Recently I watched an old movie that included a performance by the late Bing Crosby, a crooner from the 1920s through much of the 1970s.
Singing wan’t Bing’s only musical talent. He could whistle, which he did on “The Christmas Song” and more than a dozen other tunes. He didn’t whistle much in the movie, but what he did was great.
I don’t want to brag, but I’ve whistled a bit myself. So why not teach readers what I know about the subject? (It won’t take long.)
One of the most famous references to whistling came in the 1944 movie “To Have and Have Not” when Lauren Bacall said to Humphrey Bogart, “You know how to whistle, don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow.”
Actually, if you put your lips together exactly as she suggested, you’ll just get puffed cheeks and a red face. Still, Bacall’s words are often repeated.
Despite Bing’s skill, whistling isn’t always about making music. It can also be used to call dogs, pass the time and express approval of things like a 220-pound pumpkin or member of the opposite sex (careful with the latter these days).
Some folks learn to whistle by forming their lips into the shape required by the first part of the word “whistle.” Another suggested technique is to form your tongue into an elongated circular configuration and blow.
I’ve found that you learn whistling by simply trying to whistle. When you get an acceptable sound, keep doing what you did. You may want to back up some when people around you start complaining. You could close your mouth, but that would lead to whistling through your nose, which can lead to bigger problems than learning to whistle.
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