The things that make a whistler, A Whistler

Most of us can produce the whistling sound. Some of us can also perform tunes. But there is a lot more involved in the making of a really good whistler.


I believe that any person who can simply produce the whistling sound can blossom into an expert whistler. I have understood that it has everything to do with a whistler's ingenuity in coordinating between his/her brain and the whistle producing part(lips, tongue etc). For some, this tongue-brain coordination is high naturally, for others it is not so. What I mean by coordination is, for instance, a person with very good handwriting would have a high finger-brain coordination or a natural baseball hitter would have a high hand-brain coordination. But this also comes with practice. One of my friends started whistling only at the age of 15, but by the time she was 23, she started performing like a pro. 


So, producing the basic whistling sound is the first stage. Once this is done, the next step is to perform a basic tune. Here comes the necessity for a person to have an ear for music. Well, its just like singing. When we sing, we play a tune inside our minds and then we sing right? So the same principle applies here as well. Some people can sing without changing the Sruthi or pitch etc. That requires talent and practice. Jeffery Archer, in one of his interviews said that success can be achieved only with hard work(or practice) immaterial of the amount of talent that one has. Without much talent and a lot of practice, one can still see success. But even with a lot of talent, success eludes one who disregards practice. So whistling, just like any other art, requires practice. So, with practice, and an ear for music, one can whistle tunes without violating the pitch. 


Now that this is done, its about improving it and making it sound more sonorous and clean as a whistle should be. Ordinary, stereo typed  film songs are relatively easy to whistle. But Semi-Classical and melodious film songs on the other hand, require a lot more control and prowess to perform. In this stage, a whistler should be able to develop the ability to have more breath control and power in his whistling. He should be able to reiterate the exact nuances as per the original song(which is not a simple task). I have seen people with this gifted ability to sing a song in its exact form after having listened to it just a couple of times. My friend Ramanan Viswanath and one of my undergrad juniors Srikkanth have this incredible talent. Either a person is gifted with this or it comes with more knowledge of carnatic music or advanced western music. Such people can identify the exact scale of any song at anytime. 


After this, a whistler can start focusing on perfecting specific styles in whistling which would add more charm in the performance. Styles such as vibrato and warble when perfected and done at the right places, would showcase the class in a whistler. 


I wanted to talk about carantic whistling, but I'll write about it in another blog. Its just that there are so many aspects involved in whistling in the art form and I wish that it is treated at least at par with other musical arts if not above.


Charun

My Soul - Whistling

For my first blog, I couldn't think of anything else but 'Whistling'. It would surprise any person as to why I would write about whistling and refer to it as my soul. Well, I don't have a concrete reason for saying so. But all I can say is, each person in this world considers one particular thing worth living or dying for. I consider whistling to be that thing.

People who know about me, would able to make sense of what I just said. And I don't think anyone else would be reading my blog anyway.

What I feel when I whistle

Visualize yourself having wings and being perched at the top of a cliff several hundred feet high. Wings are part of you and all you want to do now is to leap into the air and flap your wings. The cool wind kissing your face, creating air holes in your mouth making it dry and fresh. You're not thinking about anything and any void in your mind is filled to the brim with happiness.

Well, thats too dramatic. All I wanted to say is that it makes me 'feel good' about myself. If you have noticed, people who whistle (wolf whistling - high pitched whistle with the fingers), usually do this when they feel happy and want to express that feeling. For example, in movie theatres when the hero or heroine are introduced; in cricket matches when Sachin hits a boundary etc. I think that whistling makes one express his happiness without him being aware of it. People who have whistled will be able to notice this I'm sure.

A slight digression

I am not for or against people wolf whistling, but one of my wishes in life is that whistling when viewed as an art, is so beautiful and that every person in this world (especially India) should give us whistlers (performers) a chance to show what we got and not view whistling as a negative entity and generalize it to be that way. I wish that one day, I can happily whistle my favorite song in a public place like a bus stop without any inhibitions (in India of course).

I am not against India or anything. Its just that in India, whistling for several generations has developed a negative side to it which is more prominent and I guess all whistlers would agree with this. This affected me on certain occasions and hence, I am always unhappy with people who are against whistling in India.

Back to Whistling

I can't live without whistling and I am a whistle chauvinist :) Whistling is part of me and it is so deeply attached to me that I can't imagine it to be a separate entity. All of us talk, smile, hum a song etc. without having to concentrate on them as these actions are all part of us. I add whistling to this list. Its a natural thing for me when I whistle casually without any audience and a stage. Of course, when I am performing in front of 300 people, its different and like any other performer, I too feel the anxiousness to do well.

When I whistle, I feel that its a way of returning a favor to my heart pumping blood and my lungs doing air stuff. Its like throwing light into darkness where whistling brightens my breath instead of just having to breathe and stay alive.

Anyways, I can't think of anything much right now and the reason why I started blogging is because I felt really bored. Also a long time back somebody was surprised that I, as a performer didn't maintain a blog - I don't think its a big deal anyway. I am happy with my Youtube channel :) I am not even sure if this is how a blog should be.

Charun