People in high spirits are often wont to hum or whistle a lively tune. Yet these spontaneous improvisations belong to age-old traditions. The Book of Songs, an ancient Chinese poetry collection, describes how scholars considered whistling music and the art of whistling as an indispensible part of the literary tradition.

For many people whistling was just another way to express themselves during their childhood. Lee Chen-chi, who hails from Pingtung County’s Wandan Township, was no exception. When he was not in class, Lee often whistled to amuse himself while he tended water buffalo by a riverbank. At times the buffaloes were so entranced by the melodies that they would stop grazing.

When father and son perform, their whistling is more expressive than words.

An ancient musical tradition

Lee is sometimes described as Taiwan’s first whistling musician, and his love of music originated with his family. 

His father and his older brother were both musicians, one skilled at the hu­qin (a Chinese two-stringed fiddle) and the other at the clarinet. As a child, Lee was not allowed to touch their instruments, which were expensive and were relied upon to support the family. But this didn’t stop Lee from developing a deep interest in music.

When he was in middle school, Lee’s classmates convinced him to give an impromptu whistling demonstration, and their applause convinced him that whistling really was a form of music.

“The allure of whistling stems from the fact that it is a most primordial and emotionally moving sound,” says Lee. Unlike music produced on instruments like the flute or the pipa (a four-stringed Chinese lute), whistling relies solely on the lips.

In his transformation from whistling cowherd to master of whistling music, Lee had to rely on self-study until he grasped the essence of the art. This involved developing many techniques on his own, including learning to use his abdominal muscles to control his breathing and air flow. 

Su Zhaoxing (right), known as the “guitar prince of the East,” was instrumental in promoting Lee Chen-chi’s whistling music. (courtesy of Lee Chen-chi)

A difficult repertoire

Lee’s most famous song, “Yang­ming Chun­xiao” (“Spring Dawn on Yang­ming­shan”), was the theme song for the TV program The Daily Characters. Most songs are performed at 60‡70 beats per minute. But the tempo in the most difficult sections of “Yang­ming Chun­xiao” speeds up to 180 beats per minute, while the slowest requires 40 beats per minute. “It picks up to the point where I can hardly breathe, and then slows down to the point where I must exhale painfully slowly,” Lee says about the difficulty in changing tempo.

“The sound during a rapid-tempo passage must be steady and clear,” Lee says. He uses his diaphragm to control the pauses, and he creates variations in pitch by controlling the resonance of the air flowing between his lips. Controlled breathing allows him to produce long, gentle notes.

It took Lee two years of practice to perfect “Yang­ming Chun­xiao” and he had to adopt various techniques to attain mastery.

Not only has Lee managed to turn everyday whistling into a musical art performed at the National Concert Hall, but he has been brave enough to incorporate experimentation and new techniques into his repertoire.

This has been no simple feat. Lee, who is an excellent calligrapher, has been inspired by tales of the Song-­Dynasty literatus Su ­Dongpo and his third wife Wang Zhao­yun, which helped him create a new work, “Zhao­yun You­meng.” According to Lee the most difficult part was cultivating the depth of feeling and the means to express it. Only through endless experimentation and by asking for the assistance of vocalists and composers did he manage to create a new musical piece.

Lee Chen-chi has received a steady stream of invitations to participate in musical performances abroad, raising Taiwan's profile on the world stage. (courtesy of Lee Chen-chi)

Following in his father’s footsteps

Lee’s son, Yu-lun (a.k.a. U-Learn), has since followed in his father’s footsteps. As a child he would try to imitate his father, and when he was four years old he produced his first whistle. When he was seven, he took the stage with his father for the first time and with no rehearsal performed “Colonel Bogey March” (of Bridge on the River Kwai fame) to thunderous applause that left him feeling that being able to whistle was really something.

In elementary school, Yu-lun volunteered to perform for his classmates, but received only their taunts. After that, he didn’t willingly whistle in front of other people.

But one day while Lee Chen-chi was practicing “Yang­ming Chun­xiao,” Yu-lun piped in and began to accompany his father. Not only did he perform the whole piece splendidly, but his technique was even more refined than his father’s. “I’m still practicing, but you just nailed it,” his father said. Lee then invited Yu-lun to begin performing by his side.

While performing, Lee and his son infect the audience with their passion, and the interplay of their expressions and movements creates the unforgettable spectacle of a masterful performance by the father‡son duo.

The secret to their success is that through the whole performance, when Lee Chen-chi whistles Yu-lun intuitively understands his father’s cues. This makes them ideal partners. 

Lee Chen-chi is today a leading representative of the art of whistling music. His finest protégé, Yu-lun, can not only perform renditions of Chinese music but also of Western classical music, jazz and pop. He excitedly shares this whistling art wherever he goes, demonstrating that the primitive, emotive music made by the human body has the power to penetrate the human soul.

Lee Yu-lun’s whistling can be heard enticing customers at the end of MacDonald’s commercials and in the Taiwanese film The Village of No Return (2017). In addition, he has released a whistling jazz album, Make Me a Channel, and formed a trio with other whistling enthusiasts.

Lee Yu-lun has also collaborated with a publisher to produce teaching materials for whistling music. These materials rely on easy-to-understand combinations of text and illustrations that allow teachers to put them to use in the classroom without the need for lengthy preparation. He has also worked to cultivate talent for cross-strait whistling competitions that include participants from both Taiwan and mainland China.

Lee Chen-chi and Lee Yu-lun have brought whistling music to the National Concert Hall. (courtesy of Lee Chen-chi)

Success bolstered by family and friends

After being introduced to music by his father and brother, whistling music has been Lee Chen-chi’s lifelong companion. Another major supporter of his musical talent has been Su Zhao­xing, known as the “guitar prince of the East.” When he performed in the past, Su often asked Lee to take the stage and whistle a few songs, allowing a growing number of people to become familiar with whist­ling as music.

Other famous musicians who are at once friends and teachers include Fan Yu­wen and ­Cheng Ming, who first invited Lee to perform at the National Concert Hall. 

Lee has also received a stream of invitations to perform abroad, and his music has taken him to Lithuania, Russia, the United States, Canada, and many other countries. As the popularity of his art was growing, he was also invited to perform with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and to make Lip Serenade, the first album of whistling music recorded by an ethnic Chinese person, which was produced by a Hong Kong record company.

The father-and-son team of Lee Chen-chi and Lee Yu-lun have together built a stage for whistling music in Taiwan. They have put down roots for the art and publicized it far and wide, unselfishly sharing their techniques and establishing a Facebook fan page called “Lip Music.” In the future they hope to set up a society for whistling enthusiasts to practice and share their techniques. Ultimately the father‡son duo would like to overturn stereotypes about whistling and to reintroduce the beauty of whistling music into everyday life.     

A young Lee Yu-lun (front) fearlessly performs. He and his father have received a steady stream of invitations to participate in musical performances abroad. (courtesy of Lee Chen-chi)

Aside from being good at music and calligraphy, Lee Chen-chi is also a skilled painter. His paintings often depict scenes from his ancestral home in Pingtung County. (courtesy of Lee ­Chen-chi)

Lee Chen-chi produced a type of acrostic in the traditional cursive calligraphic style; the work was included in a special collection of calligraphy and painting titled Songs Without Words. (courtesy of Lee Chen-chi)

Celebrated whistling musician Lee Chen-chi is also a well-known calligrapher and is inseparable from his wife, to whom he is devoted.

Lee Yu-lun (left), blind pianist Huang Yu-siang and bassist Minco Lu have formed a musical trio. (courtesy of Lee Yu-lun)

The father-and-son team of Lee Chen-chi and Lee Yu-lun have together built a stage for whistling music in Taiwan.