# Why am I able to whistle a tune? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833 "2023-01-26T16:05:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/21 "2024-04-01T19:01:29Z")
Those of you who whistle well and in tune are musicians perhaps without knowing it. It’s not exactly a symphonic or popular instrument, but it’s very much an instrument and you have self-trained mastery of it, which is impressive. Anybody with this kind of talent ought to check out a guitar or piano or voice - you never know where it might lead. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/22 "2024-04-01T19:04:31Z")
Golly, apologies for the bump, which was perhaps unnecessary! I have no idea why I even saw this thread, let alone why I thought it was current. _[whistles nonchalantly past]_ ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/23 "2024-04-01T22:52:10Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Roger Whittaker was a fantastic whistler; his bird calls were spot on and he’d work it into songs frequently. most definitely… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HzKQfrNseoI/maxresdefault.jpg "Roger Whittaker - Mexican Whistle (Live on Austrian TV, 1976)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzKQfrNseoI) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/24 "2024-04-03T15:38:07Z")
I was once informed by **kaylasmom** that her mother was a talented enough whistler for Disney Studios to offer her a job. Her husband didn’t want his wife to be working, though, so he insisted that she turn them down. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/25 "2024-04-03T15:48:03Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What really puzzles me is how I can whistle. Is my control of my lip muscles really so fine-tuned that I can make impossibly tiny changes to find a pitch? No. It’s the placement of your tongue that changes the pitch. A master jazz whistler and harmonica player was Jean Baptiste “Toots” Thielemans. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/26 "2024-04-03T15:52:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > No. It’s the placement of your tongue that changes the pitch. I just tried it, and I can get a fairly wide range of tones without moving my tongue. The biggest difference seems to be how wide my lips are opened. I can also vary the pitch by moving my tongue, but not by as much, and when I do it, the quality suffers. It may be that there are different ways of varying a whistle, and different people learn different ones. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/27 "2024-04-03T15:53:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I just tried it, and I can get a fairly wide range of tones without moving my tongue. The biggest difference seems to be how wide my lips are opened. I did exactly that with the same results. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/28 "2024-04-03T16:06:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It may be that there are different ways of varying a whistle, and different people learn different ones. That’s likely the case. My whistling pitch is entirely determined by the position of my tongue, both on inhale and exhale. My range is about an octave and a half. Tone is better on exhale than inhale. My lips maintain the same aperture the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/29 "2024-04-03T16:29:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Her husband didn’t want his wife to be working, though, so he insisted that she turn them down. She should have him to whistle for it. Most of my pitch change seems to come from the back of the throat where the tongue is attached. The space right above the Adam’s apple. Musical thyroid? Wow, I can pipe about two and a half octaves! Sweet! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/30 "2024-04-03T17:30:03Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > My whistling pitch is entirely determined by the position of my tongue, both on inhale and exhale. Same here. The tongue forms a trough for the air to pass through. The shallower the trough (and consequently the smaller the area in the mouth), the higher the pitch. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/31 "2024-04-03T18:11:48Z")
Am I the only one who can’t whistle AT ALL? Like, I can’t make a single sound, other than a soft whoosh of air if I really blow hard? It’s been true my entire life. What makes it a bit weirder is that I used to play flute, so you’d think whatever muscles are involved would have gotten plenty of workout. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/32 "2024-04-03T18:17:13Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > What makes it a bit weirder is that I used to play flute, so you’d think whatever muscles are involved would have gotten plenty of workout. In a flute, the air in the instrument is resonating. With whistling, it’s the air in your mouth. Very different skill, but self-teachable if you work at it. I taught myself to whistle over a boring summer week when I was 10 or so. Blow air through your mouth, while slowly adjusting your breath and your mouth. You’ll eventually resonate, and then it’s just a matter of making adjustments. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/33 "2024-04-03T18:23:04Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Am I the only one who can’t whistle AT ALL? You know how to whistle, don’t you, StarvingButStrong? You just put you lips together and… blow. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/34 "2024-04-03T19:20:37Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Strangers would often ask him if he was a professional whistler I was unaware that there were professional whistlers. Are there? Do they get paid? By whom? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/35 "2024-04-03T23:05:54Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Am I the only one who can’t whistle AT ALL? Like, I can’t make a single sound, other than a soft whoosh of air if I really blow hard? Neither can I. It’s very frustrating! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833/36 "2024-04-03T23:07:46Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I was unaware that there were professional whistlers. Are there? Do they get paid? By whom?  Apparently by Disney, for one. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I was once informed by **kaylasmom** that her mother was a talented enough whistler for Disney Studios to offer her a job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-able-to-whistle-a-tune/978833.md?page=1)