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In two different rock songs from the 80s that I've listened to, Fool in the Rain by Led Zeppelin and Paradise City by Guns N' Roses, there has been a part in the song after the first verse and chorus or so where an actual whistle seems to be blown, like a taxicab whistle or a real whistle, and then a slightly different style of rock is played for a little bit and then a return to the normal music style and form of the original bit of the song. What is this called? Was it just a popular thing in 80s rock?

Peter Nielsen
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    Pretty sure “Fool In The Rain” is not from the 80s and a whistle is a musical instrument, usually considered percussion. It’s much more common in some South American styles of music, which is why it’s part of the samba section of “Fool In The Rain”. This question is kinda like asking what it’s called when a snare drum is played in a song. It’s just a whistle. – Todd Wilcox Jul 14 '22 at 02:57
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    I'm not clear on the question. Are you asking if there's a special name for using a whistle? For songs that contain a whistle? For changing style after a whistle? Something else? Please clarify. – Aaron Jul 14 '22 at 03:05
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    @ToddWilcox FWIW, "Fool in the Rain" was released in 1979 and was on the charts in early 1980 (so sez Wikipedia the all-knowing). – Aaron Jul 14 '22 at 03:08
  • @Aaron Yeah I know. Zeppelin is the reason why I learned music. Both because it was released in 1979 and because of the musical style, to me it’s not 80s music. – Todd Wilcox Jul 14 '22 at 03:17
  • Being so unusual, it's probably called 'whistle-blow'. Far more heard in progessive jazz, and music from South America - Brazil, Cuba, etc. – Tim Jul 14 '22 at 07:24
  • Do you by any chance mean guitar harmonics. Something that can give a chimey whistle type sound? – Neil Meyer Jul 14 '22 at 09:45
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    @aaron for me it seems like the question is about the device of a whistle introducing a change of style. But I agree clarification is needed – AakashM Jul 14 '22 at 10:31
  • @NeilMeyer No, there are actual whistles used in samba and in Fool In The Rain (and Paradise City). In the full transcriptions for Fool In The Rain it has a line for the whistle part in the percussion staff. – Todd Wilcox Jul 14 '22 at 12:46
  • There is a synth on paradise city. Is that what you are hearing? – Neil Meyer Jul 14 '22 at 13:34
  • Off topic, but what is a literal whistle? – Lazy Jul 14 '22 at 16:17
  • @lazy a whistle that's not figurative, duh :-) . Or do you mean Whistle: A Helmholtz modulator typically short and with no tone holes (as opposed to the similar Ocarina); vs. instruments generating waveforms similar to that produced by said whistle? – Carl Witthoft Jul 14 '22 at 16:32
  • @CarlWitthoft So you means something like a disfigured whistle? A whistle that was once dropped and a whole big samba group walked over ... – Lazy Jul 14 '22 at 16:35
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    Related: I just put the question to musicfans to see if we can expand the timeframe of the samba whistle device to signal sudden changes in tempo, rhythmic, or timbral changes. – Theodore Jul 14 '22 at 17:04
  • @NeilMeyer The whistle on Paradise City occurs at 1:20. – Theodore Jul 14 '22 at 18:57

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As the comments already said, this sort of whistle comes from Samba music.

Its name is apito, or apito de samba. But it's probably more useful to just say samba whistle when talking about it in English with people not so familiar with Brazilian music.

...I suppose that's all there is to answer here.

leftaroundabout
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  • The one part of this not fully complete is I don’t detect a samba feel in Paradise City. I think conflating the two songs is a mistake on the part of the asker. – Todd Wilcox Jul 14 '22 at 12:47
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    The Wikipedia article states quite clearly that the bandleader uses the apito de samba to signal transitions to the band. That should apply to "Paradise City" as well as "Fool in the Rain." – Theodore Jul 14 '22 at 14:05
  • @Theodore Wiki notwithstanding I'd say, at least in a few rock songs such as the LZ onese mentioned, the whistle signals the audience as well. – Carl Witthoft Jul 14 '22 at 16:33
  • @CarlWitthoft Of course! After the audience has heard it once, they get to know the meaning. I guess I was indirectly arguing that for lack of a better term, we might just call it a "samba whistle" any time it's used at a transition, regardless of genre or tradition, and whether it's a proper tri-tone samba whistle or another type of whistle instrument. – Theodore Jul 14 '22 at 16:38