Do You Whistle?

[June]

I whistle pretty well...currently have "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's Life of Brian stuck in my head...my dad, however, was the best whistler I've ever heard.

 

[MJrules]

I remember when I was a kid, I decided I was going to learn to whistle darnit! So every morning after I brushed my teeth I would get on a stool and watch myself blow air in front of the bathroom mirror...and one day I whistled! I've never actually tried whistling songs but I do weird bird twitters and really loud "toots" (what else to call it?) that I can up the irritating-factor on by "tooting" on the inhale, too. It's fun when you have an empty house to yourself...or a sister who keeps you up by playing computer games all night.
Mostly, though, I just unconsciously mumble tuneless "do-do-doo's".

 

[SamMarlowPI]

and the Magnificent 7 theme...

 

[katiemakeup]

I can whistle, but rarely do. I wish I could do the whistle thing where you see in the movies to hail a cab!

 

[pgoat]

So does anyone whistle?

No.

I wish I could!

 

[scotrace]

I whistle too much. I try to remember the line from (can't remember which) Jon Wayne film, "Damn a man who whistles."

I can actually, though it's hit or miss, whistle two part harmony at once.

 

[Kahuna]

I just finished watching the documentary about whistling, "Pucker Up", and thought it might be time to resurrect this topic for the people, like myself, who weren't here 2 years ago.

The golden era we all love was also the golden era for whistling and many big bands would feature a segment with a whistler like Fred Lowery or Muzzy Marcellino. Crooners like Crosby got into the act occasionally too. Even into the sixties there were a few whistling hits like "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman" and the theme from the Andy Griffith Show. Since that time though it somehow has become unhip to whistle in public, which is a shame because it's such a happy sound. As one of the people in the movie said, "It's impossible to be sad while you're whistling." We're nowhere near the level of the people in this movie but my wife and I have enjoyed whistling, separately and together, for years. Anybody else out there who's an unashamed whistler?

[video=youtube;zQQ5sEOhbjQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQQ5sEOhbjQ[/video]

 

[Widebrim]

I do whistle from time to time (and I don't mean just the shrill blow that I use to rally up the cats), but I really don't like it when people do so loudly in public as if they are the only ones listening.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Yes, I'm a whistler and have been told more than once - Stop!

-dixon cannon

 

[Kahuna]

There is, or at least should be, an etiquette involved with whistling. Some people have very shrill whistles that don't go over well in an enclosed space. I usually whistle at home or when I'm out on a walk. It's usually frowned upon in a business environment.

 

[Engrishman]

When I was a child it was the norm for men to whistle and women to sing.

I find myself bemused by this quote, because I'm a fellow who can sing in the baritone-tenor range but can't whistle a single note. Is this purely incompetence on my part, I wonder? That is, can I actually learn to whistle, or is there something (genetically) preventing me from doing so? As much as I tried to whistle as a child, I never could.

 

[Pompidou]

I can whistle, but I can't snap my fingers. I don't whistle.

 

[Kahuna]

After 23 years of marriage I just discovered tonight that my wife can whistle while intaking air, something I cannot do for the life of me.

 

[shazzabanazza]

I whistle I cant help myself when theres a good song on. My father is a whistler too.

 

[Shangas]

I confess to being an avid whistler and mediocre singer.

 

[The Good]

I have not been able to whistle until recent years, maybe three or four years ago. The funny thing is, I learned it after trying it again (my younger brother coaching me all the while) while watching a James Bond film, I think it might have been one of the Timothy Dalton ones, there was a reference to whistling, and I wanted to do it...

I rarely whistle in public, but this thread is inspiring me to do it a bit more often. Maybe not in the company of family, but around complete and total strangers.

 

[Swing Motorman]

I whistle too. Interestingly, I can whistle just as well inhaling as exhaling. Must be all the harmonica playing, which also involves both!

Whistling to me is like a personal soundtrack, and if used well, you can even communicate with it. From well-timed romantic ballads to "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" verses, or even just whistling your favorite tune around people you've just met. It can describe your music tastes or convey thoughts or humor in an artful way. :whistling ♫♪♫♪

 

[Derek WC]

I whistle a lot -- I can even do those trick Al Jolson tremolos and trills.

No kidding? How do you?

I whistle all the time, however I've been told I'm a better singer. I can whistle in and out, but better in.

Oh yes, I figured I'd say this. I was whistling 'Silent Night' one time in the halls of school, and got quite a few dirty looks.
My question is what have people now days have against whistling?

 

[Feraud]

I whistle I cant help myself when theres a good song on. My father is a whistler too.

I picked up the habit from my dad too.

 

[Miss sofia]

I whistle if i'm nervous in public, then catch myself doing it and get really embarassed!

My Grandpa could whistle beautifully and he taught me to whistle passably when i was a kid, although i can't really sing.

One of the great joys of parenting was teaching my son to click his fingers and whistle - about the only time i have ever been cool in his eyes i would imagine, was when i did a traffic stopping wolf whistle in the high street to show him how it was done!