Systematization Based on the Physical Characteristics of Whistling in a Broad Sense

Abstract

Musical whistling competitions have been regularly held in Japan since 2005. The author serves as a judge at some of these competitions. However, defining what constitutes whistling may be problematic and may pose a challenge at the time of judging. Pucker whistling, which is achieved by puckering the lips, is the most common type of whistling. However, other styles may be used in competitions. Recently, K. Harvest introduced 45 different types of whistling methods in a video, which are classified in this study according to the sound source, the fundamental frequency determined by the vocal tract resonance, and the lip-opening characteristics. In addition, we subdivided these 45 types of whistling into 99 categories based on the distinction between blowing sound and sound absorption and the presence or absence of overtone in the generation process. Similar to the speech generation process, the whistle generation process can be regarded as a combination of three actions, that is, sound source generation, vocal tract tuning, and radiation from the lips.