# How would you describe the act of whistling whose purpose is to gain attention?



## The Backward OX (Oct 26, 2011)

You know the type of whistle I mean. One that has two changes in pitch, and with the middle note being both lower and held for much less time than the ones before or after. How would that type of whistling be described in a story?

Here's a contextual example: “A block past Buckland Road, a (blank) whistle pierced the air, and without thinking he slammed on the brakes.” I realise the adjective or adjectival phrase could simply be left out, but a good writer should be able to do better.


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## Sam (Oct 26, 2011)

The first thing the description of your whistle put me in mind of, OX, was a guy whistling at a girl he thinks is good-looking. Any time I've ever whistled for someone's attention, I placed two fingers in my mouth and whistled once, sharply and for maybe five or ten seconds. I've never heard anyone whistle more than once, but that doesn't answer your question. 

Something like: "A three-toned whistle pierced the air . . . " 

Probably not.


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## BabaYaga (Oct 26, 2011)

Yeah, I think the one for a girl (or guy) is a wolf-whistle. I don't know why exactly, never seen a wolf or even a dog successfully whistle anything. Perhaps you could describe the whistle more by what it does than what it sounds like, like 'a shrill, attention-grabbing' whistle, or a 'concentration-shattering' whistle. Those are both probably quite bad examples, but you know what I mean...


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## The Backward OX (Oct 26, 2011)

Sam, the pre-pc “wolf whistle” is a similar structure to what I described but the various pitches are different.

I suppose if your way was “sharp” enough it’d work – I guess I was thinking of people who don’t use their fingers.

Definitely don’t like “three-toned”.


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## The Backward OX (Oct 26, 2011)

BabaYaga - Good thinking.


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## Kyle R (Oct 26, 2011)

I believe I know which whistle(s) you are referring to.

The guy-whistling-at-girl one sounds like this: hwee-hwew

The three-toned-whistle sounds like: hweh-oo-wih

Am I correct?

If so, maybe you could describe the sound of that whistle using comparison. EG: "three notes of a wind chime", "three hammer falls on a xylophone", "a triad melody", or simply get into specifics "a whistle of three distinct pitches, strung together like a sagging necklace".

*shrug*?


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## JosephB (Oct 26, 2011)

I don't think you even need to describe the sound exactly. Just describe the situation. 

Fred heard someone whistle and slammed the brakes. He looked around to see who was trying to get his attention. Then he saw Bill standing in front of the hardware story, waving frantically. 

Or maybe:

Fred a heard a piercing whistle and slammed the brakes. He looked around to  see who was trying to get his attention. Then he saw Bill standing  in front of the hardware story, waving frantically. 

We can guess what the whistle sounded like. 

Or this may be one those things where it's not worth the extra words, or it's not important enough to justify the additional description or try to force it. So you move on and think of a more elegant or simple way to say that someone is trying to get your character's attention. Is the whistle that important or are you just locked into it for no good reason? Does some major plot twist pivot on the sound of this whistle?


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## The Backward OX (Oct 26, 2011)

> Originally Posted by *JosephB*
> 
> Does some major plot twist pivot on the sound of this whistle?​



As it happens, yes. That's why I need to get it right.


​


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## SeverinR (Oct 26, 2011)

I agree with Joseph.
Look at Kyle's example of the whistle,
Does it need to describe the whistle? 
We know what it sounds like to whistle for someone's attention, not to be confused with whistling a tune or whistling at a girl.


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## JosephB (Oct 26, 2011)

SeverinR said:


> I agree with Joseph.



This is pretty much how we could end all of these threads.


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## old man's dreams (Oct 26, 2011)

Agreed with the above suggestions. An exception is if whistling itself is central to the piece, or an important theme, or an important character trait. Then early on you can have a session where whistling is the topic of discussion, or an older character is teaching a younger character. That way you teach the audience various whistles, and can refer to them in action scenes using the simple labels taught earlier in the work.

Other than that I just can't see how to describe complex whistles on the fly without disturbing the flow.


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## Kyle R (Oct 26, 2011)

I can see describing the whistle if the sound is a recurring element.

Perhaps the villain always uses that specific whistle right before something bad is going to happen. In that case, describing the sound of the whistle would be necessary, since the whistle itself is going to be used as an emotional/psychological trigger.

But I do agree if the whistle itself isn't important, then putting too much effort into describing it would read tediously. Like an author describing the pattern on a character's clothing during a fistfight, when the clothing itself has no relevance to anything.


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## josh.townley (Oct 26, 2011)

What comes to mind for me is a 'cooee' whistle (sounds like a backwards wolf whistle I guess). I looked it up, and apparently it's mostly an Australian thing, so the meaning might be lost.
I would use it in the context: 'so-and-so whistled cooee...'


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## garza (Oct 26, 2011)

Joe has the answer.


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## The Backward OX (Oct 26, 2011)

No he doesn't. See amended Post #8


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## JosephB (Oct 26, 2011)

The Backward OX said:


> No he doesn't. See amended Post #8



Seriously? Details please.

If it's that important -- if it's a major plot deal, then you don't have to worry about explaining it all in just that little snippet then. You can pull out all the stops:

Fred heard a familiar whistle and slammed on the brakes. He knew who it was—Charlie. Whenever Charlie wanted to get someone’s attention, he’d let out a pricing whistle -- three sliding notes -- high, low and then back up again, like some crazy jungle bird.


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## garza (Oct 26, 2011)

Okay, I have it. Charlie is an ex navy bos'n. He can whistle the pipe calls. So when he wants to get a friend's attention he 'pipes' something like 'all hands on deck' or 'sides'.


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## JosephB (Oct 26, 2011)

I can't wait to hear how this whistle is so important to the plot!


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## Kyle R (Oct 26, 2011)

I can see it now.

The novel itself is called "The Whistler", and the intonation of the whistle itself, when done correctly, interferes with cardio-rhythmic contractions in anyone near enough to hear it. So the whistle itself is deadly.

A man discovers the whistle from ancient forbidden texts stolen from the files of a murdered archeologist. He uses the whistle to go on a crime spree, leaving a trail of dead employees and security guards and police officers at the downtown National Bank.

Our hero knows the whistle, too, but he would never dare to use it. Only, if he had the chance, would he use it on the villian. So he drives around with earplugs in, trying to hunt down the man by following his path of destruction.

LOL


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## The Backward OX (Oct 26, 2011)

JosephB said:


> Seriously? Details please.


Okay. MC is a cabbie. The main story is about a huge swag of stolen gold missing for 150 years. At this stage, MC isn’t interested in looking for it. I need to develop in MC’s mind _a variety of reasons_ for becoming fed-up with his job, in order that finding the gold takes on importance for him.

The whistle – a cab-stopping whistle* – occurs at an inopportune time, but MC, being conditioned, stops anyway. He then becomes embroiled in an argument with the intending passenger. As he drives off he thinks to himself, _I don’t need this type of aggravation_.

*Maybe that’s my answer – I’ll just call it a cab-stopping whistle. If I’d answered you before I created the thread I could have saved myself all this work. 

Eh? How was that again?

_Runs off to invent time-machine._


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## The Backward OX (Oct 26, 2011)

garza said:


> Okay, I have it. Charlie is an ex navy bos'n. He can whistle the pipe calls. So when he wants to get a friend's attention he 'pipes' something like 'all hands on deck' or 'sides'.


Or, in your case, 'Man Overboard!'


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## JosephB (Oct 26, 2011)

> If I’d answered you before I created the thread I could have saved myself all this work.



Excellent. So next time, maybe you'll make the attempt to provide enough meaningful detail or context -- and in the process, you'll answer your own question! *Not holding breath.*


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## The Backward OX (Oct 26, 2011)

I always was a slow learner Joe. I thought you knew that.


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## JosephB (Oct 27, 2011)

It's all good OX-man. Your threads are always a healthy mix of good clean fun and pure torture. The place wouldn't be the same without them.


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## Cran (Oct 27, 2011)

The Backward OX said:


> The whistle – a cab-stopping whistle* – occurs at an inopportune time, but MC, being conditioned, stops anyway.



I wondered if you meant a _taxi-grabber_ (or _cab-hailer_) ...


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## The Backward OX (Oct 27, 2011)

Cran said:


> I wondered if you meant a _taxi-grabber_ (or _cab-hailer_) ...



I'd never heard of either of these, but in context I could use _a cab-hailing whistle_. It'd work. I'll just wait a bit. Someone might come up with something else.


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## Cran (Oct 27, 2011)

I'd encountered the first from a New Yorker (if memory serves), the second from a Londoner.


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## ppsage (Oct 27, 2011)

I just read this in Frank Delaney's _Tipperary_. "It startled me when she whistled in her fingers, just like a man." Do I get extra points for it being Irish?


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## GRING0 (Nov 1, 2011)

Could you identify it simply as an _assertive_ whistle, and perhaps build onto it slightly to clarify the specific quality of it? (ex. its pitch _careening __through_ or _invading _the MC's thoughts).  Or is this thread already dead?


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