Third & Bird - News

Why I Love Whistling - Mon 30 Mar, 2009

By Michael Barimo, World Champion Whistler

Birds have long been my whistling inspiration. When I was three years old, my aunt bought me a bright yellow canary. I was fascinated by this amazing creature whose florid song kept me mesmerized for hours at a time.  As I began to learn how to whistle, I would try to mimic its intricate call, and after a while, I was able to get a response from him. Initially, I could only whistle while breathing in, but listening to the canary's song showed me how I could whistle both while breathing in and breathing out, the technique works whether whistling a bird call or Mozart cadenza.

For the past 10 years, I have shared my life with an enthusiastic African Grey parrot who repeats my whistles, only at a much higher and louder pitch! For many parrots and pet birds, whistling serves as communication, and it was largely this childhood attempt to connect with our feathered friends that led me to whistle myself.  After combining this bird-like sound with operatic music (another passion of mine) I have been able to create a musical hybrid that hopefully builds a musical bridge between humans and birds. The opportunity to work on 3rd & Bird! has clearly been a dream come true, given that it permits me to interpret a cast of thoughtfully developed characters through their individual whistles, and the chance to share this with small children truly brings my whistling adventure full circle. 

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