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2torial #0876:
Learn2 Whistle (Continued)
Method 2: Fingerless
Whistle
The fingerless whistle is a natural outgrowth of
the fingered whistle. In the first method, you use
your fingers to keep the lip taut and in place.
With the next method, you remove your fingers and
don't use them at all (except to cross them for
good luck). Instead of using your fingers, you rely
on your muscles in your lips, cheeks, and jaw.
Since this technique requires greater control of
those muscles, it may be easier to master the
fingered whistle first, and then move on to the
fingerless method.
 Draw back lips
- Begin by extending the lower jaw
slightly, and pulling the corners of your mouth
back a bit, towards your ears. Your bottom teeth
should not be visible, but it's fine if your
upper teeth are.
- Your bottom lip should be quite taut
against the lower teeth; if you have need
help with this movement, press an index and
middle fingertip on either side of the mouth to
draw the lip slightly out to the corners.
Note: this action is not an insertion of
the fingers into the mouth, as the first method
indicated. In this instance, you're simply
stretching the lower lip a bit, and the
fingertips aren't in the airstream.
 Draw back the tongue
Now comes the crucial part of the whistle.
- The tongue must be drawn back so that
it sort of floats in the mouth at the level of
the lower front teeth. This action also broadens
and flattens the front edge of the tongue, yet
there's still a space between the tongue and the
lower front teeth.
- The sound of the whistle comes from
air that is blown over a bevel, or a sharply
angled edge. In this case, the sound is created
by the upper teeth and tongue forcing air on to
the lower lip and teeth.
 Blow
Steps 2 and 3 follow each other
very closely, if not simultaneously.
- Inhale deeply and exhale--the air
should flow under your tongue, up through the
space between the tongue and teeth, and out of
the mouth. Experiment with the position of the
fingers, the draw of the tongue, the angle of
the jaw, and the strength of your exhalation.
- Start off with a fairly gentle blow.
You'll produce a whistle of lower volume,
but you'll also have more breath to practice
with if you don't spend it all in the first
three seconds.
- Using your upper lip and teeth, direct
the air downwards and towards your lower
teeth. The focus of the air is crucial for
this technique--you should be able to feel the
air on the underside of your tongue. And if your
hold your finger below your lower lip, you
should feel the downward thrust of air when you
exhale.
- As you blow, adjust your tongue and jaws to
find the sweet spot. This is the area of
maximum efficiency, where the air is blown
directly over the sharpest part of the bevel.
This results in a strong, clear tone that's
constant, as opposed to a breathy, lower-volume
sound that fades in and out.
- Listen for the following: the sound
you'll start with will sound as if you're
letting air out of a tire. Every now and then,
the clear and full tone will come through, and
you'll know that it's only a matter of time
before you're hailing every pet and taxi in your
community.
-end-
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