Any tips for someone that can't whistle like me?
I can't whistle at all and I find it very frustrating when I try to
, ....XsnipX........ I would love it if you guys could share any tips or ideas.
So yeah... basically lets discuss whistling!
Nice thread. Sure there's probably a dozen how-to videos out there - but why use a machine, when you have a friendly teller before you - maybe with information you can bank on.
I've been a whistler since I was a pre-teen - having had a very musical Dad, who was quite a whistler, and of course, I had to imitate 'the Man'! The first real song I could whistle was the 'Harry Lime' theme - quite a whistley song - listen to it and you'll realise why it's a good song to practise your whistle.
Basics: you can't force it. You must relax. Above all whistling is about being relaxed (which is why the unenlightened believe that someone who is whistling isn't working!)
Come to think of it though, it's hard to imagine Vettel whistling while qualifying.
Try the simple between the teeth whistle first: put the tip of your tongue against the back of your lower teeth. Blow. Experiment with different mouth shapes; what you should be doing is blowing gently over your tongue (remember to keep that tongue-tip firmly pressed against the BACK of your lower teeth).
Make an 'E' (like you are saying eeeee) with your lips as you do this. Experiment. Blow like this for about five minutes. What did you expect? Instant whistling? No. Your mouth has to get used to it - and eventually if you whistle enough, you will develop the structure for it; much like trumpet players get 'satchelmouth'. Also whistle in AND out. Suck in air gently between your upper teeth and tongue, and blow out too. You can keep actually keep breathing this way.
You'll find after a while that you are beginning to sound like a kettle about to blow steam - 'whistley'. First Hurdle.
If you master that - then move on to gently turning the 'eeee' of your lips into an 'ou'. Again blow in as well as out; when the 'whistley' sound starts to come, then gently experiment with the fine-tuning of the shape of the 'ou' you are making with your lips - and suddenly there you are - a clear concert flute tone!
Above all - relax, relax, relax. Stop if you tense up.
I can whistle pretty well, just can't do the real loud one with my fingers.
My favourite is to do a magpie call haha, sounds so real even the birds reply
Fryz - okay, put down that rum for a second; you'll need both hands for this; put the index and middle finger of each hand (curl the other fingers away) on either side of your mouth (extreme ends). While doing this catch the tip of your tongue and bend it backwards down towards the middle of your tongue. Purse your lips a bit. Blow. Give it some short, sharp breathe-outs. Experiment with pressing the tip of your tongue backwards until you get the right configuration: this is not the 'relax' whistle. This is the 'call-out' one and so has a bit of adrenaline in it. I use this whistle sometime (it has a three-note melody) to call my kids from as far as a quarter-mile away. Comes in handy when they get separated from me in a crowd, too. I can whistle this one so loud, that my ears sing from the sonic shock when I blow it.
Whistling is also a good tongue exercise; and you need an adept tongue when you need to knot that cherry-stem.
As for the bird-calls; LOL! I do that, too. Makes some of them pretty angry, judging from the territoriality of the responses. They think I'm there to steal their bird-brained mates. They're cuckoo.
Good luck, guys! And whistle while you work!
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