How to Play the Leaf Whistle

How to Play the Leaf Whistle
Written By
Eric Michaels
Eric Michaels
Published: May 11, 2011
Updated: Jan 10, 2019
1 minute read

Leaf whistling is an ancient Hawaiian practice of blowing into a leaf to make it vibrate in different pitches. Hawaiians developed the practice by using leaves from the ti plant and blowing into their hands. Leaf whistling works much the same way as reed instruments such as clarinets and saxophones. With reed instruments, the vibration of the reed from your breath creates the sound. You want to create an air chamber with your hands for the leaf vibrations to resonate.

Place the leaf between the inner thumbs of the right and left hand.

Cup your hands to form an air chamber.

Stretch the leaf as tightly as possible from the top and bottom of your thumbs.

Blow into the middle of the leaf and make it vibrate in the air chamber.

Eric Michaels

Eric Michaels has been a writer since 2004. His writing has appeared in the music of Paper Thick Walls and Glasko. He is a graduate of Loyola University, Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in English and theater.

Sponsored
Our Pastimes Logo

A destination for the avid collector and weekend hobbyist alike, Our Pastimes features articles and tips about your favorite cards and games, hobbies and more.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.