November 2006
Throughout this study and my research of whistling since 1990, I have made use of several terms which, while drawn from common music terminology, have specific meanings as applied to whistling not covered in the musician's usual arsenal of references. In addition, I felt that some entries regarding approaches other than artwhistling would help the reader grasp the discussion more fully.
These are the terms I have chosen to use for my study. To the best of my knowledge, and unless otherwise stated, these entries are consistent with standard musical references (The New Grove, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, etc.) and with those used by the International Artwhistling Philharmonic Society in its symposium and archives. Some terms have also been borrowed from linguistics, particularly articulatory and acoustic phonetics; while in other cases neologisms - upon which no two people will ever agree - were necessary in order to facilitate discussion. I wish to thank Jack Cohen (CAN), Ugo Conti (ITA), Hacki Tamas (HUN), 李貞吉 (ROC), Martin Spaink (HOL), Joe Wolfe (AUS), Peter Ladefoged (UK), and the many other musicians who have helped me establish the terminology necessary for this study.
Whistling is only now beginning to attract the attention of researchers. With the help of your suggestions, additions, and corrections this dictionary continues to evolve and grow accordingly.
JMS
related links：‧homepage of this study ‧International Artwhistling Philharmonic Society
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Accompaniment 伴奏 Begleitung. The low volume produced by the human whistle presents special problems in terms of accompaniment. One common solution has been to use quieter accompaniment such as the guitar, the harp, etc. Traditional means of using a piano have involved closing the lid and applying the soft pedal, and/or positioning the artwhistler further from the piano and closer to the audience. The harpsichord of course has always presented less of a problem. Since the invention of the microphone, an even greater variety of instrumental accompaniment has become possible; similarly, electronic instruments offer easily adjustable volume levels.
Air flow 氣流(速度). One of the components necessary to the production of the whistle tone, air flow refers to the velocity (i.e., both speed and direction) of the air in an egressive or ingressive push. Air flow is also the phenomenon most responsible for volume.
Airstream 氣流(量). The physical dimensions of the air flow.
Airstream Theory 氣流理論. One of the theories which attempts to account for sporgendo multiphonics.
Approach (to Whistling) (口哨)方式 Pfeifenansatz. Term that denotes the purpose for which the mouthflute is used. Examples include bird mimicry, emulation of singing, whistled languages, semaphoric whistling, artwhistling, and others.
Apertural articulation 唇形變化法. A less commonly employed type of articulation, useful in certain slow or delicate passages, achieved by stopping the air flow by closing the lips.
Art 藝術 Kunst. Endeavour belonging to a tradition in which widely accepted standards have been established and are transmitted through formal teaching, requiring a degree of knowledge about the tradition on the part of both performer and audience. As such, whistling is not an art but simply a medium. Artwhistling is so-called for its attempt to embrace common standards found across other instrumental traditions and introduce them to human whistling. / (Tamas Hacki:) The German term Kunst however is not always interchangeable with English 'art'; for on a more fundamental level Kunst denotes a special skill, ability, or trick, (künstlerisch) and in other cases 'artificial' or 'synthetic' (künstlich). Thus Kunstpfeifen is not 'artwhistling', but better understood as simply any type of skilled or staged whistling (口技). See also Kunstpfeifen.
Articulation 連音法/運舌法. The manner by which a note is sounded.
Artwhistler 雅音口哨者 Pfeifkünstler. A practitioner of artwhistling. Though responsible for the terms, the International Artwhistling Philharmonic Society does not necessarily endorse all individuals who have since begun to use the terms.
Artwhistling 雅音口哨 Pfeifkunst. An approach to whistling generally referring to human whistling, both historical and modern, applied within the interests and contexts of an art music tradition. For the official definition refer to the International Artwhistling Philharmonic Society homepage.
Artwhistling Philharmonic Society(, International) aka the (International) Artwhistling Society 國際雅音口哨愛樂學會 Internationale Philharmonische Gesellschaft für Pfeifunst. Organisation founded by musicians to examine and develop the potential value of human whistling to art music. The Artwhistling Society is the world's only international organisation for whistling. See http://www.artwhistling.org
Attack 起奏法 Anschlag. The onset of a tone, attack is a particular focus of study for artwhistling students.
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750) 巴哈. Bach is of particular importance to the artwhistling movement for the universal applicability of much of his music, which has always formed an important part of the repertoires of late instruments.
Bach Society of Artwhistling(, International) / IBSA 巴哈雅音口哨協會 Internationale Bach-Gesellshcaft für Pfeifunst. Former name of the International Artwhistling Philharmonic Society (IAPS).
Bachwhistler. Third and former locus of the artwhistling movement.
Baron Jean (d1895), real name Hans Tranquillini. Baron Jean (so nicknamed for his regal appearance) was the first prominent Kunstpfeifer to champion the coloratura approach to performed whistling (Kunstpfeifen). After his collaboration with the immensely popular Schrammel Quartet in the 1880s, Kunstpfeifen in the German-speaking world became almost exclusively associated with coloratura whistling, and many subsequent 'Kunstpfeifer' followed in Baron Jean's footsteps, some achieving fame in their own right. Baron Jean and the Schrammel Quartet certainly helped to make popular Johann Strauss II's Frühlingsstimmen (1882, op. 410 "Voices of Spring"; Strauss himself liked their interpretation of his music), which afterwards became a standard concertpiece for coloratura whistlers.
Barre, Michel de La (1676-1745). A prolific composer, he composed the first published works for transverse flute. The important Chanson à siffler, which contains the first surviving music written specifically for mouthflute, was long attributed to de La Barre in the New Grove, but has been re-attributed to Lully (see Schlitz in Siffleur Vol. 1 No. 3, 2004).
Bevel 斜角. The point at which the airstream is split. In human whistling, it has not yet been established whether the bevel is located at the upper front teeth or at the lips.
Biphone 雙音 Doppelton. Whistling two notes simultaneously.
Bird influences 鳥類影響 Vogeleinflüsse. With the noticeable exception of artwhistlers, most performing whistlers identify or associate themselves with birds in one or more ways. Many if not most make references to birds or use bird images or symbols in marketing themselves. While there are much fewer who employ bird mimicry, or strict imitation of birds, as in the golden era of variety entertainment, bird emulation is still very common, and is characterised by bird effects, or the insertion of birds chirps and other bird-like ornaments into the music (as in the former Woodward approach). Many performing whistlers also include in their repertoire bird-related tunes such as "Mockingbird Hill" or "Yellow Bird". Bird costumery is an occasional practice. Birdsong is non-musical and refers to the bird behaviour itself.
Bird Method, the. See Woodward Schoool.
Breathiness 氣息聲. See pink noise.
California School of Artistic Whistling. See Woodward School.
Chamber Theory 口腔室理論. The theory that sporgendo multiphonics are caused by two separate or overlapping resonating chambers within the oral cavity.
Circular breathing (Circularatmung) 循環呼吸(法). Term first applied to whistling by Ron McCroby, referring to the alternation of ingressive and egressive whistling.
Clef 譜號. Due to its natural compass, the mouthflute uses the same "Treble 8va" clef as the piccolo. See also Octave Myth.
Coloratura whistling 花腔口哨(花哨). An approach to whistling whose repertoire draws chiefly from operatic arias or vocal repertoire. Unlike whistletainment, coloratura whistling leans toward art music rather than popular music; while unlike artwhistling, it treats whistling strictly along singing models, rarely venturing beyond vocal repertoire. The basic techniques and skills necessary for whistling instrumental music (as in artwhistling) are therefore often regarded as superfluous and even berated. As a staged phenomenon, coloratura whistling began in the 1880s in Austria with Josef Bratfisch, Baron Jean, and their successors. With the approval of Johann Strauss II behind them, these coloratura whistlers or Kunstpfeifer performed a repertoire of chiefly Viennese Waltzes and Viennese folk songs. During these early stages, some instrumental repertoire and instrumental techniques (such as multiphonics) were still included; but except for a few occasional comparisons to the piccolo, the word Kunstpfeifen had already begun to shed most of its instrumental associations and instead became synonymous with the whistling of arias, Lieder, and folk music. This same early period coincided with the new rise of music hall, and a few Kunstpfeifer also incorporated bird-emulative whistling. But later, as light concert music evolved into parlour music and music hall, the 1910s saw a clear split between bird-emulative whistlers, who emulated both singing and birds, and more conservative coloratura whistlers, who emulated only singing. It is the latter approach that eventually prevailed. Examples of coloratura whistlers include Guido Gialdini and Andrew Garth; while the bird-emulative or Woodward approach included Alice Shaw, Agnes Woodward, and Woodward's students. In drawing these distinctions, repertoire is key: while public taste for the bird-chirping and parlour music of the Woodward approach has gone out of style (though preserved in Disney films), coloratura whistling has always had a natural base of potential practitioners among those who sing or admire opera; just as artwhistling tends to occur among those involved in instrumental music.
Compass 音調音域. Not to be confused with range (音程音域), compass refers to the specific span from lowest pitch to highest pitch. For example, a typical developed compass is c2 to d5; but in terms of range, this would be described as an interval of a 17th, or slightly over two octaves. The undeveloped compass of whistling, for casual whistlers, tends to center around c3-c4 (in artwhistling known as the middle octave). Since humans have basically the same mouthflute apparatus, undeveloped compass varies little among individuals, with females only half a tone higher than males on average. As one approaches his or her developed compass, however, differences tend to become more pronounced, and it is unclear as to what physiological factors may account for these differences. This author has observed, roughly speaking, three basic types of developed whistling compass: alto whistlers (low note: g1 or a1), mezzo-soprano whistlers (low note: c2 or d2), and soprano whistlers (low note: f2 or g2). This assessment differs greatly from Woodward's, who in 1925 was the first to make such an SATB distinction but whose given pitch values seem problematic. For convenience, this study makes reference to the artwhistler's low octave (c2 to c3), middle octave (c3 to c4), high octave (c4 to c5), super-octave (c4 to c5) and sub-octave (c1 or Middle C to c2; it should also be noted that a 'whistler's Middle C' is in fact c2; see Whistler's Octave Myth and Clef). These artwhistling octaves, however, should not be confused with registers.
Competitions (Whistling) 音樂比賽 Wettbewerb (des Pfeifens); Pfeifenwettbewerb. Misnomer; see Whistling Contests. Major obstacles to mounting an actual music competition for whistling include 1) the fact that whistling is not widely taught, 2) the scarcity of music professionals who take whistling seriously (as opposed to amateurs who take whistling seriously), and 3) the overall fact that the music community at large has yet to accept any standard of artistic whistling. See also contests.
Contests (Whistling) 口哨才藝競賽 Wettpfeifen. Amateur whistling contests are a common phenomenon across history and throughout the globe. Though sometimes called 'competitions', they bear little semblance to music competitions, nor are they modeled as such. Whistling contests originate from festivals or local fairs (or from other whistling contests so derived). They employ a set of criteria inclusive of amateurs and non-musicians, and are presented as a form of public entertainment. Most are held in small towns and average 20-40 contestants, who are divided into two separate sets of male and female winners. Jurors (called 'judges') are typically drawn from the contest's past winners and/or local voice teachers residing in or around the sponsoring town. Since the 1970s many of these contests began conferring 'national', 'world', or 'international' champion whistler titles. Although this has drawn some attention from mainstream media, these titles now number in the thousands and have never been recognised by the International Artwhistling Society.
Conventional instruments 常規樂器. In contrast to (see also) late instruments (晚近樂器), reference to conventional instruments is generally understood to mean instruments of the late 19th century orchestra, plus piano, organ, the human voice, and harp. These are the instruments with the longest traditions and largest repertoire in western art music. Similarly, the conventional instruments of Chinese art music would include the bamboo flute (笛), the sheng (笙), the erhu (二胡), etc.; and so one with each respective art music tradition.
Conventions (Whistling) 口哨年會. Whistling conventions and festivals have in recent years been promoted as a non-competitive alternative to contests.
Diet 飲食. See Magic Formula, The.
Dolbey, Edward (1906-1996, alias Andrew Garth, whistlist). North American coloratura whistler who held weekly recitals in Pennsylvania in the 1930s.
Double-tonguing 雙吐音 Zweifacher Zugenstoss. This well-known brass technique differs somewhat from its counterpart in artwhistling, but achieves the same effect: a series of detached notes for runs in prestissimo passages.
Drills 基本練習 Übung. Artwhistling drills are an eclectic but carefully select assemblage of brass, string, woodwind, and voice methods, depending on the technique, effect, drill, mode or other aspect being targetted. See Guide to Artwhistling.
(Duotone). Misnomer for biphone (see multiphonics). The present author coined and retracted this term in the early stages of artwhistling discussion. The standard musical term for producing more than one tone at once on a wind instrument is multiphonics; thus biphone, triphone, etc.
Dynamics 力度 and Dynamic Range 力度範圍. In acoustic terms, these denote amplitude and range of amplitude, respectively. In musical terms, they are marked by piano and forte. The mouthflute's comparatively small dynamic range is one of its natural or innate shortcomings. Different artwhistlers overcome this obstacle in different ways. Compare, for contrast, the trombone, which is capable of enormous dynamic contrast. Between passages, finger or fortissimo modes may be utilised; however, such a rapid change is not always possible within a single passage. The phenomena which cause different whistlers, even those of the same mode, to whistle at different dynamics are not well understood, but each individual tends to whistle within a very small dynamic frame; therefore what little dynamic range is available must be emphasised as much as possible, in order to deliver the appropriate contrast.
Effect(, musical) 效果. Effect refers to a desired musical result such as legato, staccato, sforzando, etc. Effect in artwhistling is strictly distinguished from other aspects such as mode, technique, and articulation.
Egressive 呼氣(音). A term borrowed from linguistics to refer to the usual 'exhale' method of whistling, as opposed to ingressive.
Embouchure 運唇法. Embouchure varies according to mode; and, as with any instrument, tone production may be inhibited or assisted by varying the embouchure. Some elements of embouchure such as the degree of lip rounding and apertural location may also vary from individual to individual.
Emulation 倣效. Emulation, as opposed to imitation (模擬), is an interpetive effect employed by all instrumentalists, e.g. passages marked 'fanfare' in violin sonatas are trumpet-emulative. This gives rise to an important issue in artwhistling since, in borrowing so heavily from other repertoires, how much the artwhistler should emulate the scored instrument, if at all, tends to be a highly individual matter.
Esser, Karl Michael (von) (1737-1795). German violinist and artwhistler, mentioned by Mozart in several letters. Esser was Konzertmeister at Kassel but from 1764 concertised throughout Europe, when he increasingly began to whistle instead of play pieces, including his own compositions, sometimes accompanying himself on the violin or viola. In terms of violin playing, both Wolfgang and Leopold Mozart admired his astonishing technique and moving adagios, but Wolfgang accused him of frequent empty virtuosity. As for Esser's whistling, Wolfgang only wrote praise. It should also be noted that Mozart never referred to Esser as a 'showman' or 'circus performer'; these are the words of modern Mozart biographers, and reflect their personal preconceptions of whistling more than anything else.
External applications [藥]外用. See ointments.
Events 活動. Contests, competitions, festivals, conferences, seminars, workshops, and online group chat sessions.
Fine Arts community, human whistling and 藝術界與口哨. The relationship between art music circles and human whistling, both historical and modern, is a complex issue. See Guide to Artwhistling: Preface (Schlitz, 2006).
Finger flute 指笛 (指哨的一種). A literal if somewhat counterintuitive translation of Japanese 指笛 yubi-bue. This is a kind of whistling, not a kind of flute. See Yubibue.
Finger whistling 指哨. Mode which involves one or more fingers inserted into the mouth. There are numerous varieties (two fingers, four fingers, yubibue, etc.), all of which yield a similar timbre and are much louder than sporgendo or palatal modes.
Flutter (aka Flutter-tonguing) 花舌. In artwhistling, as in brass instruments, this musical effect does not involve the tongue, but is achieved by either raspberry (in the palatal mode) or uvular articulation (in the sporgendo mode).
Fortissimo 甚強. This effect, while most easily achieved through the finger modes, is not always the most practical solution.
Frequency 頻率. Acoustic term for pitch (音高).
Garth, Andrew. Stage name of Edward Dolbey.
Gialdini, Guido (1878-194?). Important coloratura whistler of the early 20th century. Born of Italian parents, Gialdini was a German who immigrated to the United States in 1907.
Glissando 滑奏. While the easiest musical effect to produce in whistling, it is rarely called for in art music. Judicious use of its cousin portamento, however, can produce effective results in artwhistling.
Glottale (glottal articulation) 聲門運舌法. The most common method of articulation in artwhistling: forming the tone by moving the vocal folds. (Hacki, 2006).
Hand ocarina 手式陶笛 (= 手哨). Refers to handwhistling in its capacity as a musical instrument. See also Handwhistling.
Hand cooing. Nonstandard for Handwhistling.
Handarina. See Hand Ocarina.
Handwhistling 手哨. Both acoustically and organologically speaking, handwhistling is not a type of whistling, but playing through one's hands which have been folded in such a way as to form an ocarina. In simpler but less precise words, handwhistling is an ocarina, not whistling. Nonetheless, it may certainly be considered a type of whistling in that a whistling sound is produced without the assistance of any non-corporeal device, which is one of the most crucial rationale for advocating the whistling of art music, or artwhistling.
Harmonics 泛音 Harmonik. Partials which are also member tones of the overtone series. This is the term preferred in string playing; see also Overtone.
Helmholtz resonator 赫姆霍茲共鳴器. An acoustic principle which has been used to account for the production of multiphonics in sporgendo mode. The resonator for the mouthflute, however, is neither a strict Helmholtz resonator nor a cylindrical pipe. A Helmholtz resonator must have physical dimensions much smaller than the wavelength of the sound that it produces. This is not the case for whistling, indicating that phase effects contribute, especially at the high frequency end, though they are less important at low frequencies, where the Helmholtz picture is a useful rough guide, though not useful for calculations. On the other hand, when whistling, the vocal tract does not approximate a cylindrical pipe, so formulae based on f = v/(4L) (for a closed pipe) or f = v/(2L) (for an open pipe) are inappropriate, as well. (Wolfe, 2001).
Hissing 嘶音. A voiceless apico-alveolar fricative or sibilant with non-periodic frequency, constituting the white noise of palatal mode.
History of whistling 口哨歷史. Whistling is as old as humankind itself and is common to all human cultures and civilisations. Curiously, very little has been written about its musical uses. Although artwhistling never became an institutionalised or taught tradition as did other instruments, people have always whistled art music. In western art music there is mention of performed whistling as early as the 14th century. Although such mentions are few, they occur throughout music history and with enough regularity to affirm that the idea of whistling art music is neither new or strange, but as old as art music itself. The more interesting phenomenon, rather, is how and why the idea of whistling art music has come to be considered such an oddity today. (These and other issues are dealt with in the body of this study). The first scholarly treatment of musical human whistling did not appear until 2002 under the title Kunstpfeifen Traditions (2002), which has since been revised and expanded into the present study, Guide to Artwhistling.
IAPS. See Artwhistling Philharmonic Society.
Ingressive 吸氣(音). A term borrowed from linguistics to refer to the 'inhale' method of whistling, as opposed to egressive.
(Instrumental whistling 樂器式口哨). Term applied somewhat ambiguously in artwhistling. In the early days of the movement, before the term artwhistling was coined and agreed upon, it had been observed that the prevailing form of performed whistling (see whistletainment) was (and still is) used almost exclusively as a substitute for human singing. As a means of distinguishing this approach to whistling from art music-based whistling, the term 'instrumental whistling', which had already been in limited use, was suggested. The phrase was eventually abandoned in favour of artwhistling, which was preferred for suggesting a more inclusive approach that did not exclude vocal repertoire. See also vocal whistling.
Intonation 音準. The perennial problem of whistlers, and the most immediate mark of a skilled artwhistler, is intonation. Within this study, intonation is treated as one of the three Pillars of artwhistling, and the first target objective of beginning drills.
Jay's Whistle. A fledgling e-list begun in 1999, the first locus of the artwhistling movement.
Kunstpfeifen 口技, not to be confused with artwhistling (Pfeifkunst). Any type of skilled whistling, whether artistic or non-artistic, musical or non-musical. The German term Kunst is not always interchangeable with English 'art'; for on a more fundamental level Kunst denotes a special skill, ability, or trick (künstlerisch), and in other cases 'artificial' or 'synthetic' (künstlich). Thus Kunstpfeifen is not 'artwhistling', but better understood as simply any type of staged or skilled whistling (口技). (- Tamas Hacki, 2003)
Late instruments 晚近樂器. Term used in contrast to conventional instruments. Late instruments are not necessarily new instruments, but instruments that did not receive broad acceptance in art music until the early twentieth century or later, and thus do not have a long tradition of repertoire. Late instruments such as the saxophone, marimba, accordion, and harmonica borrow heavily from the repertoires of other instruments; for this reason, they can also be thought of as transcriptional insturments. While sometimes dismissed by purists, late instrumentalists argue that music originates from the mind, not the instrument, therefore it is the individual's interpretation which is ultimately most important. A very valid argument put forth against late instruments, however, is the fact that composer intent should be respected, i.e. intended elements such as tone colour, articulation qualities, etc. peculiar to the specified instrument. Proponents of late instruments, in turn, counter by stating that whether or not a performance is pleasing should be decided by the listener. Ultimately, the argument reverts back to the issue of transcription. But it is also worth noting that, in searching for apt repertoire, late instrumentalists are forced to become more familiar with all instrumental traditions and thereby more flexible; and, not being tied to any one particular tradition, ultimately have a much broader base of repertoire from which to choose.
Laterale (lateral articulation) 側流法. Form of articulation where the tongue touches the roof of the mouth while allowing lateral airflow. Laterale or lateral articulation is often used for slurring. It is equally effective in both slow and fast passages.
Legato 圓滑奏. Legato can be produced via laterale, though conventional glottale may also yield effective though different type of legato, if handled delicately, as in the manner of a trombonist's legato.
Lingolabiale 舌唇法. This rare mode of whistling is useful primarily as an alternate means of producing multiphonics, which is especially useful for palatalists.
Lip rounding 唇凸/圓唇. A linguistic term referring to protrusion of the lips for certain vowels, applied to whistling for obvious reasons. However, the degree of lip rounding may vary from whistler to whistler, for it is possible to whistle without any lip rounding whatsoever. The primary advantage of reduced lip rounding lies in, for some individuals, reduced acoustic impedance and greater nodal clarity; in other individuals, however, reduced lip rounding may also inhibit factors such as range.
Magic Formula, The (capitalised) 萬靈丹
Die Zauberformel. The ideal combination of foods, ointments, liquids, diet, and other routines resulting in maximum tonal clarity for any desired session. Despite earnest inquiry, no single Magic Formula that is universally applicable to every whistler has ever been discovered, although hot tea seemed to have beneficial results for most (though not all) respondants. The fact that proposed formulae varied from respondant to respondant suggests different solutions work best for each individual's oral physiology. Individual preferences regarding mode or embouchure may also help contribute. Scientific investigation is pending.
Mode 模式 Modus. Refers to the manner in which the whistle tone is produced. The two most common are sporgendo and palatale, among several other less common modes.
Model (of performed whistling) 模範 Pfeifmodell. There are 3 major ways in which performing whistlers tend to approach the mouthflute: 1) whistling as a type of singing; 2) whistling as a type of birdsong; 3) whistling as a type of musical instrument. Most performed whistling today is modeled on a combination of the 1st and 2nd models (see whistletainment, coloratura, Woodward). The 3rd is much rarer, and is the model embraced by artwhistling.
Moisture 濕潤度 Feuchtigkeit. Many find moisture necessary to a good tone, while a minority prefers dry lips. The importance of oral vs. labial moisture has also been contended; and still others find that the degree of moisture has no effect whatsoever.
Mouthflute 口哨[樂器] Mundflöte. Refers to human whistling in its capacity as a musical instrument. Whereas in English and other languages the term may sound new ("the whistle" referring most often to the Irish whistle or pennywhistle), many other languages have (Chinese, Japanese, et al) always used this term for the instrument.
Multiphonics 多音 Mehrstimmige Pfeifen. Refers to the whistling of two tones (diphones 雙音), three tones (triphones 三音), or four tones (quadraphones 四音) simultaneously. The confusing misnomer duotone was coined and retracted in 2002 by the present author.
Musicologist 音樂學者 Musikwissenschaftler. One involved in issues peripheral to music rather than music itself, such as the shape of a composer's nostrils. According to Charles Rosen, "Musicologists are to musicians as ornothology is to birds."
Music Hall 歌舞雜耍表演. See variety entertainment.
Nodale (nodal articulation) 氣流法. Articulation by crossing one, or sometimes two, nodes.
Nodes 頓音. A fundamental tool of artwhistling, a node refers to any of several points of zero amplitude encountered when crossing from one register into an adjacent register. Nodes combined with overlapping registers offer a wide range of applications.
Nomenclature, pitch 音高標記法. There are two main types, one used in North American technical fields (including acoustics and MIDI) and the standard system traditionally used by musicians. Middle C for example would be notated as C4 or c' respectively. This study uses the latter system.
Notation 記譜法. This study makes use of a set of notation specific to the mouthflute. The first to do so was Agnes Woodward in her book, though the additional symbols were aimed at bird effects instead.
Novelty 新穎性. Fascination with the unusual, which may or may not include musical value. In Kunstpfeifen or staged whistling, novelty is important in distinguishing short-term audiences from long-term audiences. See also vaudeville.
Octave Myth, Whistlers 口哨八度大迷思. Popular misconception that the pitch of any given whistled note is an octave lower than it actually is. As an example, many amateurs speak of whistling a so-called Middle C (c' or C4), when in fact it is the C an octave higher (c'' or C5). When confronted with evidence such as a simple test of frequency (since Middle C = 261.63 Hertz), each and every claim so far has been proven to be a case of Whistlers Octave Myth. A 'real' Middle C is in fact not whistlable without the neck of a giraffe or through special means. Within this study, the present author has demonstrated the Whistlers Octave Myth in this descending c3-c1 scale and the K314 sample found in the Preface.
Organology 樂器學. The classification or taxonomy of musical instruments. The mouthflute is a closed flue pipe (duct) instrument, or in other words, a fipple variety of the flute family.
Overtones (上分音)泛音 Obertöne. In its literal sense, all partials above the primary frequency; but more often (especially in music) referring specifically to member tones of the overtone series. Since the mouthflute tract is an irregularly shaped flue pipe, the resulting overtones are also irregular and may therefore vary according to each individual's physiology. Since, furthermore, the pitch of a whistled overtone is contingent upon tongue positioning and other factors, overtone frequencies are not as predictable as those of other wind instruments.
Palatale (palatal mode) 上顎吹法 / [口語]齒哨 歯笛. There are two types, open and closed. (Hacki, 2003). In both types, the tone is an alveolar or postalveolar fricative, with the tip of the tongue shaped in a specific manner conducive to tone production.
Palatalist 上顎口哨者. One who whistles in the palatal mode.
Partials 分音. A term sometimes used broadly to refer to member tones of the overtone series, including the fundamental. In the stricter acoustical phonetic sense, partials refer to the total set of a given tone's overtones and undertones, including non-harmonic members. The latter meaning is rarely invoked in artwhistling, since the mouthflute is almost a pure sine wave and contains a negligible degree of partials (Conti, 2002).
Passaggio 結節. A vocal term referring to the node separating a singer's upper ('head') and lower ranges, passaggio is what allows singers to yodel. Using this model by analogy, whistling could be thought of as having not one but several 'passaggi', which in artwhistling are referred to as nodes.
Piercing 尖銳刺耳音. Notes with particularly high resonance. These can be used to great effect, for example, in baroque trumpet music on certain occurrences of d3, and also to a lesser extent in whistling.
Pink noise 粉紅色噪音 / 半嘶音. In acoustics, the so-called whispered or breathy tone in which the pitch is discernible, while white noise is equally present. The term was first applied to whistling by Conti, 2002 but described as early as the T'ang (唐) Dynasty in ancient China. In modern times the technique has been re-introduced to artwhistling by 李貞吉.
Pitch 音高. Frequency, or number of vibrations per second.
Portamento 滑音. Sliding or gliding between two successive notes. Strictly speaking, portamento is a kind of articulation - or rather, lack thereof - whereas glissando is an effect.
Prestissimo 最急板. Faster than presto. See runs, prestissimo.
(Puccolo 音樂性口哨). Term coined by an unknown colleague of jazz musician Ron McCroby. McCroby then gave this colleague US$50 in exchange for adopting 'puccolo' as his personal term for the mouthflute. The term has found little acceptance in artwhistling circles, due to its derivation from the inappropriate term pucker.
(Pucker 嘟唇). A vulgar term associated with osculation, incorrectly applied to whistling. Since moreover it is not actually possible to whistle with the lips in this type of position (as they are closed), the term is not used in artwhistling. See lip tounding; sporgendo.
Range 音域. Not to be confused with compass (音調音域), range is measured as the interval between lowest possible and highest possible pitch. Range is therefore often stated in terms of how many octaves and semitones one can whistle; e.g., 3 octaves and a major third. Compass (音調音域) on the other hand refers to the specific span from lowest pitch to highest pitch; e.g. 'c2 to d5'. See compass (音調音域).
Register 音部. The compass from lowest to highest pitch between any two adjacent nodes.
Renaissance 文藝復興時期. Surviving instrumental music of this period is rare, but on the other hand is usually instrumentally neutral or non-specific and could easily have been whistled. In addition, vocal genres such as motets were often played on instruments, usually in consort families.
Repertoire 曲目. Mouthflute-specific repertoire is rare, although much instrumental music of the early Baroque does not specify any instrument and could have been performed on mouthflute without any objection. At the same time, lack of repertoire does not tie the artwhistler to the repertoire of any particular instrument, leaving the artist free to pick and choose.
Romantic 浪漫樂派 / 浪漫時期. Solo music of the 19th and early 20th centuries becomes particularly challenging for its increasing demands on range and markings within the score. Much solo violin and other string repertoire from this point on, without extensive transcription, is impracticabe for artwhistling owing to the liberal use of multiple stops.
Runs, prestissimo 最急板樂句. Faster passages in artwhistling must generally be achieved through one, or a combination of, advanced articulation techniques. In artwhistling, 'prestissimo' can be regarded as roughly 135 or higher (in common time, or at the equivalent tempo in other metres), where ordinary glottal articulation becomes unusable for most players.
Semaphoric whistling 示意口哨. A non-artwhistling and non-musical approach to whistling used to give commands or solicit attention. This includes whistling for taxicabs, whistling as a command for everyone to be silent, expressing sexual admiration for females ('wolf whistling'), calling to dogs or other animals, expressing disbelief or incredulity, etc.
Shaw, Alice (1853-1918). American vaudeville whistler. Her first biography (2003) is now available online.
Shortcomings, natural 天生缺點. Musically, whistling has many innate or natural shortcomings. This does not invalidate the artistic potential of whistling, but as with any instrument, shortcomings must first be pragmatically acknowledged before they can be overcome. For example, artwhistling acknowledges that the natural timbre of whistling is innately unpleasant and much inferior to its cousins the recorder, the ocarina, or even the most maligned piccolo. It is also too high-pitched (few can whistle below c2), heavily encumbered with technical difficulties, and lacks the acoustical depth of conventional instruments. Low volume is another shortcoming but can be easily remedied by using softer accompaniment or microphones. Perhaps most notable of all is the difficulty of achieving good intonation on the mouthflute, which is a major focus of artwhistling.
Siffleur. A journal featuring artwhistling articles, research, and news. link
Sine Wave 正弦波. Save for a few partials, the mouthflute produces almost a pure sine wave (Conti, 1986).
Singwhistling. Using whistling as a surrogate for singing either by repetition of sung passages or (more commonly) by wholesale substitution (i.e., whistling instead of singing). Singwhistling is by far the most common use of whistling, surpassing even bird emulation, and is especially popular among amateurs. Because singwhistling necessarily involves stripping the lyrics from the music, however, it has always compared unfavourably with singing.
Spaccatura 裂隔吹法. A mode used for producing multiphonics.
Spectrogram analysis 光譜分析. Spectrogram analysis of human whistling reveals an almost a pure sine wave, though the spectrum is slightly more complex in palatal modes.
Sporgendo 凸唇吹法. The most common mode of whistling involving lip rounding.
String music 絃樂. The richest but most difficult repertoire to transcribe for artwhistling, next to keyboard music, is string music, becoming more virtuosic with each century. Violin music is the most suitable. Difficulties include multiple stops, string crossings, wide range, etc. which depending on the artwhistler may or may not require alteration.
Taboos (口哨)禁忌. Several cultures including those of Russia, Japan, and the ancient Greeks associate whistling with taboo in one form or the other. This may help explain its scarce appearance in art music; the cross-cultural taboo phenomenon, however, remains a question for anthropology.
Technique 技巧. Along with intonation and musicality, technique in the same sense as conventional instruments forms one of the three pillars of artwhistling. It is nonetheless important to note that, as with any instrumental tradtion, there are in fact good artwhistlers and bad artwhistlers, as well as all skill levels in between. A detailed explanation of artwhistling technique is described in Guide to Artwhistling.
Tessitura 應用音域. The general compass of a given piece. See also range, compass.
Throat singing 喉哨. See throat whistling.
Throat whistling 喉哨. The term is a misnomer and more accurately called by its other name, throat singing. Despite the eerie overtones it produces, it is a form of singing, not whistling.
Timbre 音色. Refers to the colour of the tone. Timbre is limited in artwhistling, except in closed palatal mode (Hacki, 2003).
Tone 音. Generic term for an utterance or sounding of a pitch. By extension, it also refers to the quality of such a sounding e.g. 'that trumpeter has a good tone', usually referring to lack of acoustic impedance or white noise.
Tract 道 (aka mouthflute tract or whistle tract). The mouthflute tract for males is about 2cm longer for males than females, thus resulting in a compass a semitone higher for the latter. It differs from the vocal tract in that it extends into the sublaryngeal region in the lowest registers (first octave).
Transcription 編曲 (also arrangement). Late instruments are heavily dependent on transcription. A full discussion of the issues involved in transcription are available in standards music references. Many solo pieces written for oboe and recorder require no transcription for the mouthflute other than the usual 'octave up' transcription.
Tremolo 顫音. The fast repetition of a single pitch, or of two pitches separated by a minor third or greater. Tremolo can be achieved through any number of techniques, usually the same techniques used for producing prestissimo runs.
Trill 振音. Fast alternation between two adjacent pitches, particular essential for 18th century repertoire. The most popular means of achieving trills among artwhistlers are nodale and laterale; portamento is deemed far less desirable due to easy confusion with vibrato. See also Siffleur, Vol. 1 No. 3.
Twentieth Century and modern music 二十世紀與現代音樂. Although music calling for whistling has slowly increased in the past few decades, the vast majority assumes only a very rudimentary ability to whistle, usually no more than an octave and/or a basic melody. Much of this music is also of an avant-garde nature, using whistling purely for effect, rather than in any musical capacity.
Unaccompanied 無伴奏. Music intended for solo instrument without accompaniment, e.g. the Bach Cello Suites (BWV1007).
Undertones 下泛音. Partials occurring at frequencies below the primary tone.
Uvulare 小舌吹法. Articulation using the uvula, especially useful for producing Flutter.
Variety entertainment 歌舞雜耍表演 Varietéaufführung / Varietéschaubühne. (British music hall; North American vaudeville). As an approach to performed whistling, variety remains the strongly associated with human whistling. Begninning in the late 19th century, variety shows originally consisted of acrobatic, theatrical, musical, dancing, comedic, magic, and other novelty acts. Its zenith was c1890-1930, during which performed whistling enjoyed its greatest popularity and therefore called the Golden Age by some whistling enthusiasts. In addition to bird mimicry, the repertoire of variety whistling typically featured folk tunes, ethnic tunes, bird-related songs, parlour music, and other well-known songs originally meant for singing. Partly perpetuated through Disney films and whistling contests, most performing whistlers today still follow in this tradition via a similar repertoire, or some combination thereof, through promotional events and popular media.
Vaudeville 歌舞雜耍表演. See variety entertainment.
Vibrato 抖音. Techniques in the sporgendo mode include tongue vibrato (most common), stomach vibrato, cheek vibrato, and others. In the palatal mode, lip or apertural vibrato is the most common technque. As an effect, vibrato in artwhistling is subdivided into upward vibrato and downward vibrato, both of which are easily executed on the mouthflute, allowing for an interesting range of expression especially in slow movements. The amount - or presence - of vibrato in artwhistling is a highly complex and individual matter. The artwhistler may consider whether or not to emulate the scored instrument, whether the emulated instrument is historical or modern, whether the piece is operatic, etc. Most (though not all) artwhistlers tend to criticise the over-use of vibrato for both 'hiding' poor intonation and obscuring ornamentation such as trills.
Vocal (model of) whistling 聲樂式口哨. Although whistling is not 'vocal' (any activity in which the vocal cords do not vibrate is, by definition, not vocal), people's perception and use of whistling as a kind of singing is by far the most common of the three major models (the other two being whistling as a kind of birdsong, and whistling as a kind of instrument). Most performing whistlers look to vocal repertoire and singing models. Organologically speaking, however, both human whistling and the human voice are separate members of the wind instrument family: i.e., the voice is one type of wind instrument, while the mouthflute belongs to the duct flute subcategory of wind instruments.
Voice emulative whistling 聲樂模仿口哨. See vocal whistling.
Voice onset time (聲音)塞音發音起始時間. See whistle onset time.
Volume 音量. One of the reasons accounting for the mouthflute's lack of success in periods following the Renaissance, when the orchestra increased in size. Even during the variety entertainment era, when whistling finally achieved some measure of popular success, it was those individuals such as Alice Shaw who emerged not only (or necessarily) due to musical prowess, but for their natural ability to whistle loud enough to be heard against a piano (or other) accompaniment. See also accompaniment.
(Warbling, Wharbling 鳥囀). An ornithological term describing a type of bird behaviour and not found in music lexicons. It is used by some amateurs and whistletainers to describe any one (or combination) of various techniques or effects, including flutter, tremolo, trill, uvulare, nodale, laterale, vibrato, etc. The precise meaning of 'warbling' thus varies depending on each speaker, and is too imprecise for practical use in music.
(Wharbling). See Warbling.
Whistle onset time (口哨)塞音發音起始時間. (aka whistle onset time; VOT; WOT). A term borrowed from linguistics, this refers to the difference in time between the point of articulation and the point at which the note begins to sound. WOT may be either positive or negative; the latter most commonly occurs in nodal articulation, where the offset and onset of adjacent notes may briefly overlap.
Whistlephilia (戀哨狂) Pfeifphilie. Fondness or promotion of whistling for the sake of whistling and no other reason.
Whistlephobia (懼哨症) Pfeifphobie. Aversion to human whistling may be divided into three types. Many people are, to varying degrees, adversely sensitive to high-pitched sounds. This includes human whistling as well as piccolo playing, etc. regardless of the skill involved. These individuals find themselves less averse to whistling as the whistled register is lowered. A second type of whistlephobia is empirical, based on previous experiences or observations of how the medium has been used. A third type of whistlephobia is prejudicial in nature. Types 2 and 3 both lead the individual to make monolithic conclusions about human whistling and its limitations. It has been argued that type 3 whistlephobia actually does not exist, but in fact stems from type 2.
Whistling Champions 口哨冠軍. see Contests.
Whistling 口哨. Whistling may be understood on several levels. As a general phenomenon (something that occurs), whistling may be understood as any prolonged sound close to or resembling a pure sine wave that occurs in unstable or variable high frequencies (pitch). This would include the whistling of humans but also, for example, the whistling of teakettles, the wind, or certain radio phenomena. As a medium (something that has a human agent), whistling may be understood as a tool used for any number of purposes, both musical and non-musical (such as bird mimicry or soliciting the attention of a taxi driver). As a musical instrument (something that is used for the purpose of making music), most people tend to associate whistling exclusively with singwhistling, though in fact there are a variety of different approaches.
(Whistlist 口哨演奏者). Term originally used by Andrew Garth referring to (himself as) a performing whistler.
Whistlesizer (whistle synthesizer) 口哨合成器. Hand-held device, in two sizes, invented by Ugo Conti which transforms the sound of the mouthflute by modifying pitch, timbre, and other aspects. See Siffleur Vol 1 No 3. Several models by other engineers have since followed.
Whistletainment 娛樂口哨. Term most often used in contradistinction to artwhistling. Whistletainment, as the term suggests, is entertainment-oriented and aimed at reaching the widest possible public. Well-known songs, either folk or popular, are whistled instead of sung. Whistletainers typically associate themselves with birds and may or may not incorporate bird emulation into their whistling. Classical music, usually classical pop, is sometimes incorporated to add a sense of artistic legitimacy or seriousness; overall however the appeal of whistletainment depends largely on novelty. In the west, whistletainment reached its peak during the heyday of music hall / vaudeville / variety entertainment, c1890-1940, during which time hundreds of phonographs were recorded by scores of professional whistlers (this was due partly to the fact that in the early days of recording, the sound of whistling was among the most easily grasped by phonograph technology). While whistletainment is no longer a popular phenomenon, it is still by far the most common variety of performed whistling and features regularly in television talk/variety shows, circuses, and amateur whistling contests.
Woodward School, the. Posthumous term referring to the school of whistling founded by Agnes Woodward (1873-1938). Officially it was called the California School of Artistic Whistling, and Woodward called her approach to whistling The Bird Method. Woodward codified her method in her book Whistling as an Art (1923, 1925, 1937). In both published and pre-published forms, this was also the manual/textbook for her school, which flourished from roughly 1909-1945. However, Woodward's Bird Method was not a type of artwhistling. Instead, it crossed voice emulative whistling and bird emulative whistling, by combining a core repertoire of operetta or parlour tunes decorated with bird emulative ornaments. Each ornament was associated with a specific bird and assigned a specific symbol, such as a linear spiral. These symbols were inserted into standard music notation, and students were then taught to read the resulting sheet music. Proponents of the Bird Method nonetheless drew a careful distinction between this type of bird-emulative approach and traditional (non-musical) bird mimicry. Although male students also enrolled, the school was most famous for the concerts given by its Women's Whistling Chorus, which numbered (at its height) 30 women and boasted its own touring bus. The school's most talented recording artist was Margaret McKee, though the most oft-heard was Marion Darlington, who provided the whistling talent heard in most of the early Disney films, including Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. By the time of Woodward's death in 1938, vaudeville (American music hall) had already declined, as parlour tunes and novelty performances gave way to the rise of big bands. Ownership of the school passed to Helen Ward Jeffs, who kept it functional into the mid-1940s. At one time, the school had licensed instructors in several states.
Yodel 約德爾調. Term used by Agnes Woodward for nodale. See Woodward School.
Yubibue 指笛 (Jpn 指笛 yubi-bue 'finger-flute'). Standard but somewhat confusing term for a single-finger variety of whistling developed and popular in Japan. The Japanese word for human whistling is 口笛 kuchi-bue, meaning mouth-flute. The character for 'mouth' is then replaced with the character for finger 指 yubi, yielding the term yubibue, which leterally means finger-flute. Yubibue is not a type of hand-held flute, however. It is a variety of finger whistling in which one's index finger is bent into a hooked shape and inserted into the mouth to produce a tone. Yubibue has the added advantage of allowing the other hand to act as the instrument's 'bell', even somewhat resembling the flared bell of a brass instrument.
Zilz, Edwin (1912-1995). German pianist, grandpupil of the composer Franz Liszt, and voice scientist, who authored a book 'How to Whistle Songs'. Though the book deals mainly with voice emulative whistling, Zilz was a staunch opponent of whistletainment and wrote in a highly scientific manner.
Zweistimmige Pfeifen. See multiphonics.
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