Humwhistle

Humwhistle, also known as "hum and whistle", or "whistle-hum", is a type of musical technique in which the singer manipulates the resonances (or formants) created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out of the mouth and nose region to produce a two pitch melody using both a hum and a whistle simultaneously creating one action. Humwhistling is an important folk art with a long history and evidence in other art forms like field holler, overtone singing , and yodeling.
Importance to Folk Art and Music
The dual tone skill is important and a necessary musical technique to other art forms including Jazz and yodeling. Similar to Spivey’s Corner National Hollerin Contest , humwhistling is in threat of becoming an extinct folk art as profiled in a news story by the National Public Radio (NPR) The feature NPR story states, "'Each holler meant different things, and you communicate from farm to farm and around on the farm. Back before telephones..." Humwhistlers are usually participants of Spivey’s Corner National Hollerin Contest , International Whistlers Convention, Barbershop Harmony Society, and Vent Haven Ventriloquist Convention. The Barbershop Harmony Society and Humwhistle International Society are based in Nashville, Tennessee with Vent Haven Ventriloquist Convention exactly 266 miles north of Nashville in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. The close proximity of the three organizations help foster and continue to grow the humwhistle community.
Evolution & History
Humwhistle has a long complex history as a form of communication, music, and unique folk art. Humwhistle evolved from two forms: whistling and humming.
Human whistling is a sound a person makes when a flow of air passes through a hole. The most common form of whistling is manipulated air by a person’s lips, tongue, teeth or fingers while using the mouth as a resonating chamber. A second form of human whistling can happen from cupped hands, blade of grass, or a few other methods.
A human hum noise is a wordless tone with the mouth closed or open causing the vibrations to exit through the nose area. The hum has a monotone and basic mechanics caused by a person breathing. Both whistling and hums are considered forms of communication and a part of the art culture. In Jazz and other genres of music, whistling and humming can be used to produce sounds similar to a physical instrument.
Humwhistle is an art form hybrid between human whistling and humming. The humwhistle is a very rare and difficult task since it requires simultaneously pushing sound from the nostril region and mouth. Some very talented humwhistlers can create a high pitch with a whistle and a low pitch with a hum (or vice versa) at the same time.
Communication of Humwhistle
Some believe the humwhistle was designed to scare off predators or hurtful insects like bees. In nature, animals, like elephants, will whistle or hum to alert their families of danger or emotions. Joseph Jordania believes humming was an important role in the early human (hominid) evolution as contact calls. Charles Darwin wrote about the phenomenon on the example of the wild horses and the cattle (Darwin, Descent of Men, 2004:123). Joseph Jordania states soft hums and musical sounds relax humans (see the use of gentle music in music therapy, lullabies).
Humwhistle Competitions
The most famous humwhistle competition is the Humwhistle International Society's World Championships. Since 2014, this annual event takes place in Nashville, Tennessee and awards the best performances in various humwhistle categories. The event is spectator-friendly and open to any nationality. Humwhistle International Society provides education, history, and competitions for the world's best humwhistlers. The organization is also contending for a "Humwhistle Day" in the United States.
Popular Culture & Modern Day Humwhistlers
The humwhistle musical art form is very complex and singers can produce a high pitch and low pitch simultaneously. The two best examples of the humwhistle are performed by Mike Green and Pentatonix member Avi Kaplan. Avi Kaplan blends overtone singing with humwhistling during his group's (Pentatonix) performances in the Amsterdam's Paradiso show seen in this Youtube video. . Previous humwhistle performances by Avi Kaplan has garnered over 75,000 views on certain Youtube videos. Mike Green's humwhistle can be seen in a Youtube video that has garnered over 4,000 views.

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