Whistling

[aliothsan]

I used to never be able to whistle. I could do the "owl" thing with my hands, but not with enough control to play songs.

Through practice, I've become able to whistle, sort of. Range is still limited, and tone sometimes goes in and out. But I can whistle.

(I still can't wolf-whistle, which annoys me.)

Comments

[banjomensch]

I've heard the hand-whistle thing called "hootling" and like that best

[candrodor]

My whistling, I think, is weird. I get a sound, but it's quite quiet. I have a gap between my two frontmost teeth. If I put my tongue up, kind of rounded like /^\ shape, held just behind this gap, fairly central, but not actually touching the alveodental ridge or my teeth, I get some sort of whistle. Vary the pitch by changing the shape or position of my tongue slightly. I've never actually known how other people whistly properly, and I've not actually worked out how to describe my whistly until now. How do you whistle?

[aliothsan]

I just purse my lips like normal, I think. And change pitch by changing...um...the same thing as vowel height.

[vvvexation]

You purse your lips without doing anything special with your tongue? I use my tongue like candrodor, although lip-pursing is also involved, and I thought that was how everyone did it although I don't get a great sound doing it myself.

[aliothsan]

*thinks*...My tongue is pointed and centered, not really touching anything. Doesn't move.

[lightflake]

I can't whistle normally at all. I can do a sort of whistle by forcing air through my front teeth (no noticeable gap, but there is enough to get air through) that most people can't hear; it's on the very edge of my range. I've fallen out of practice with it, though.