Some Traditional Meanings & Contemporary Uses For Whistles

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is the first post in an ongoing pancocojams series about the cultural meanings of and uses for blowing whistles (instruments)in various Black cultures throughout the world.

This post presents several complete article reprints and article excerpts/comments about the traditional meanings and contemporary uses of blowing whistles (instruments). 

All other posts in this pancocojams series will be given in no particular order.

Subsequent posts can be found under various tags that include the words "blowing whistles" (such as "blowing whistles history", "blowing whistles during Soul line dancing", and "blowing whistles during Haitian Ra Ra processions").    

The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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DIFFERENTIATING "BLOWING A WHISTLE" FROM "WHISTLING"
1. From https://www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › whistle
"The meaning of WHISTLE is a small wind instrument in which sound is produced by the forcible passage of breath through a slit in a short tube."

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2. From https://www.google.com/search?q=a+whistle+definition
"whistling

a clear, high-pitched sound made by forcing breath through a small hole between partly closed lips, or between one's teeth.

"the audience cheered and whistled" "

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SELECTED ARTICLES AND COMMENTS ABOUT BLOWING WHISTLES

These sources are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

SOURCE #1
From https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmafa_91-4-3
"Whistle (nsiba)

Maker

Kongo artist

….The Kongo say that dogs have "four eyes"--two for this world and two for the other. As domestic animals, dogs are at home in the village, the land of the living. As hunting dogs, they go into the forest, the home of the dead. While whistles are used as hunter's signals by many African peoples, including the Kongo, there is another type of hunt with a more elusive quarry that reflects the special classification of the dog in Kongo thinking about the world of spirits. A whistle owned by a ritual specialist, or nganga, would be part of the public performance that occurs when he activates the spiritual forces contained in his nkisi, a container that sometimes takes the form of a figure and holds magical and medicinal substances. The dog in this context would symbolize the ability to control spiritual forces and, more particularly, skill at tracking witches, beings that intend harm to another. The whistle would be considered part of the nkisi and could be worn by the nganga, hung on the carved wood nkisi figure or incorporated into its bundle of medicines. Nsiba, the Kongo name for this type of whistle, comes from the verb "siba," which literally means to call on a nkisi.

A signed wood base (not illustrated) carved by the sculptor Inagaki indicates that this whistle was in Paris in the 1920s. It was in the collection of Dr. Stephen Chauvet, the author of a number of pioneering works on central African music and medicine.

Description

Whistle in two parts with (a) being the whistle finial decorated in the shape of a quadraped (probably a dog) and (b) as the whistle mouthpiece and sound box. The whistle's mount is a signed Inagaki wood base.

Provenance

Stephen Chauvet, Paris, probably before 1929 to 1950

Maurice Ratton, Paris, ca. 1950

Private collection, ca. 1965 to ca. 1985

Anthony Slayter-Ralph, Santa Barbara, ca. 1985 to 1991

Exhibition History

Healing Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 2016 - June 26, 2019”…

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SOURCE #2
From https://www.acmewhistles.co.uk/stories/musical-orchestral-whistles "The history of whistles as a musical instrument"

Orchestral

by Ben Mcfarlane - October 27, 2022
"Whistles are something we are all familiar with, even if they’re not something you may engage with on a daily basis. Often, people will have their first experience of whistles as children, with penny whistles, pea whistles, and sliding whistles being popular gifts for young ones. The distinct call of a whistle is also a strong memory from PE lessons and lunch times at school and can be a fond memory of childhood days.

Before we get into the history of whistles as a musical instrument, we should first spend a moment to explain what whistles are and how they work. Essentially, a musical whistle is something that can be used to create sound by applying air pressure, such as a breath. Whistles are basically made up of two parts: a mouthpiece through which air is applied, and a body that is hollow. Whistles take on many shapes and sizes and can be made from a huge variety of materials, but historically they are made to be relatively small and lightweight.

The first musical whistles

The technology to create basic whistles has been known to humans since ancient times. Early musical whistles were simple things, made by hand from available natural resources. From hollowed twigs to specially carved gourds and squash and even animal bones, whistles were made using whatever was to hand as long as it was lightweight and able to be carved or shaped. Due to the limited choice in materials, primitive whistles were often fragile and produced quieter, less consistent sounds.

These early musical whistles were mainly used for religious ceremonies and in celebrations which called for music. They were culturally significant in that they were used to help stories and folk wisdom be passed down through the generations, and were used during events that engaged the whole community. Music and song have been vital to the social development of human beings since the very beginning, and the whistle has been used as a musical instrument in this context for thousands of years.

Whistles as musical instruments and general tools through history

We have already touched on the use of whistles as an instrument in ancient times, but this is not the only context in which whistles have been used. Even in ancient times the whistle was also a tool of war and conflict. The Ancient Greeks and Egyptians used them aboard their ships to help rowers keep to a rhythm, and archers would use them as auditory signals, for example. Their military uses led to them being linked to marching bands, where they are used extensively in parades and during military drills to this day.

Whistles made their way into orchestral compositions quite early on as a woodwind instrument. They were used by Viking communities in Ireland in the 1100s, and continued to form part of musical ensembles of varying types over the centuries. It wasn’t until the 1600s that we started to see whistles in common use that more closely resembled flutes with their multiple finger holes, allowing the player to vary the note being played. Previously, these were difficult and time consuming to make by hand, so were relatively uncommon compared to single note whistles.

Traditional Irish music has long made use of musical whistles and as such the sound has become linked to the area in terms of culture. You can hear whistles used extensively in modern Irish music, but there are plenty of other styles that incorporate the musical whistle such as samba music. There are also many pieces throughout the years that have been specifically written to feature a whistles’ call."...

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SOURCE #3
From https://americanwhistle.com/pages/history-of-whistles

[no publishing date given, retrieved February 16, 2025]

"Whistles are an important part of everyday life. They are found in the pockets, on the key rings or around the necks of virtually everyone at some point or another. And like the wheel, whistles have been around so long, that no one gets credit for inventing them. We can almost imagine cave man Dad blowing on a hollow bit of tree limb to get the attention of teenage cave boys!

Whistles made of bone or wood have been used for thousands of years for spiritual, practical and entertainment purposes. One of the most distinctive whistles is the boatswain's pipe used aboard naval vessels to issue commands and salute dignitaries. It has evolved from pipes used in ancient Greece and Rome to keep the stroke of men in the galley. A medieval version was used during the Crusades to assemble English crossbow men on deck for an attack.

​The modern era of whistle use began in 1878 when a whistle was first blown by a referee during a sporting event. An English toolmaker - who was fascinated with whistles - fashioned a brass instrument that was used in a match at the Nottingham Forest Soccer Club. This device was found to be superior to the usual referee's signal of waving a handkerchief. The following year, the "pea whistle" was invented. Movement of a small ball enclosed in the whistle's air chamber produces the familiar trilling effect now commonly associated with American police and referee whistles. The pea whistle remains the world's largest-selling type. Although whistles come in many sizes and types, they must deliver a consistent shrill blast to be heard in difficult situations and under adverse conditions. Whistles are used extensively to promote safety for individuals of all ages.

​American Whistle Corporation's contribution to the world of whistles is an important one. We play a role in the market's continuity by providing high-quality and affordable whistles to users across the globe. We are proud of being the only manufacturer of metal whistles in the United States and plan to continue this tradition long into the future."

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SOURCE #4
From https://americanwhistle.com/pages/uses?srsltid=AfmBOopF5pmAWx0PeaP781tvID2S0wAr88DnYQuqU4hmB9BmeefcsjqT [no publishing date given, retrieved February 16, 2025]
"Uses of Whistles

Whistles are used extensively across many sporting activities. Referees and coaches for soccer, football, basketball and hockey and more rely on whistles to control practices and games. Every boat should be equipped with a safety whistle. Lifeguards have one in hand at all times. Scuba divers carry a whistle to signal their boat for pickup. Campers, hikers and skiers should never be without a safety whistle. If stranded, an individual can yell for help for an hour or two but then lose their voice. However, they can blow a whistle indefinitely to call for help. In addition, the piercing blast from a quality metal whistle is louder than a yell and carries much farther in search of help.

Police officers use whistles for traffic control and to sound alarm. This is true not only for our municipal departments but also for military forces, FBI, US Marshals, US Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Departments. Homeland Security recommends that a safety whistle be part of every home’s emergency readiness kit.

Colleges and universities often buy safety whistles in large quantities to hand out to incoming freshmen and transfer students each year. They serve the dual purpose of being an excellent safety tool as well as a visual reminder that each and every individual must remain aware of their own safety at all times."

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SOURCE #5
From https://www.reddit.com/r/marchingband/comments/1e3bfds/any_other_drum_majors_use_whistles/ 
"Any Other Drum Majors Use Whistles?" [selected comments]

1. r/marchingband
DocterEvil79, 2024
"Any other Drum Majors use whistles?

Discussion

So I'm going into Senior year, my third year of being a drum major, and using a whistle just feels like the norm. During NAU* Band day however, the other dms were fascinated that I used a whistle. And this summer when the new assistant drum major got their whistle, my director told them that we were one of the last bands to use them. So I was just curious, do any other drum majors use whistles?"
-snip-
*NAU= Northern Arizona University

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2. JtotheC23, 2024
College Marcher
"It’s a style thing. Whistles are usually used in bands that are more of a collegiate style (Big 10, hbcu, etc). In those environments, the drum major is very often within the band (think a Big 10 pregame) so it makes sense because distance isn’t an issue and you can’t really see anyone all that well. Some bands will do it regardless of setup tho because it basically becomes a standard procedure the same way “8 and in” is standard when using a met. Probably isn’t for the best in those situations, but some bands value consistency in practice over anything (i don’t agree personally, but it’s a completely valid thing).

The thing is, college style bands in high school are getting less and less common and therefore so is drum majors having and using a whistle. Corps style, it makes no sense to use a whistle. You use taps from the drums or “8 and in” on the met. Distance and the phasing because of distance is a much bigger and more common issue. Having the drum major whistle in counts, would often cause phasing almost immediately with how spread out corp style drill can get."

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3. bigenderthelove, 2024
Staff
"Ours use them to go from mark time to forward March"

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4. Pand0ras-B0x, 2024
Section Leader - Cymbals, Synthesizer
"Yeah, my hisghchool band does the same thing at parades"

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5. bigenderthelove, 2024
Staff
"Ours do it for parades and games, but we’re changing our answer to the call to attention this year so"

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6. lukasdoesrandomcrap, 2024
"Southern California drum Major here! Our band does corps style field shows but we still use whistles and batons for football games (pregame) and parades and such. Whistles may not be very common on the competition field but anywhere else it very much is"

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7. BluDucky, 2024
Staff
"Whistles were super uncommon where I grew up but seemed pretty standard for Arizona. My data is about 10 years out of date so I’m not certain if there’s been a shift down here in Tucson or not."

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8. sk3tchy_streaming, 2024
"As another commenter said, it’s pretty common in college bands. The DMs at App State use them, but I can’t think of any high schools in NC that use them"

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9. TubaJesus, 2024
Sousaphone
"my band used them back in high school but not in college. Different tweets meant different things. If we had a good drum major who knew their stuff, we could do field maneuvers and different speeds with just a whistle. and different song also had specific tweet patterns. Useful for stand tunes because there was no way a drum majors voice could carry far enough to give instructions. in college, they gave us earpieces for stand tunes, and we only used a whistle for parades."

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10. catsagamer1, 2024
Section Leader - Convertible Tuba, Trombone, Baritone
"Our drum major used a whistle my freshman and sophomore years, but our new director phased those out"

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11. saxguy2001, 2024
Director
"Are you talking for field shows or in general? I think it’s probably quite a bit more common for parades."

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12. blxcknote, 2024
Drum Major - Sousaphone, Contra
"At my high school, we used whistles to really get people's attention or when we need to make an announcement. After watching some videos of the college I'm going to, their drum majors use whistles to count the band off before playing something."

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13. Frigo-the-Frozen, 2024
Baritone
"European guy here: I have seen them with some bands, but mostly in March or parade context."

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14. My_Ping_Has_Died, 2024
"We use them for parade. Two tweets to get us in the block, two tweets plus mace for forward march and mark time, and a long tweet to get a roll off"

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15. thatone_mello, 2024
Mellophone
"My school marches show-style and is one of the only ones in like 75 mile radius im from FL (so its rare not to have another show style close they also use whistles.) and we use whistles for everything weather that be marching or to start practice and to get us to sit at attention. during our show the whistle is used to start our drill our ballad and our dance feature. only time during show when our DMs don't use whistles is during our breakdown."

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