Kazoo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The kazoo is a simple musical instrument (membranophone) that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when one hums into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton - a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane. The membranophone label is a key element in the kazoo being called a musical instrument. Kazoos are often used by children because they are simple to use.
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[edit] Notes on Playing the Kazoo
While humming is the term typically used to describe the technique required to play a kazoo, a more accurate term would be singing into the kazoo. A person can hum with their lips completely closed. Humming with your lips closed around the mouthpiece of the kazoo will not change the sound - you must vocalize or "sing" in order for the kazoo to make any sound. Many people will struggle with getting any sound from a kazoo when instructed to hum. But when instructed to speak "do, do, do..." into the kazoo mouthpiece, the 'hard' vocalization makes a more effective sound.
[edit] History
Such instruments have been used in Africa for hundreds of years, to disguise the sound of somebody's voice or to imitate animals, often for various ceremonial purposes. It was on such an instrument that the kazoo, invented by an African American named Alabama Vest in the 19th century in Macon, Georgia, is based. The first kazoo was manufactured to Vest's specifications by Thaddeus von Clegg, a German clockmaker in Macon. The kazoo was originally marketed by a man named Kazoo Manpachapin who went on to invent a faulty facial hair preventative and fleeing to South America. The kazoo was first publicized at the Georgia State Fair in 1852. On December 31, 2006 at 11:40PM the Guinness world record for the world's largest kazoo ensemble was broken with a new record of 2,679 participants in Rochester, New York on the Main Street Bridge.[1]
The first metal kazoos were manufactured and patented in Eden, New York, where they are still made in the original factory. A temporary kazoo can be made by combining comb and tissue paper or wax paper.
[edit] Professional usage
The kazoo is played professionally in jug bands and comedy music, and by amateurs everywhere. It is one of the few acoustic instruments to be developed in the United States and one of the easiest melodic instruments to play well, requiring only the ability to hum in tune. In North East England and South Wales, kazoos play an important role in so-called jazz bands (really children's marching bands).
In the Original Dixieland Jass Band 1921 recording of "Crazy Blues", what the casual listener might mistake for a trombone solo is actually a kazoo solo by drummer Tony Sbarbaro. The Mound City Blue Blowers had a number of hit kazoo records in the early 1920s. The Mound City Blue Blowers featured Dick Slevin on metal kazoo and Red McKenzie on comb-and-tissue-paper kazoo. The vocaphone, a kind of kazoo with a trombone-like tone, was occasionally featured in Paul Whiteman's Orchestra. Trombonist-vocalist Jack Fulton played it on Whiteman's recording of "Vilia" (1931) and Frankie Trumbauer's "Medley of Isham Jones Dance Hits" (1932).
The kazoo is not often found in European classical music, a rare exception being David Bedford's With 100 Kazoos, a piece which emphasizes the simplicity of the instrument - rather than being played by trained musicians, kazoos are handed out to members of the audience, who accompany a professional instrumental ensemble.
One of the best known kazooists in recent times might be Barbara Stewart. She was a classically trained singer who has written a book on the kazoo[2], formed the "quartet" Kazoophony, and performed at Carnegie Hall. She recently appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Jimi Hendrix famously played a kazoo part on the song "Crosstown Traffic" from his 1968 album Electric Ladyland. He used a hastily constructed comb and waxed paper setup (often mistaken for a peculiarly buzzy guitar tone), as it was the only way to achieve the sound he was looking for.
Another well known modern band to use the kazoo is The Cure who sometimes use it in acoustic sessions, perhaps most famously in their song The Walk for MTV Unplugged.
The instrument also features prominently in the game of "Swanee-Kazoo" in the long-running British radio panel game, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and also in the song "Over and Over" by Hot Chip in their albulm "Warning".
Jason Dunn, from the Canadian Punk Rock Band Hawk Nelson, is a self proclaimed Kazoo Expert, revealing in Winter Jam that he practiced for "Several weeks." He features a "Kazoo Solo" in the song "Hello" in their Sophmore Album Smile, It's the End of the World
The Red Hot Chili Peppers cover of the Ohio Players song Love Rollercoaster uses a kazoo in the verse.
Weird Al Yankovic uses Kazoo on several of his parodies most notable is replacing the guitar solo on "Smells Like Nirvana" with Kazoos and the end of "Headline News" with Kazoos.
[edit] External links
- Kazooco, kazoo museum and historic manufacturer
- Eden, NY, home of Kazooco
- "This is a kazoo!" Captain Kazoo: The world's largest private kazoo collection. More history, including details on the mirliton.
- List of pop kazoo performances including Eric Clapton, The Kinks, and Pink Floyd.
- Ever wondered what a Kazoo sounds like through a wah-wah pedal?
- Kazoo Links Kazoo information and links
- The Kazoo Funk Orchestra Pop band who use electric kazoos with effects pedals.
