Alway look on the bright side of life
Oct. 11th, 2010 04:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ventaAt the weekend, while out on a pub crawl with my rapper team, I wandered into the ladies.
"Hello, Lizzie", said the cubicle next door. I was mildly boggled how its occupant had identified me.
"Easy," continued the disembodied voice. "You were whistling Thrales' Beadnell tune."
Which I was. It's a nice tune. Thrales is a men's rapper team, based in Southwark. They dance a traditional dance called the Beadnell to a rather nice, unusual tune. I'm not sure if their musician, the amazing MJ, wrote it or whether it's also traditional. Either way it's very much "their" tune; no other team uses it (as far as I know).
Well, fine. Surely, though, the tune only really identified that the whistler was someone in, or associated with, the rapper team?
Apparently not, no. Because I'm the only one who walks round whistling.
On closer investigation, this isn't actually true. Disembodied Voice was wrong; at least one other Mabel habitually walks about whistling. However, I got the distinct impression that DV had reached her conclusion on the grounds that (a) I whistle and (b) it's a really weird and unusual thing to do, so I'm probably the only one.
I have been wondering, therefore, whether I have a completely skewed perception of the social acceptability of whistling. Despite being told when I was small that, along with barnyard fowl, whistling women were of no use to God or to man, I cheerfully whistle all over the show.
I also sing to myself, but I would never, for example, sing while walking through a crowd. I wouldn't talk to myself. I would, however, whistle. I can't justify why I think singing in the street makes you look like a nutter, but whistling doesn't.
I don't whistle - say - while at my office desk or while on a train. That is, however, more of a general prohibition on making unnecessary noise near people who can't get away than anything to do with the specifics of whistling.
Throughout this poll, I'm talking about whistling tunes using just your mouth. If you can whistle by putting your fingers in your mouth, that's not what I'm asking about. If I whistle in the street, it's a tune, not a wolf-whistle. I whistle to myself, not at others.
Although I don't have great pitch, so may offend musicians, I'm reliably informed the noise I produce is usually a recognisable thing, not tuneless warbling.
[Poll #1630269]
"Hello, Lizzie", said the cubicle next door. I was mildly boggled how its occupant had identified me.
"Easy," continued the disembodied voice. "You were whistling Thrales' Beadnell tune."
Which I was. It's a nice tune. Thrales is a men's rapper team, based in Southwark. They dance a traditional dance called the Beadnell to a rather nice, unusual tune. I'm not sure if their musician, the amazing MJ, wrote it or whether it's also traditional. Either way it's very much "their" tune; no other team uses it (as far as I know).
Well, fine. Surely, though, the tune only really identified that the whistler was someone in, or associated with, the rapper team?
Apparently not, no. Because I'm the only one who walks round whistling.
On closer investigation, this isn't actually true. Disembodied Voice was wrong; at least one other Mabel habitually walks about whistling. However, I got the distinct impression that DV had reached her conclusion on the grounds that (a) I whistle and (b) it's a really weird and unusual thing to do, so I'm probably the only one.
I have been wondering, therefore, whether I have a completely skewed perception of the social acceptability of whistling. Despite being told when I was small that, along with barnyard fowl, whistling women were of no use to God or to man, I cheerfully whistle all over the show.
I also sing to myself, but I would never, for example, sing while walking through a crowd. I wouldn't talk to myself. I would, however, whistle. I can't justify why I think singing in the street makes you look like a nutter, but whistling doesn't.
I don't whistle - say - while at my office desk or while on a train. That is, however, more of a general prohibition on making unnecessary noise near people who can't get away than anything to do with the specifics of whistling.
Throughout this poll, I'm talking about whistling tunes using just your mouth. If you can whistle by putting your fingers in your mouth, that's not what I'm asking about. If I whistle in the street, it's a tune, not a wolf-whistle. I whistle to myself, not at others.
Although I don't have great pitch, so may offend musicians, I'm reliably informed the noise I produce is usually a recognisable thing, not tuneless warbling.
[Poll #1630269]
no subject
Date: 2010-10-11 06:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-11 08:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-12 09:21 am (UTC)An alternative hypothesis might be the prevalence these days of personal stereos, MP3 players and the like. People have no need, now, to create their own soundtrack to their wanderings.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-13 09:47 am (UTC)I defnitely whistle it (and lots of pop) more than I listen to it, probably because it means I can remix/distill it down to the bits I like and play around with variations or mashups.
With tunes that aren't designed to be sung or played with a wind instrument it definitely does help to be able to whistle on the inbreath as well as the outbreath. But once you can do that the only issues are where you've multiple parts to play.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-13 09:51 am (UTC)I think there's plenty of stuff you can't easily whistle, just because its notable features don't really include melody. Just try whistling Kanye West's Golddigga :)
no subject
Date: 2010-10-12 10:22 am (UTC).... I suppose whistling Mumford and Sons does at least remove the dilemma of how to remove f-words when singing little lion man in the presence of small children.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-12 10:25 am (UTC)