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Expert whistler from Saskatoon takes his talent to worldwide competition

Expert whistler from Saskatoon takes his talent to worldwide competition

It's something that many people can do, but not well.

Saskatoon's Mike Sheinin is an expert whistler. The uniquely talented musician will soon be heading to Japan to compete in the World Whistlers Convention.

Sheinin, who works in the technology sector by day, said he has whistled all his life but didn't know he could compete until last year when he came across a video online.

"I thought, I can hang with those people," he said.

"I've been practising all my life. Everytime I'm in the car...to the radio. If I have a song in my head, I just whistle it."

Sheinin participated in his first competition in Hollywood in 2017. He said participants came from all over Canada, U.S., Japan and India.

For the upcoming competition in Japan, Sheinin said each participant has to whistle a piece of classical music, which means perfecting the sounds of instruments, including the flute.

He's also been practising Believer by Imagine Dragons.

Sheinin said he also enjoys whistling to Bruno Mars and Sam Smith. It's a departure from his original whistling music—Styx, Meatloaf and The Eagles — three of his mother's favourites.

Last week, Sheinin said he took his whistling to the stage of an open mic night in Saskatoon. Many people in the audience started recording his performance on their phones.

"I haven't done it in front of too many people but the people that I have are kind of amazed," he said.

Perfecting the whistle

Most whistlers play instruments, Sheinin said, but he doesn't have a musical background.

He said he hones his craft by whistling the same songs over and over again, finding ways to change up songs and make them his own.

Even good whistlers have different styles and techniques, Sheinin said, explaining that he has a higher pitch than many others.

Perfecting the whistle is all about controlling your breath and changing notes mid-breath, he said.

If you want to improve your whistling, Sheinin suggests taking it easy.

He said most people blow too hard, when it actually requires a soft, H-like sound.

Listen to Sheinin's rendition of Believer above.