Guide to Artwhistling (Pfeifkunst)

© J.M. Schlitz

CONTENTS

Samples & Preface

0. Introduction:
Characteristics of Artwhistling

I. History

II. Modern Roles

III. Contests

IV. The Mouthflute

V. Limitations

VI. Modes

VII. Techniques

VIII. Effects

IX. Repertoire

X. Software & Equipment

XI. Planning Recitals

XII. Drills & Etudes

XIII. Conclusions

 

Appendices

A. Dictionary

B. Figures & Images

C. FAQs

D. Online Resources

E. Final Thoughts

 

Inquiries / Order

- Full version of this study (hardcopy).

- 2002 precursor of this study

- Artwhistling lessons

- Commissions

- Contact Information

Guide to Artwhistling

LISTENING SAMPLES

J.M. Schlitz
in partial fulfilment
for the PhD in Music Scholarship

November 2006

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updates:

2007 04 29 by popular demand, the "other" Queen of the Night aria (mp3)

2007 06 29 preface follows the examples below

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further applications of the artwhistling approach (mp3):

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J.M. Schlitz, artwhistler

 

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PREFACE

No idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered with a searching, but at the same time steady, eye.

- Winston Churchill

     HUMAN whistling has been used in everything from light entertainment to satanic ritual; but the question which began my research in the 1990s was why this medium, as old as humankind itself and inherent in all individuals, had seemingly escaped the attention of the art music world.

     The pre-modern picture is complex*, but beginning with music hall (vaudeville, c.1900) up to the present day, the most visible forms of performed whistling have relied on crowd-pleasing tunes (whistled instead of sung), bird emulation, comedy, and curiosity-driven attention. While often presented as ‘the art of whistling’, this kind of whistletainment has had little impact in the actual world of art music.

     What has resulted today is a curious situation in which, for the past 100 years at least, the idea of performed whistling has polarised into two extremes. On the one hand we have seen music departments, music professionals, and other authorities who — with only vague impressions of light entertainment and novelty for reference — dismiss the idea out of hand, including artwhistling, without even a hearing. On the other extreme are whistling enthusiasts who think they are battling this attitude by promoting the medium indiscriminately. But of course whistlephilia is not an answer to whistlephobia. Claiming that ‘whistling is an art’ is no less prejudiced than assuming ‘whistling isn't real music’, because both extremes start with a conclusion and then work backwards. What is needed — beyond ethnomusicological study and light journalism, which simply describe the status quo — is actual investigation of the instrument. The fact is that nobody knows the full artistic possibilities of whistling. We can only assume this is because no one in the past 900 years of western art music has ever bothered to ask the question, or perhaps because those who do risk academic suicide (as this author can verify). Regardless, artistic integrity demands that we at last move beyond viewing something with such universal potential in such limited extremes; for, while it is musically irresponsible to promote a medium simply for the sake of the medium, it is also incumbent upon ourselves as musicians to make judgments based on hearing, not hearsay.

     What this study proposes is that we begin at last to consider this medium from the perspective of musical value. Need we associate whistling exclusively with bird sounds and singing-minus-words? Or can anyone, with practice, learn to whistle a Beethoven sonata? What could the mouthflute offer to the music world, if we were to explore its full technical possibilities? Is there a potential for long-term audiences, or for a place in the formal music curriculum? Skepticism is of course warranted, indeed demanded; but so are these questions. If we could, for a moment, shift our attention away from performed whistling as it currently exists and turn instead to investigating its musical potential, then the real possibilities will become evident. What we will discover should not surprise us: Whistling is not an art, nor is it incapable of art.

     This in mind, we have begun by listening. The above musical excerpts were recorded in various locales over several years — usually under less than ideal conditions — and later converted to MP3 format for purposes of this study. The purpose is not to impress whistling enthusiasts. Quality varies greatly and I make no claims of personal grandeur or labial kung-fu; nor is my aim to promote whistling itself (which to me seems rather pointless). The intent here is simply to demonstrate some lesser known possibilities which may interest musicians, as well as to illustrate a few of the techniques described in the following pages. - JMS

* I addressed the pre-modern circumstances in a 2002 study "Kunstpfeifen Traditions," which appears fully revised and expanded in the following chapters.

** Correction from the previous study for these German terms: Kunstpfeifen: any kind of performed whistling, musical or otherwise; in English "staged whistling." Pfeifkunst: performed whistling, both historical and modern, which is employed in the context of art music; in English "artwhistling." Source: 'Definition of Artwhistling', International Artwhistling Philharmonic Society online (accessed 1 October 2006), <http://www.artwhistling.org>.

 

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