1 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:19,680 Jane: This is But Why: a Podcast for Curious Kids? I'm Jane 2 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:28,530 Lindholm, hi, our theme music sounds a little different today, 3 00:00:28,530 --> 00:00:28,980 doesn't it? 4 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,620 Our theme music sounds a little different today because you are 5 00:00:38,620 --> 00:00:42,670 the ones whistling it. I'm so excited to hear all of your 6 00:00:42,670 --> 00:00:47,230 wonderful whistles. We just heard Audrey, Aaron and Holden 7 00:00:47,260 --> 00:00:50,170 from Burlington, Ontario, Burnsville, Minnesota and 8 00:00:50,170 --> 00:00:53,650 Southern Ontario, Canada, respectively. Here are a few 9 00:00:53,650 --> 00:00:54,250 more of you. 10 00:00:54,630 --> 00:00:58,380 Ava: Hi, my name is Ava. I'm 13 years old, and I live in 11 00:00:58,860 --> 00:01:15,780 Winnipeg, Manitoba. Hi, Bye, I love your show. 12 00:01:16,290 --> 00:01:18,750 Jane: And here are twins, Madison and Kayla from 13 00:01:18,750 --> 00:01:20,280 Lexington, Massachusetts. 14 00:01:47,730 --> 00:01:51,330 Those were so great. And so many more of you sent us your own 15 00:01:51,330 --> 00:01:55,170 versions of the But Why theme music and you whistling it? It 16 00:01:55,170 --> 00:01:58,620 was so awesome to spend the last few days listening to all you 17 00:01:58,620 --> 00:02:02,280 great whistlers. We've put together a chorus of all of the 18 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,740 whistling entries we got, and we're going to play that for you 19 00:02:04,740 --> 00:02:08,460 later in the episode. But first, do you want to hear the guy who 20 00:02:08,460 --> 00:02:11,340 actually whistled the theme song you know so well. 21 00:02:11,910 --> 00:02:14,340 Luke: Hi. My name is Luke Reynolds. I'm a musician, 22 00:02:15,210 --> 00:02:18,240 guitarist and a multi instrumentalist. That means I 23 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,890 play a lot of different instruments, and I was glad when 24 00:02:22,890 --> 00:02:26,250 my friend Jane asked if I'd want to talk about whistling. 25 00:02:27,180 --> 00:02:30,360 Jane: Luke performs in the band Guster, and he plays on a lot of 26 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,990 other musicians' records as well. He also makes really cool 27 00:02:33,990 --> 00:02:37,590 music and albums of his own. Luke told me he actually 28 00:02:37,590 --> 00:02:41,040 whistles a lot, not just in the finished versions of his songs, 29 00:02:41,070 --> 00:02:43,470 but sometimes when he's trying to figure things out. 30 00:02:43,710 --> 00:02:46,500 Luke: Whistling is easier for me than singing, because I have 31 00:02:46,500 --> 00:02:51,000 more control over the subtleties and embellishments than I do 32 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:57,450 with my human voice. So I'll often use whistling as a way of 33 00:02:57,450 --> 00:03:02,550 trying out different ideas for the guitar or the voice before I 34 00:03:02,550 --> 00:03:03,390 actually play them. 35 00:03:06,450 --> 00:03:09,090 Jane: One thing you may not know about our theme song is that it 36 00:03:09,090 --> 00:03:12,180 actually comes from a song Luke wrote for one of his solo 37 00:03:12,180 --> 00:03:17,160 albums, and it has words. The song is called, No Way to Know 38 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:19,740 What's Coming. The whistling part is right at the beginning, 39 00:03:19,770 --> 00:03:21,240 just like you hear it in our show. 40 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,640 I asked Luke to tell us a little bit about why he decided to use 41 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:32,780 whistling in this song. 42 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,220 Luke: On the day we cut that song, we recorded it two or 43 00:03:37,220 --> 00:03:41,620 three times, and I didn't practice it much at all before 44 00:03:41,620 --> 00:03:45,520 we got started. I think at the last minute, I actually had the 45 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:47,980 idea to put the whistling in there so it's pretty off the 46 00:03:47,980 --> 00:03:50,560 cuff. There's a lot of imperfections, and I decided to 47 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,720 leave them all in there because I thought it made it feel more 48 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:53,020 human. 49 00:03:59,300 --> 00:04:08,390 No sunsets in the evening, and then one day, everything 50 00:04:08,390 --> 00:04:19,760 happened. As times change, people change, feelings 51 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,330 change,but what becomes of us? 52 00:04:22,980 --> 00:04:27,477 I was looking for an instrument to suggest at the lead melody 53 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:29,870 Jane: I'm so glad we finally got a chance to talk to Luke on this 54 00:04:27,551 --> 00:04:32,122 that was out of the way of the acoustic in that it inhabited a 55 00:04:29,870 --> 00:04:37,610 show, because his music is such a huge and recognizable part of 56 00:04:32,196 --> 00:04:36,989 different frequency band. So the acoustic guitars were kind of in 57 00:04:37,062 --> 00:04:41,708 the mid range. The whistling was way up top. Could have just as 58 00:04:38,390 --> 00:04:50,960 But Why isn't it? So many of you or your adults tell us that you 59 00:04:41,781 --> 00:04:46,058 easily use another instrument, like a violin or a shimmery 60 00:04:46,132 --> 00:04:50,408 synthesizer way up high, but that day, there was something 61 00:04:50,482 --> 00:04:54,906 that was pretty cool in the way that the voice and the right 62 00:04:51,140 --> 00:04:57,770 walk around your home whistling or humming the theme music, and 63 00:04:54,979 --> 00:04:59,108 hand of the guitar lock up together in a really cool and 64 00:04:59,182 --> 00:04:59,920 human way. 65 00:05:00,980 --> 00:05:19,430 so do we. But what if you don't know how to whistle? We're going 66 00:05:19,430 --> 00:05:22,640 to spend some time practicing our whistling in this episode 67 00:05:22,700 --> 00:05:26,300 and talking with people who know how to do it really well. Maybe 68 00:05:26,300 --> 00:05:30,620 it'll help us learn how to do it or do it a little better. A few 69 00:05:30,620 --> 00:05:33,890 years ago, I met a college student who was actually one of 70 00:05:33,890 --> 00:05:37,130 the world champions of whistling. Did you know there 71 00:05:37,130 --> 00:05:41,450 are whistling champions? He has some good tips on practicing how 72 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:53,450 Unknown: Hi, my name is Yuki Takeda. I am a whistler, a 73 00:05:41,450 --> 00:05:41,960 to whistle. 74 00:05:53,480 --> 00:06:01,340 musical whistler. I started whistling when I was 10 years 75 00:06:01,340 --> 00:06:04,850 old, because all my friends could whistle, but I couldn't 76 00:06:04,850 --> 00:06:11,780 whistle. If you have no idea how to whistle, this is the way to 77 00:06:11,780 --> 00:06:18,110 do it. You say he and then you. And what you want to do is to 78 00:06:18,110 --> 00:06:21,050 intensify the hiss noise that you get from the H. 79 00:06:29,550 --> 00:06:33,240 By shaping your mouth correctly, you can amplify it so that it 80 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:37,200 would sound like a whistling. The most important thing is 81 00:06:37,470 --> 00:06:41,070 where you put your tongue. The tip of your tongue must touch 82 00:06:41,100 --> 00:06:45,930 your lower teeth, or your lower gum in the front. Both sides of 83 00:06:45,930 --> 00:06:52,170 your tongue must be touching the upper back teeth. And then you 84 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,190 fold your tongue a little bit vertically so that it would make 85 00:06:56,190 --> 00:06:59,790 a path of air in the middle. And then you want to whistle 86 00:06:59,820 --> 00:07:04,410 downwards, not straight forward. That's the key. So if you've 87 00:07:04,410 --> 00:07:08,250 been whistling and you've been hearing this wind noise, that's 88 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:13,230 almost whistling, but not there, if you whistle downwards, you'll 89 00:07:13,230 --> 00:07:15,390 be able to get the note in five seconds. 90 00:07:29,490 --> 00:07:34,680 Yuki: My one and only policy about whistling is that if I am 91 00:07:34,710 --> 00:07:39,090 annoying someone, then I would not whistle. So I ask everyone 92 00:07:39,090 --> 00:07:43,320 around me to tell me to stop whenever it's annoying, because 93 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,910 whistling should be a happy thing, not an annoying thing. So 94 00:07:47,910 --> 00:07:51,240 these are different techniques that you can use for whistling, 95 00:07:51,840 --> 00:08:07,740 glissando trills, inhaling and exhaling and double tones. 96 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,190 Unknown: And I've been trying to incorporate whistling into 97 00:08:20,190 --> 00:08:22,680 beatboxing recently, it sounds like... 98 00:08:33,019 --> 00:08:37,279 I am wanting to be the whistler who changes the image of 99 00:08:37,279 --> 00:08:45,219 whistling. Whistling has been a performance or a show content, 100 00:08:45,579 --> 00:08:51,639 but not really been perceived as a musical instrument. You cannot 101 00:08:51,699 --> 00:08:55,719 not be happy when you're whistling, and if everyone's 102 00:08:55,719 --> 00:08:58,479 whistling, the world should be more peaceful. 103 00:09:02,290 --> 00:09:05,200 Jane: That was Yuki Takeda recorded a few years ago when he 104 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,140 was still a college student. Wasn't that whistling so 105 00:09:08,170 --> 00:09:12,340 impressive? And I agree with Yuki, the world does seem like 106 00:09:12,340 --> 00:09:14,980 it would be a more peaceful place if we just whistled more. 107 00:09:15,550 --> 00:09:18,430 It's hard to feel sad or mad when you're whistling, isn't it? 108 00:09:19,540 --> 00:09:22,600 That's something we discussed with our other guest for today's 109 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:24,760 episode. Check this out. 110 00:09:41,860 --> 00:09:43,270 Ah, it's so beautiful. 111 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,360 Emily: Oh, thank you. Well, it's really fun to do. My name is 112 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:51,970 Emily Eagan. I am a musician of all kinds. I'm a singer. I am a 113 00:09:51,970 --> 00:09:56,440 ukulele player, a pianist, a guitarist. I write songs, and 114 00:09:56,470 --> 00:09:58,150 most of all, I whistle. 115 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,620 Jane: What does it mean? To be like a professional whistler, or 116 00:10:02,620 --> 00:10:06,460 to say what you are as a job is a whistler? That's really cool. 117 00:10:07,140 --> 00:10:09,150 Emily: That's a really good question, because it's something 118 00:10:09,150 --> 00:10:13,020 that I've kind of had to find my own way with. I started out 119 00:10:13,020 --> 00:10:16,410 singing, but every time I sang and there was a chance to do a 120 00:10:16,410 --> 00:10:18,540 little bit of extra stuff, I would always throw in a little 121 00:10:18,540 --> 00:10:21,990 whistling line, and people got really excited about it. And 122 00:10:21,990 --> 00:10:25,650 then I started whistling for things like sports games, where 123 00:10:25,650 --> 00:10:29,310 I would go and whistle the Star Spangled Banner, and I would 124 00:10:29,310 --> 00:10:32,490 whistle just to make people laugh. And eventually I started 125 00:10:32,490 --> 00:10:35,430 whistling. When I whistled in all my performances, I started 126 00:10:35,430 --> 00:10:37,920 whistling for kids. I started whistling for grown ups. I even 127 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,130 started whistling like opera arias and things like that. So 128 00:10:41,130 --> 00:10:44,610 basically, anything that you can sing or hum, you can whistle, 129 00:10:44,610 --> 00:10:47,280 and that's what I've tried to do. Whistling used to be a 130 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,650 really fancy art form, and you could find people whistling 131 00:10:49,650 --> 00:10:51,720 professionally all over the place. So one of the things that 132 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,360 I like to do is remind people that that could happen again. So 133 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:57,810 if I sing a bunch of songs, then instead of singing, I'll get up 134 00:10:57,810 --> 00:11:00,570 there in a fancy dress, or get up there with my instrument, and 135 00:11:00,570 --> 00:11:03,390 I'll just whistle instead. And I'll really try to remind people 136 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:05,940 that whistling can do all these amazing things that any 137 00:11:05,940 --> 00:11:07,200 instrument or voice can do. 138 00:11:07,290 --> 00:11:08,520 Jane: Can you give us an example? 139 00:11:09,210 --> 00:11:11,580 Emily: What's really cool is when you can whistle something 140 00:11:11,580 --> 00:11:15,960 really that goes really high and really low. So for example, I 141 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:25,710 have to lick my lips a little bit. You can whistle all kinds 142 00:11:25,710 --> 00:11:27,630 of fancy stuff like that, like you probably know. 143 00:11:47,820 --> 00:11:49,770 Jane: Oh, that was beautiful. 144 00:11:49,890 --> 00:11:53,460 Emily: Thank you. So you can so it's really fun to show people 145 00:11:53,460 --> 00:11:55,260 that you don't just have to whistle little tunes. You can 146 00:11:55,260 --> 00:11:57,600 actually whistle big, fancy orchestral things. 147 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:02,340 Jane: Yeah, and can you whistle things like sounds that machines 148 00:12:02,340 --> 00:12:04,860 make, or that birds make, and other things? 149 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:08,040 Unknown: I love making little bird sounds. If I hear a bird 150 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:13,260 outside, I try to whistle back to it. So if a bird goes, I 151 00:12:13,260 --> 00:12:18,480 might go and see if I can have a little conversation with it, or 152 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:19,920 see if it can imitate me. 153 00:12:20,310 --> 00:12:22,620 Jane: Okay, so I want to know how to do this, and I can 154 00:12:22,620 --> 00:12:25,620 whistle a little bit, but not always. Sometimes I try to 155 00:12:25,620 --> 00:12:28,080 whistle and it doesn't quite come out right. And I know that 156 00:12:28,350 --> 00:12:31,230 for a lot of young people, especially, it takes a lot of 157 00:12:31,230 --> 00:12:35,580 practice to whistle. So let's get into the actual physical art 158 00:12:35,580 --> 00:12:38,490 and skill of whistling with some of the questions that we've 159 00:12:38,490 --> 00:12:39,000 gotten. 160 00:12:40,770 --> 00:12:47,340 Aurelia: I'm Aurelia. I live in New York. I'm six and three 161 00:12:47,340 --> 00:12:53,340 quarters, and my question is, how do people whistle? 162 00:12:53,820 --> 00:12:57,330 Alma: Hi, my name is Alma. I'm five years old. I live in 163 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:02,730 Oakland, California, and my question is, how we whistle, and 164 00:13:03,060 --> 00:13:04,590 why is whistling so hard? 165 00:13:05,130 --> 00:13:09,270 Jane: How do people whistle? And Ellie asks kind of a similar 166 00:13:09,270 --> 00:13:10,830 question, so we can put them together. 167 00:13:10,860 --> 00:13:16,800 Ellie: And I'm five years old, my question is, how does 168 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:18,570 whistling make a sound? 169 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:19,320 Adult: Where you from kiddo? 170 00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:22,620 Ellie: I'm from Fort Drum, New York. 171 00:13:23,700 --> 00:13:26,130 Jane: How does whistling make sound? So maybe we can talk 172 00:13:26,130 --> 00:13:31,110 about the actual physical way we whistle with our throats. 173 00:13:31,770 --> 00:13:34,740 Emily: Those are really, really good questions. Let's see. Well, 174 00:13:35,070 --> 00:13:38,400 the thing that you whistle the most with, it looks like it's 175 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:41,040 your lips, and the style of whistling that I do is called 176 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:43,800 pucker whistling. But the thing you're really, really using is 177 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:44,430 your tongue. 178 00:13:44,730 --> 00:13:47,100 Jane: I'm just gonna cut in here because we actually had a 179 00:13:47,100 --> 00:13:49,230 question about tongues from Cecilia. 180 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:52,680 Cecilia: I am seven years old, and I am from Ames, Iowa. My 181 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:57,150 question is, why does your tongue depend on how high or low 182 00:13:57,150 --> 00:13:58,050 your whistle is? 183 00:13:58,210 --> 00:14:01,480 Em: So if you want to practice whistling, I would say the first 184 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,790 thing to do, you should lick your lips, because if your lips 185 00:14:03,790 --> 00:14:06,400 are dry when the air passes, it doesn't feel very good. So you 186 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:09,130 should lick your lips or use some lip balm. I like to use 187 00:14:09,130 --> 00:14:14,290 cherry lip balm, and then you stick your tongue touching your 188 00:14:14,290 --> 00:14:17,320 bottom teeth, so your tongue touches your bottom teeth. And 189 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,820 what you're gonna do, you're kind of going to go like this, 190 00:14:24,250 --> 00:14:27,040 but instead of saying those words, you're going to look for 191 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:34,180 a way to make it with a little stream of air. And you're trying 192 00:14:34,180 --> 00:14:36,670 to figure out how to let air pass on the top of your tongue 193 00:14:36,670 --> 00:14:39,340 and out your lips. You're making a little chamber. You're making 194 00:14:39,340 --> 00:14:42,850 a tiny little instrument by curling your tongue. And the 195 00:14:42,850 --> 00:14:46,300 thing that I like to think about is, you know, between your nose 196 00:14:46,300 --> 00:14:49,060 and your lips, that's a little body part that not a lot of 197 00:14:49,060 --> 00:14:51,400 people know the name of. It's called your philtrum. I like to 198 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,950 pretend that my whistle is coming out of that. That really 199 00:14:53,950 --> 00:14:57,340 helps me make the sound have a little focal point, that little, 200 00:14:57,370 --> 00:14:59,800 that little divot beneath your nose, is called your philtrum. 201 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:05,740 So if you want to practice whistling, just try making 202 00:15:05,740 --> 00:15:08,530 little, tiny sounds. You can kind of pretend you're sipping 203 00:15:08,530 --> 00:15:15,760 tea in a little, tiny space there. And just look for your 204 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,370 whistle. You don't want to put you don't want to push too much. 205 00:15:18,670 --> 00:15:20,440 If you blow too much air, it won't work. You have to be 206 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,560 really, really gentle, and just look for that little spot where 207 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,230 you can find, you'll find your very first whistle that way. I 208 00:15:26,230 --> 00:15:29,500 promise you. That sounds good. 209 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,550 Jane: Once you've done it for so many years, you forget what it 210 00:15:33,550 --> 00:15:35,680 is that you're doing. You just do it naturally. So I'm trying 211 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,560 to picture it's true, where I'm putting my tongue, and how I'm 212 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:40,810 thinking about my lips. It's yeah, it's hard. 213 00:15:41,020 --> 00:15:43,120 Emily: Well, and the next thing you can do is play with your 214 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,190 tongue, because that's what helps the notes go up and down. 215 00:15:45,460 --> 00:15:50,800 So if you move your tongue forward, the notes go up. And if 216 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:58,690 you move it down, they go down. When you can make cartoon sounds 217 00:15:58,690 --> 00:16:00,550 that way, you can sound like you're in an old fashioned 218 00:16:00,550 --> 00:16:01,150 cartoon. 219 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,600 Jane: And so to Ellie's question about what's making that sound, 220 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,810 it's it's the breath passing through that small channel that 221 00:16:07,810 --> 00:16:09,370 makes that sort of whistling noise. 222 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,550 Emily: Exactly. The breath is coming through and it's making 223 00:16:11,580 --> 00:16:13,800 all of these overtones. Overtones are the reason that 224 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,320 you can hear a whistle really well is that it has all these 225 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,740 sparkly sounds in it. So whistling can be really loud and 226 00:16:19,740 --> 00:16:21,960 clear and piercing, because you've got this really nice, 227 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:29,220 tight space. If you move your tongue up and down, you can get 228 00:16:29,250 --> 00:16:31,590 a trill of vibrato, and that's really fun to try. You can. I'll 229 00:16:31,590 --> 00:16:33,780 show you. I'll start straight, and then I'll make it wavy. 230 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:48,390 My tongue is going inside my mouth, so it's really fun to 231 00:16:48,390 --> 00:16:50,610 play around with. You can spend hours sitting waiting for the 232 00:16:50,610 --> 00:16:52,500 subway or bus just practicing your whistling. 233 00:16:53,130 --> 00:16:56,910 Jane: Do you have advice, though, for people who can't 234 00:16:56,910 --> 00:16:59,910 seem to make it work? Because I have to say, there is nothing 235 00:16:59,910 --> 00:17:03,030 more frustrating than wanting to whistle and not being able to. 236 00:17:03,450 --> 00:17:06,030 Unknown: I know that's so true, and people ask me that all the 237 00:17:06,030 --> 00:17:10,830 time, I think the answer is just to try. And don't try too hard, 238 00:17:10,830 --> 00:17:13,440 because if you really push and press, you won't get a good 239 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:17,760 whistle. But if you keep leaning into your lips and finding you 240 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,850 just want to find one special sweet spot, one special sound, 241 00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:22,830 then I think that's the beginning of you whistling. And 242 00:17:22,830 --> 00:17:25,260 I know people who it took them until they were 30 years old to 243 00:17:25,260 --> 00:17:27,090 learn to whistle. So you're never too old to learn to 244 00:17:27,090 --> 00:17:27,570 whistle. 245 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,860 Jane: So, you know, one of the other things that people want to 246 00:17:31,860 --> 00:17:35,910 know is about, you know, not just how we whistle, But Why we 247 00:17:35,910 --> 00:17:38,910 whistle. So why do you whistle? Why do you think humans make 248 00:17:38,910 --> 00:17:40,800 this sound and enjoy it so much? 249 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:43,720 Emily: That's a really good question. And I have to say, 250 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:48,280 when I was a kid, I whistled for a bunch of different reasons, 251 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,130 but it was mostly to try to explore what I could do. I 252 00:17:51,130 --> 00:17:54,040 almost when I was a kid, I think I was thinking, what, what does 253 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,860 this sound make? If I touch this part of my body, does it make a 254 00:17:56,860 --> 00:17:59,530 sound? Pop, pop, pop. Or if I snap my fingers, it makes 255 00:17:59,530 --> 00:18:01,330 sounds. And then eventually I found my way to whistling 256 00:18:01,330 --> 00:18:04,450 because I think people are just curious what their bodies can 257 00:18:04,450 --> 00:18:08,140 do. And whistling is one of those things in my family. My 258 00:18:08,140 --> 00:18:10,450 sisters and I were always singing and always making making 259 00:18:10,450 --> 00:18:13,240 noise. And so at some point someone would say, Please don't 260 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:16,090 sing. And so we would start humming. And then at some point 261 00:18:16,090 --> 00:18:18,790 someone would say, please stop humming, and we would start 262 00:18:18,790 --> 00:18:21,730 whistling. So I have to say as a kid, sometimes I whistled just 263 00:18:21,730 --> 00:18:24,490 to be annoying, but it eventually turned into something 264 00:18:24,490 --> 00:18:27,940 that I love to do, and I think humans whistle because it's fun. 265 00:18:28,030 --> 00:18:30,130 I've noticed most of the time people whistle when they're 266 00:18:30,130 --> 00:18:34,120 happy. You don't walk around whistling a sad song as much. I 267 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:35,740 think most of the time when people whistle, it's because 268 00:18:35,740 --> 00:18:38,050 they feel really good and it feels really good to do it. 269 00:18:38,620 --> 00:18:41,920 Jane: Or maybe when you are sad, if you start whistling, it'll 270 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,090 make you feel happier. 271 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:45,490 Emily: That's totally true. I think singing works that way 272 00:18:45,490 --> 00:18:54,520 too. You can really dig into and just whistle all your blues 273 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:59,290 away. Whistling is also used as part of some languages. It's 274 00:18:59,290 --> 00:19:02,860 part of silbo gomero, which is one of the languages in Spain's 275 00:19:02,860 --> 00:19:06,400 Canary Islands. And there's actually a bunch of different 276 00:19:06,430 --> 00:19:09,520 words that you can make using four vowels and five consonants 277 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,370 in that language, so you can communicate with it like a real 278 00:19:12,370 --> 00:19:14,590 language. There's different sounds in the whistling. 279 00:19:15,250 --> 00:19:18,700 Whistling is also used historically backstage, like in 280 00:19:18,700 --> 00:19:22,930 theater and plays. Yeah, before people had electronic cues, they 281 00:19:22,930 --> 00:19:24,790 would use a little bit of whistling to signal to someone 282 00:19:24,790 --> 00:19:27,460 that they needed to bring down one of the big pieces of 283 00:19:27,460 --> 00:19:30,010 scenery, for example, which is why it's considered bad luck to 284 00:19:30,010 --> 00:19:32,860 whistle in the theater now, because of that history of the 285 00:19:32,890 --> 00:19:34,930 possibility that if you whistled, something might fall 286 00:19:34,930 --> 00:19:35,530 on your head. 287 00:19:35,420 --> 00:19:38,762 Jane: Whistling has been used in other ways too, of course, to 288 00:19:38,821 --> 00:19:42,581 communicate over far distances when you don't want to shout, or 289 00:19:42,641 --> 00:19:46,222 when a place is really noisy, a whistle might be able to cut 290 00:19:46,281 --> 00:19:50,041 through all the noise and get to the person you want to be able 291 00:19:50,101 --> 00:19:53,741 to hear you. Or maybe you just use whistling to call your dog 292 00:19:53,801 --> 00:19:57,501 when it runs away. When we come back, we'll whistle along to a 293 00:19:57,561 --> 00:20:01,500 few more tunes and hear more of your But Why theme song whistling. 294 00:20:01,490 --> 00:20:05,510 This is But Why: a Podcast for Curious Kids. I'm Jane Lindholm. 295 00:20:40,010 --> 00:20:43,010 We're listening to and learning from musician and champion 296 00:20:43,010 --> 00:20:46,970 whistler, Emily Eagan. Champion whistler, you say? 297 00:20:47,570 --> 00:20:52,610 Graham: Hi, I'm Graham. I'm six years old. I live in Brooklyn, 298 00:20:52,610 --> 00:20:57,230 New York. My question is, how do you get a trophy for whistling? 299 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,830 Jane: Okay, Graham actually kind of knows the answer to that he's 300 00:21:00,830 --> 00:21:04,820 Emily's son. And Emily does have some whistling trophies. 301 00:21:04,140 --> 00:21:07,924 Emily: I do. It's funny, I have three trophies, because in 2000 302 00:21:07,991 --> 00:21:11,099 and 2001 I went to the international whistling 303 00:21:08,290 --> 00:22:04,870 Jane: And weere you just playing the ukulele there with your 304 00:21:11,167 --> 00:21:15,086 competition, which was in Lewisburg, North Carolina, and I 305 00:21:15,154 --> 00:21:19,208 won both times. So in order to win, you have to go through a 306 00:21:19,276 --> 00:21:23,262 couple rounds. It's like a sports competition, and you have 307 00:21:23,330 --> 00:21:27,452 to place high in popular music, like a pop song or folk song, 308 00:21:27,519 --> 00:21:31,303 and then also in classical music. So I placed in both of 309 00:21:31,371 --> 00:21:35,561 those, and I went through the final rounds, and then I won. So 310 00:21:35,628 --> 00:21:39,209 I have some really nice whistling trophies from that, 311 00:21:39,277 --> 00:21:43,399 and it was really, really fun to do it. The two things that I 312 00:21:43,466 --> 00:21:47,453 remember competing with, one of them was just a little folk 313 00:21:47,521 --> 00:21:51,913 song, and you're gonna recognize this if you've ever sung this if 314 00:21:51,981 --> 00:21:56,170 you've ever sung the song. I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee. 315 00:21:56,238 --> 00:22:00,427 This is the folk tune that it comes with. It's called Arkansas 316 00:22:00,495 --> 00:22:02,725 Traveler, and it goes like this,. 317 00:22:04,900 --> 00:22:05,470 whistling? 318 00:22:06,010 --> 00:22:08,140 Emily: I was playing the ukulele. You know, the ukulele 319 00:22:08,140 --> 00:22:11,050 is so great because it's also a teeny, tiny instrument, and I 320 00:22:11,050 --> 00:22:13,510 think it sounds really nice with whistling, as opposed to a big 321 00:22:13,510 --> 00:22:16,270 instrument. So I really like to play the ukulele when I whistle. 322 00:22:16,780 --> 00:22:20,440 Victoria: Hi, my name is Victoria. I live in Oakland, 323 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:25,150 California. I am six years old, and I want to know, can people 324 00:22:25,150 --> 00:22:26,950 with laryngitis whistle? 325 00:22:27,790 --> 00:22:29,920 Jane: If you have a sore throat or something else going on 326 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,230 that's making talking hard, can you still whistle? 327 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,010 Unknown: You know what? That is, a great question. And the answer 328 00:22:36,010 --> 00:22:39,250 is yes, whistling uses something totally different. So you're not 329 00:22:39,250 --> 00:22:41,230 really using your voice when you whistle like we said, you're 330 00:22:41,230 --> 00:22:44,200 using your tongue and you're using the top of your mouth. So 331 00:22:44,410 --> 00:22:47,590 because I sing a lot, if my throat is sore and I have 332 00:22:47,590 --> 00:22:50,140 laryngitis, I can still go to rehearsal and I can still get 333 00:22:50,140 --> 00:22:52,930 all the notes because I just practiced by whistling. So it's 334 00:22:52,930 --> 00:22:54,850 a really great tool to have in your back pocket. 335 00:22:55,450 --> 00:22:57,550 Jane: Beyond just having fun. Are there other ways that you 336 00:22:57,550 --> 00:22:59,170 use whistling, Emily? 337 00:23:00,770 --> 00:23:04,520 Unknown: Yeah, you know, I was a really eager music student when 338 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,400 I was a kid. I played a lot, but I was super, super shy to 339 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,210 perform. And I was especially shy either when I had to get 340 00:23:11,210 --> 00:23:14,420 something perfect, like play the piano perfectly, or when I had 341 00:23:14,420 --> 00:23:18,560 to sing, even though I loved to sing. And so it's funny, because 342 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:22,130 whistling became the thing that got me over my shyness. I 343 00:23:23,030 --> 00:23:25,460 would, I had a neighbor who noticed that I was a good 344 00:23:25,460 --> 00:23:28,760 whistler, and he would invite me to come whistle for things, you 345 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,820 know, always say, Emily, do that whistling thing. And I would 346 00:23:31,850 --> 00:23:35,030 whistle. And I would be so scared if he were asking me to 347 00:23:35,030 --> 00:23:37,520 do anything else. But because whistling just was so fun and 348 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,310 funny, it helped me get comfortable performing in front 349 00:23:40,310 --> 00:23:43,370 of other people, it was like, Hey, I have this funny, quirky, 350 00:23:43,370 --> 00:23:45,740 cool thing that no one else can do, and that I can do really 351 00:23:45,740 --> 00:23:48,830 well. And even though I was shy, I had some confidence for that, 352 00:23:48,830 --> 00:23:50,690 and it really helped me have, like, a breakthrough. 353 00:23:51,050 --> 00:23:54,440 Jane: That's musician Emily Eagan. Before we let Emily go, 354 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,260 we asked if she wanted to try whistling our theme song too. 355 00:23:57,620 --> 00:23:59,900 Emily: The fun thing with whistling is that you can change 356 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:02,480 the music of something. So for example, I'm going to take your 357 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:04,700 theme song, Jane, but instead of doing it fast, I'm going to do 358 00:24:04,700 --> 00:24:06,620 it really slow, like this... 359 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:23,370 Unknown: I can also do it fast. 360 00:24:35,220 --> 00:24:36,480 Emily: Let me give you one other option. 361 00:24:43,620 --> 00:24:45,270 You know, fast and jaunty. 362 00:24:45,450 --> 00:24:49,320 Jane: Fast and jaunty! I like that when you sent us your 363 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,110 versions of the But Why theme song you also played around with 364 00:24:52,110 --> 00:24:55,830 how you wanted to do it. Some of you whistled kind of slow, and 365 00:24:55,830 --> 00:24:58,980 some of you whistled kind of fast. Some of you added those 366 00:24:58,980 --> 00:25:02,850 extra notes or trills to fancy it up. And some of you tried to 367 00:25:02,850 --> 00:25:06,510 do it just like Luke. There were so many of you who sent us 368 00:25:06,510 --> 00:25:10,440 recordings that we decided we'd try to make a But Wh kid chorus 369 00:25:10,470 --> 00:25:13,470 of all your lovely voices put together? Want to hear it? 370 00:25:28,650 --> 00:25:33,000 You all are amazing. Listen to that. I sent it to Luke after we 371 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,820 put it together, because I wanted to hear his reaction too. 372 00:25:36,540 --> 00:25:39,450 Unknown: Hey, really nice job whistling. You guys sounded 373 00:25:39,450 --> 00:25:40,020 great. 374 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:42,360 Jane: Luke wanted to say something else about whistling 375 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:43,290 and music as well. 376 00:25:43,620 --> 00:25:47,490 Luke: Music is really cool. It's a way of us getting our ideas 377 00:25:47,490 --> 00:25:51,180 across. And it doesn't just have to happen at guitar lessons or 378 00:25:51,180 --> 00:25:56,160 piano lessons or at band at school. It can happen anywhere. 379 00:25:56,490 --> 00:26:01,140 And there's no right way or wrong way to whistle. Just have 380 00:26:01,140 --> 00:26:04,530 fun with it. And I just want to thank my friend Jane for 381 00:26:04,530 --> 00:26:06,300 inviting me to be a part of this. See you later. 382 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,770 Jane: And I want to thank Luke Reynolds for being such a fan of 383 00:26:10,770 --> 00:26:14,160 this show before we even got started, that he was willing to 384 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,060 let us use his awesome music as our theme song. That music has 385 00:26:18,060 --> 00:26:20,880 become a big part of our show, and it's all because of Luke's 386 00:26:20,910 --> 00:26:24,990 amazing musical brain and talent. Thanks as well to Emily 387 00:26:24,990 --> 00:26:29,430 Egan. We'll put a link to her website in our show notes, and 388 00:26:29,430 --> 00:26:32,430 thanks to Yuki Takeda for showing us how he whistles and 389 00:26:32,430 --> 00:26:36,510 how you might too. That's it for this episode. If you have a 390 00:26:36,510 --> 00:26:40,590 question about anything, have an adult record it. It's easy to do 391 00:26:40,590 --> 00:26:43,470 on a smartphone using a voice recording app that came with the 392 00:26:43,470 --> 00:26:47,280 phone. Tell us your first name, where you live, and how old you 393 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,610 are, and what you want us to talk about on the show. Then 394 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:55,050 email the file to questions@ButWhykids.org We love 395 00:26:55,050 --> 00:26:58,080 hearing what's on your mind. But Why is produced by Melody 396 00:26:58,110 --> 00:27:01,050 Bodette, she still can't whistle, but her son is trying 397 00:27:01,050 --> 00:27:04,770 to teach her how and me. Jane Lindholm at Vermont Public 398 00:27:04,770 --> 00:27:09,660 Radio, we're distributed by PRX. Our theme music is, as you know, 399 00:27:09,690 --> 00:27:13,050 by Luke Reynolds. Special. Thanks this week to engineer 400 00:27:13,050 --> 00:27:16,890 Peter Engish. We'll be back in two weeks with an all new 401 00:27:16,890 --> 00:27:20,370 episode. Until then, stay curious.