Whistling

The path

1. 1
   Level 1Free when it opens

   First Notes

   A clean scale and your first tune

   15 Steps, about 29 minutes each. Anyone who can't whistle yet, or can only whistle one wobbly note. No experience needed.

   1. Chapter 1: Your first sound. Get a whistle out, clean up the tone, move the pitch, build breath control, and whistle your first tune.
   2. Chapter 2: Pitch and range. Match notes, whistle a scale, train your ear, push your range and learn to warble.
   3. Chapter 3: Your first song. Choose a tune that fits your range, learn it phrase by phrase, plan your breaths and record it.

   1. 1
      Make a first sound

      A whistled note of any kind, even airy, recorded on your phone.

      A pucker whistle is air passing through a small round hole in your lips and making the space inside your mouth ring, the same way blowing across a bottle top makes it hum. Your lips make the hole, your tongue shapes the space, and gentle air does the rest.

      The detail almost everyone gets wrong at first is blowing too hard. Strong air just makes a rushing hiss. A whistle needs a gentle, steady stream, about as much as you'd use to cool a spoonful of soup. The second detail is moisture. Dry lips don't seal well, so wet them first.

      Here's how it usually goes. You round your lips as if saying "oo", leaving a hole about the size of a pencil eraser or smaller. The tip of your tongue rests lightly behind your bottom front teeth. You blow gently, and nothing but air comes out. Then you make tiny changes, one at a time: a slightly smaller hole, the tongue a little further forward, a bit less air. Somewhere in there, a faint tone appears.

      When you get it, freeze everything and blow again. Any tone counts today, however airy. If nothing comes after 15 minutes, stop. Whistling often clicks overnight once your mouth has explored the shapes. Try again tomorrow for 10 minutes.

      WhistlersBrother, 3:09
      Show your group
   2. 2
      Clean up the tone

      A note held for three seconds with more tone than air.

      WhistlersBrother, 1:17
   3. 3
      Move the pitch

      Slide your whistle up and down like a siren, using your tongue.

      WhistlersBrother, 8:23

   See all 15 Steps

   1. 4
      Hold long notes

      A steady note held for eight seconds, three times in a row.

      Whistlin'Chris, 6:34
   2. 5
      Whistle your first tune

      'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' or 'Happy Birthday' whistled through and recorded.

      Videojug, 2:04
      Show your group
   3. 6
      Match a note

      Hear a note on the virtual piano and whistle it back, in tune, five times.
   4. 7
      Whistle a scale

      A major scale up and down, in tune, checked against the piano.

      WhistlersBrother, 8:23
   5. 8
      Stretch your range

      Your lowest and highest clean notes written down, and two new notes added at each end.

      WhistlersBrother, 7:23
   6. 9
      Hear intervals

      Whistle a third, a fifth and an octave above a note you hear.

      Rick Beato, 3:43
   7. 10
      Learn to warble

      A fast, even warble between two notes, held for three seconds.

      WhistlersBrother, 6:15
      Show your group
   8. 11
      Pick your song

      One song chosen that fits inside your whistling range.

      Sam Nulton, 8:26
   9. 12
      Learn it phrase by phrase

      The whole melody whistled from memory, learned without any tutorial.
   10. 13
       Plan your breaths

       Breath marks on your song, and a run-through with no gasps.
   11. 14
       Practice recording

       Three practice recordings, each with one specific fix.

       Songs By Spencer, 5:09
   12. 15
       Record your song

       A final recording of your song, whistled cleanly start to finish, shared with your group.
       Show your group
2. 2
   Level 2Unlocks after Level 1

   Tunes and Technique

   Three songs with vibrato, recorded

   15 Steps, about 34 minutes each. People who finished Whistling 1, or anyone who can whistle a clean scale and a simple tune, checked with a tuner.

   1. Chapter 1: Technique. Add vibrato, articulation, slides and inhaled whistling, then record a second song using them.
   2. Chapter 2: Musicianship. Use dynamics, try the roof whistle, play with backing tracks, learn a tune by ear, and record song three.
   3. Chapter 3: Your set. Build a three-song set, run it daily, make each song your own and record it.

   1. 1
      Find your vibrato

      A held note that starts straight and turns into an even vibrato.

      Vibrato is a small, regular wave in pitch on a held note. It's what makes good whistling sound warm instead of thin and electronic. Without it, a long whistled note can sound like a kettle. With a little, it sounds like a voice.

      Whistlers make vibrato in one of two ways. The first is a gentle pulse of air from the belly, as if silently laughing "ha-ha-ha" very smoothly. The second is a tiny, quick movement of the jaw or tongue. Both work; most people find one comes more naturally. The detail beginners miss is size and speed. Good vibrato is small and fairly quick, about five or six waves a second. Wide, slow wobbles sound shaky and nervous.

      Here's an example. Whistle a comfortable note perfectly straight for two seconds. Then, keeping everything else still, start a gentle belly pulse. If that doesn't take, try a very slight jaw movement instead. Watch the tuner: the needle should swing evenly a little either side of the note, without the letter changing.

      Done right, the note starts straight and turns into an even shimmer. Save vibrato for long notes, especially at the ends of phrases. Expect it to be uneven for a few days. Practice a few notes daily.

      WhistlersBrother, 6:48
      Show your group
   2. 2
      Tongue your notes

      A scale whistled three ways: slurred, tongued with 'too', and tongued softly with 'doo'.

      Clarinet HQ, 5:29
   3. 3
      Add slides and grace notes

      A phrase from one of your songs with a slide up into one note and a grace note before another.

      Frank Oppedijk, 1:36

   See all 15 Steps

   1. 4
      Whistle on the in-breath

      A note whistled while breathing in, and a phrase that switches between out and in.

      Gab Lam, 7:09
   2. 5
      Record song two

      A second song learned and recorded with vibrato and at least one ornament.
      Show your group
   3. 6
      Play with volume

      A phrase whistled soft, medium and loud, all with clean tone.

      Geert Chatrou (TED), 15:06
   4. 7
      Try the roof whistle

      A first sound with the roof (palatal) whistle, and a short scale if it comes.

      Kindo, 16:50
   5. 8
      Whistle with a track

      Song two whistled along with a backing track in the right key.

      WhistlersBrother, 8:23
   6. 9
      Learn a tune by ear

      A new short tune learned by ear alone, with no tutorial, and whistled from memory.
   7. 10
      Record song three

      Your third song learned and recorded with a technique from this Era.

      Sam Nulton, 8:26
      Show your group
   8. 11
      Build your set

      A three-song set list with order, keys and a short intro for each.
   9. 12
      Run it daily

      The full set run once a day for three days, from memory.
   10. 13
       Make it yours

       One personal choice added to each song: a different ending, an ornament, a dynamic shape or a tempo.
   11. 14
       Set up to record

       A recording setup tested, with a sound check of one song.

       Songs By Spencer, 5:09
   12. 15
       Record your set

       Your three-song set recorded in one session, shared with your group.
       Show your group

Where it ends: a recorded 3-song whistled set

Free lessons in First Notes come from WhistlersBrother, Sean Michael Murray, Whistlin'Chris, Videojug, Recursive Arts, Rick Beato, Sam Nulton, Songs By Spencer, National Geographic, musictheory.net, Kindo, Howcast. We link to their work and never copy it.