Why don't people whistle anymore?

Dad's taught their daughters too. I think it is a crying shame that whistling is becoming extinct. But everyone has their head buried in headphones nowadays and No they just don't whistle , do they? But I did hear someone whistling the other day and I pricked my ears- sounded lovely-

I agree, it was accepted as a "normal" thing to do. Everyone whistled a tune a some point during the day. Sometimes it wasn't even a recognised tune, you just made it up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmDZgy3HpdU

Just to prove it:

another one to prove it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-wtPDUK3Vw

I whistle. But then people ask me to stop. So then I whistle on my own. In a dark, cold room. The tears rolling down my puffed-out cheeks, the tuneless peeping punctuated by sobbing. I don't really want to talk about it anymore, I'm sorry.

Alex, stay away from the light!. Whistling is normal, its what we were made to do. Our ancestors all did it. Winston Churchill was a great whistler, so was Maggie and Queenie does it all the time. She even did the whistling on most of Roger Whittakers songs. Be proud, stand up for us whistlers!

Whistling has now been pushed underground. People are doing it in secret, in hiding. More info on

www.idontcarewhoseesmeimwhistling.com

I once got a detention for miming a whistle.

You would not have enjoyed it at my school.

Whistling was so common at my school that we all had to whistle the 1812 overture in assembly.

Which was difficult as none of us knew what it was. But we got through it somehow.

When we had finished we went outside for our break and there were 8000 budgies on the school roof!

That is a coincidence Edenfalls- my Budgie with capital B whistles the 1812- I wonder if he ever sat on your school roof?

Is he called Joey by any chance, I lost a Budgie once called Joey. He was magnificent at whistling the 1812....

Mind you that was 34 years ago, do they live that long?

We managed to catch most of them in nets. Then, just like Lavadis we would mime our whistles. We had each trained the budgies to whistle for us!

Clever!

Thinking about it mine was called Joey, and I let him go about 35 years ago. Could this be your Budgie Jolono?

I like this topic. Yes, during my younger days, way back in the 1940's to 60's, everyone whistled. It was either as a sign you were happy, wished to challenge another one to a tune, or simply to be creative since none of us could afford any musical instruments. Today's kids do not like to be singled out, and definitely not be disturbed while they are destroying Booga Booga on their hi-tech toys.

What if he's wearing rubber-bands? Oh sorry wrong thread!

whistling's great but too many people are such saddos that they hate to hear the sound of happiness. I nearly got in alot of trouble for doing it in front of two geezers. Alot of twats think of whistling as a disturbance of their peace and it's viewed much like mobile use.
Peopel used to work, when there was lots of whistling. Now they just pretend to work and whistling wouuld give them away while they played jackpot jjoy.
It's asign of dark days when whistling goes out the window.

People used to sing too but we've all had the self-confidence bullied out of us. These days no one wants to draw attention to themselves.

I blame popular culture. In the old days ordinary working class people used to sing for their own pleasure and entertainment. Workers used to sing in the fields. Mothers used to sing while they were doing housework. It was seen as a common expression of happiness and a way to pass the time but then along came recorded music and television and people
stopped entertaining themselves; from then on they would only become listeners; passive consumers rather than creators.

Singing, from that time onward, was not for everyone but only for 'good singers'. This idea that only 'good singers' should dare to sing is now celebrated in the Orwellian 'hate session' called the X factor where the masses are encouraged to ridicule and laugh at those who can't sing; who have ideas above their station.

The same goes for whistling. Like singing it used to be a common expression of happiness and something
that people did while they were working but now if you whistle in public people give you that look like
'who do you think you are?' as if whistling is only
for certain, cool people.

Personally, I only whistle in private and I stop whistling when someone enters the room because
I feel too self conscious.

I think its to do with self-sufficiency versus capitalism. If people can make themselves happy then they wont pay for it. Its the same with computer games. They don't want kids making their own fun
and being creative; they want us to pay for everything.

Paul Simon did it last year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi2DypBHyUg&ob=av2n

I whistle.

I think part of the reason is that so many people nowadays walk around cocooned in their own musical iPod world. When I used my 'personal stereo' (how ancient does that sound?), I used to whistle and sing along, too. People used to avoid me quite a bit...

All the greats could whistle. Sinatra, Kelly, Steele,Presley, Jolono ( sorry that last one just kinda slipped in!)

I believe you!