, or fingers to change the sound. Your tongue helps make the sound louder, like a special echo chamber. By moving your lips, tongue, and fingers, you can make different kinds of whistles.
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How We Whistle
The most common way to whistle is called pucker whistling. You make a small "O" shape with your lips. Your tongue usually stays low, often behind your bottom teeth. You change the sound's pitch by moving your tongue.
Expert pucker whistlers usually keep their lips mostly still. This helps them make a clear sound. You can pucker whistle by only blowing air out. Or you can blow air out and then suck air in. Blowing only out gives a steady sound, but you need to pause to breathe. Blowing in and out means you don't run out of breath. But the sound might not be as steady.
Some expert whistlers, called palatal whistlers, move their tongue a lot. This helps them make a good quality sound. For example, gondola drivers in Venice are known for moving their tongues like they are singing. Luke Janssen, who won the 2009 World Whistling Competition, is a great palatal whistler.
Finger whistling is harder to learn. But it can make a very loud, piercing sound. In an opera called Mefistofele, the main character uses finger whistling to show he is defiant.
You can also whistle by blowing air through your cupped hands. Or you can use a special instrument like a whistle. Even a blade of grass or a leaf can be used to make a whistling sound.
Whistling Competitions
One famous whistling contest is the International Whistlers Convention (IWC). This event happened every year in Louisburg, North Carolina, from 1973 to 2013. It had champions for adults, teenagers, and children.
Christopher W. Ullman is a very successful whistler from Virginia. He has won the IWC many times. He is even in the International Whistling Hall of Fame. Ullman won the main championship three times: in 1996, 1999, and 2000. In 1999, he was named Whistling Entertainer of the Year.
According to Guinness World Records, the highest whistle ever made by a human was 10,599 Hz. This is a very high musical note (E9). Joshua Lockard did this in Southlake, Texas, on May 1, 2019. The lowest whistle was 174.6 Hz, which is an F3 musical note. Jennifer Davies from Canada did this in Germany in 2006.
The most people whistling at the same time was 853. This happened at an event called Spring Harvest in the UK on April 11, 2014.
Whistling for Communication
On La Gomera, one of Spain's Canary Islands, people still use a special whistled language called Silbo Gomero. This language uses at least nine different whistling sounds. These sounds make up four vowels and five consonants. This allows people to say many different words.
This language helped people like shepherds talk to each other over long distances. Other ways to communicate were not available back then. Now, Silbo Gomero is taught in schools. This helps make sure younger people learn it and it doesn't get lost. The Mazateco Indians in Mexico also used whistling to talk over long distances. They also used it up close with different tones.
Whistling can also be used to control trained animals, like dogs. A shepherd's whistle is often used for this.
Whistling has also been used for a long time by workers to communicate. For example, in theaters, people called flymen use whistling. This tells them when to lower or raise things like pipes or flat scenery. This way of talking became popular before electronic radios. It is still used today in some older theaters.
Some animals that live in burrows whistle to warn others about danger. For example, marmot species like the groundhog and the alpine marmot do this. Prairie dogs also use whistling to warn about threats. They have one of the most complex ways of communicating in the animal kingdom. Prairie dogs can whistle to describe an animal's speed, shape, size, and type. For humans, they can even describe their attire and if they are carrying a gun.
Usually, a sentry prairie dog stands on two feet. It watches for dangers while the others find food. If it sees a threat, the sentry whistles an alarm. Sometimes it even describes the danger. Then the other prairie dogs run into their burrows. The sentry keeps whistling until everyone is safe. Then it goes into its burrow too.
Whistling by Spectators
People often whistle at sports events. They do this to show excitement or to show they are unhappy. In the United States and Canada, whistling is like applause. It shows approval for a team or a player. For example, fans might whistle for a baseball pitcher who played well.
But in many other parts of the world, like Europe and South America, whistling means the opposite. It shows that people are unhappy with the game or a referee's decision. This kind of whistling is often very loud. People often use finger whistling for this. Whistling is also used by people at concerts to show they like the singer's talent.
Cultural Beliefs About Whistling
In many cultures, whistling in the morning is thought to bring good luck. People believe it can attract good things or good spirits.
In the UK, there is an old belief about the "Seven Whistlers." These are thought to be seven mysterious birds or spirits. They are said to whistle to warn of death or a big disaster. In the 1800s, many coal miners would refuse to go into the mines if they heard this whistling. The Seven Whistlers have been mentioned in old stories and poems. This belief is found in different parts of England and even in Wales and Portugal.
In Russian and other Slavic cultures, and also in Romania and Lithuania, people believe that whistling indoors brings poverty. They think it "whistles money away." But whistling outdoors is considered normal. In Estonia and Latvia, many people believe that whistling indoors can bring bad luck and even cause a house fire.
Sailors used to believe that whistling on a sailing ship would make the wind stronger. This idea is often mentioned in the Aubrey–Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian.
There are many superstitions in theater. One of them is against whistling backstage. A common story for this is that sailors, who were good with ropes, often worked as stage technicians. They used to use a special whistle to give cues for moving scenery. An accidental whistle might make something happen too early. Or it might make a "sailor's ghost" drop something on an actor. Also, a whistle heard by the audience during a show could be seen as bad luck.
Ancient Chinese Daoist people had a technique called transcendental whistling (chángxiào). They believed that skilled whistlers could call upon special beings, wild animals, and even change the weather.
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See also
In Spanish: Silbido para niños
- Slide whistle
- Tin whistle
- Whistle Pops
- Whistle register
