Struggle to sing in tune? Give a little whistle instead, say scientists

IT MIGHT not go down well at a karaoke bar, but if you can’t hold a tune you are better off whistling because it is easier to follow the melody.

A study has found it is harder to sing than whistle in tune, which is why so many of us fall flat trying to hit a high note.

Bloorview Research Institute in Canada asked 34 people to copy melodies, created at random by a computer, in ascending and descending scales.

The results showed people performed better at whistling than singing.

Whistling is simpler because ancient humans evolved to control their lips and tongue early on. But singing requires control over the larynx – dependent on complex muscle and lung action – which evolved later. It may explain why great apes, our nearest relatives, can blow raspberries and whistle but can’t sing.

Writing in Royal Society Open Science, the authors, led by Dr Michael Belyk, said: ‘We suggest that evolution has not tuned the human vocal-motor system to the same degree as other neuromuscular systems.’