Artistic whistling, or siffleurism, was a prestigious musical genre with international stars in the early 20th century.

Artistic whistling reached its peak popularity between the late 19th century and the 1940s. Alice Shaw, known as 'The Whistling Belle,' became a global sensation in the 1880s by performing difficult classical repertoire. She even performed for royalty and recorded for Thomas Edison's phonograph company in 1907, proving the genre's commercial viability.The physiological complexity of siffleurism involves the manipulation of the tongue, lips, and soft palate to create a resonant chamber. Unlike most instruments, the 'siffleur' cannot see their instrument and must rely entirely on muscle memory and internal air pressure. Fred Lowery, a blind performer who rose to fame in the 1930s, sold millions of records and demonstrated that whistling could achieve the same nuance as a flute or violin.Modern research into the physics of whistling shows that it is a form of 'edge tone' production where air is directed against a sharp edge, in this case, the lips. The International Whistlers Convention, established in 1973 in Louisburg, North Carolina, continues to preserve this tradition. Today, the World Whistlers Convention in Japan attracts competitors who perform everything from Mozart to contemporary jazz, maintaining the high technical standards set a century ago.