How the dog whistle makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the dog whistle belongs to the flutes (edge-blown): an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating – flutes, recorders, whistles and panpipes.
More broadly it is one of the aerophones (wind instruments), where sound comes from vibrating air.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
A dog whistle (also known as silent whistle or Galton's whistle) is a type of whistle that emits sound in the ultrasonic range, which humans cannot hear but some animals can, including dogs and domestic cats, and is used in their training. It was invented in 1876 by Francis Galton and is mentioned in his book Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development, in which he describes experiments to test the range of frequencies that could be heard by various animals, such as a house cat. Dog whistles were invented to explore auditory perception in animals and have since evolved into tools primarily used for dog training, with commercial developments leading to more specialized and efficient designs.
References to dog whistles also appear in children's media, including cartoons and educational programming, where they are used as examples in discussions about sound, hearing, or animal behavior.
Other flutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a dog whistle sound like?
As one of the flutes, its sound comes from the way an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating.
What type of instrument is the dog whistle?
It is classified as flutes (edge-blown) (Hornbostel–Sachs 421.221.421).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q1423051 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Dog whistle – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Sebastian Hartlaub – CC BY-SA 3.0