Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-02
II FOR WHISTLERS
STARTS IN
Daily Letter by Frederic }. Haskin

WASHINGTON, Sept. "a
whistling school is being conducted
In this city. The art of whistling
which has so long been frowned
upon by sedate adults is being taught
scientifically to a group of boys and
girls by a speech specialist. What is
most remarkable. a woman of about
fifty years is in the class along with
the youngsters. She believes that
the old adage: "a whistling girl
and a growing hen never come to
any good end" is more sensible IN
its revised version: "a girl thai can
| whistle and a hen that can crow
will make their way wherever they
60"
The class in whistling is the idea
of DR.. Walter B. Swift, we'll known
speech specialist of Boston. He no.
ticed that many of his clinic patients
could not whistle. He also took
note of the fact that people who
whistle easily and we'll usually have
clear-cut speech. The doctor thought
cver these significant observations
and came to the conclusion that
whistling might we'll be a means of
clearing up defective speech. Ac-
cordingly, he held his first whistling
class in Boston last month--the first
whistling class in history, he whim-
sically calls it.
Eight students enrolled. One was
a stammerer. One had a phonetic
defect. And the other six came just
to learn to whistle. After a month
Of persistent work DR.. Swift report
ed that the stammerer had i'm
proved so per cent in his speech
while the boy with the phonetic
trouble also talked with noticeable
Improvement. The children with
whistling ambitions were joyously
thrilling all sorts of tunes. The
whistling doctor then moved to
Washington to conduct his next ex-
pertinent.
Whether or not the experiments
justify his theory, the doctor is a
strong advocate of whistling as
music anG exercise. He says. EVERY
body should whistle. 1t is the great
est worry killer I know of. Try t
when you feel gloomy and watch
yourself cheer up. Whistling should
be a part of everybody's education;
1t tends to improve speech even If
there is no defect"
A Good Vocal Exercise
The method of producing a whist
ling sound and the method of speak
ing are closely allied. the doctor
points out, so that whistling is good
vocal exercise. Then too when
, person whistles he listens to the
sound he is producing and tries tc
| make it clear and pleasing.
That most people need to improve
, their speech is obvious. The Ameri
can voicd is harsh and rasping, du'
to fast, high pitched. and %slovenll
. conversation. If we listened to ouI
speech as we listen when we sing o.
whistle we would soon have more
agreeable voices, DR.. Swift says. w
would pronounce our final g's anC
/ cease to run words together in
tumble. We would talk slowl,
enough to make u words distinct
and softly enough to produce pleas
ing sounds. But most people do no
listen. We are so intent on the re
marks we want to make that tn
technique seems unimportant.
This is no defense, however, C
the individual who always hears hi
voice when he is speaking. Such
person so enjoys the melody that Il
= draws from his instrument that hi
self-consciousness is easily apparen
There is presumably a happy med
UNI. Listen to your voice
l ally, enough to become sensitive :
{ your defects. and listen to the voice
of other people. That will help 70
: to discriminate between a pleasin
voice and grating mannerism
These methods have been advocate
, all along. Whistling is the new &C
dition to the list of suggestions to
speech improvement.
Learning to whistle seems simpl
as DR.. Swift teaches it. He oper
the class by testing each pupil
/, foundation for whistling. The rec
= ord of the speech defect. if there
any, has been obtained before tn
class begins.
Can you whistle? Some? Good.
!, says the doctor to a sixteen year o!
boy. "Whistle something"
The boy strikes up "Yanke
Doodle" and gets through it credit
ably though not all the notes al
correct. He is then given a whistlin
I lesson: to practice Yankee Doodl
Ave times a day for five minutes at
time.
A bright and smiling little cha
of nine with a faint lisp in h
q speech is next. He speaks In vel
deep, monotonous tones. the docte
u points out. He says hat he can
whistle at all.
Try" urges the doctor. "w,