How to Whistle

Can you whistle? Can you sing? Usually people who can't sing well whistle the songs that they like, rather than embarrass themselves. If you don't know how to whistle, you should learn how. It comes in handy when you want to ignore a stranger, or when you want to get someone's attention. Here are some tips on learning how to whistle.

Basic Whistling
Another way to whistle

Basic Whistling

Open your mouth slightly and keep it open. It should be making a small "O" shape. Make sure that you lips are tight.

Tongue Positioning

Use the tip of your tongue to find the ridge on the roof of your mouth.

Put the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, in front of that ridge and closer to your teeth.

Flatten your whole tongue until it reaches that ridge.

Take the tip of your tongue from the roof of your mouth so that it is close to touching but not quite.

Keep the rest of your tongue where it is, touching the roof.

As an alternative, the tongue can be positioned behind your bottom front teeth. It should be tight and slightly arched. The tongue would pretty much be pushing against the front teeth from being so tight.

Experiment with moving the whole system around a little, but keep the main structure the same.

If you do it right, then when you blow out through that system you will notice a hole between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, and a whistling noise!

You may not want to blow too hard at first; it's much easier to whistle with a small amount of air. Also, it may be easier to produce a strong, pure note if you wet your lips first. Practice by whistling your favorite song or tune.

Another way to whistle

Whistling can be done in a lot of different ways. There are whistles you can make with your fingers, with your hands, wolf whistles and even whistles using a blade of grass. You can even sing and whistle or hum and whistle at the same time, and there are also two kinds of whistle you can make with just your mouth; the Pucker Whistle and the Palate Whistle.

What better way to grab someone's attention from a distance or hail a cab better than to whistle with the help of your fingers? Most people who are able to do this have trouble explaining how they do it, but there are plenty of ways that you can practice and eventually get it perfect.

Take the first two fingers from both hands, bring them together like two guns.

Have your palms facing you, and make the tips of your middle fingers touch, side-by-side.

Curl your tongue up and backwards

Place your middle fingers on the middle to top of the underside of your tongue.

Blow!

Did you whistle? Keep practicing, if not.

There are many ways to pull off the finger whistle, so there is no need to worry if this particular technique did not work for you. Simply find another method, try it out, and practice.

There may be some people who have a hard time making a whistle noise, but if you practice and follow the instructions listed here, you will be sure to be a pro-whistler before you can even say "name that tune".

Practice makes perfect, so the more you try, the better you will get at it.