Talk:Kazoo

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Removed link to the Electric Kazoo website because it was a advert. Uwilldrop 18:50, 7 September 2005 (UTC)


The following was removed as "highly dubious":

The kazoo is the only musical instrument developed in the United States and the only melodic instrument that anyone can play.

Please name another musical instrument developed in the United States. Please name another melodic instrument that anyone can play.

Ortolan88

OK: sousaphone and voice. Don't mean to be snide, but both fit.

--dreamword

You think anyone can play the sousaphone? Should I present myself as an example of someone who can't? KQ


Dreamword, It's a better challenge than you think. Not everyone can play the sousaphone, and the voice is an instrument only metaphorically. If only the theremin had been developed in the US.... -- Someone else 04:57 Jan 11, 2003 (UTC)

The theremin is damned hard to play (and you look most ungraceful doing it). My son was in a band with a theremin in it (even the Beach Boys couldn't manage it, that's a keyboard instrument on "Good Vibrations"). Ortolan88
What a bunch of cheaters! I feel thoroughly rooked. Can everyone play the Paul Tanner Electro-theremin? <G> -- Someone else
The theremin is actually quite difficult to play, as it requires rather precise & fluid movement, & the player has to stand perfectly still otherwise, else the instrument introduces unintended noise. KQ
Fair enough, I guess unintended noise is the opposite of melody! -- Someone else 05:06 Jan 11, 2003 (UTC)

How about the banjo? -- Zoe

The sentence said the kazoo was the only instrument developed in the US (but so was the sousaphone, or if you prefer, a hundred and one synthesisers - the Buchla, the Moog, the original RCA), and that it was the only melodic instrument that anyone can play, which isn't true because you have to be able to sing to play it, which not everyone is (people can be physically incapable of singing, I mean). Aside from which, you could say anyone can play the piano (not well, admittedly, but not everyone can play the kazoo well either). It was correct to remove the sentence, because it isn't true. --Camembert

Anyone with limbs and unrestricted movement can play the piano (and can play it in C major). Maybe we should stay away from "anyone" statements, just like the "everyone" ones, since one person alone could disprove them.  :-) --KQ
I challenge anyone to find a person who can't play the lagerphone BryanJones
That depends what you mean by play. A certain amount of experience is neded to produce a good tone. -- Tarquin 17:33 Jan 11, 2003 (UTC)
Well, I just mean one could stick to the white keys (or the closer keys, if blind) and bang an ok tune in C maj. Not great, probably, but arguably as accomplished as anything Yanni's done. But now we're belaboring the point.  :-) --KQ
yes, we are. But it wasn't a typo. tOne, not tUne. and "bang" was exactly my point. -- t
My number-two son, the one who played in a band with a theremin, can catch your attention playing a single chord on the piano (or a couple of notes on bass). There is a big difference between banging and playing, speaking as one who banged the drums in a rock and roll band with three real musicians. Ortolan88
Yes, I'll concede both those points, but really if Yanni plays music then anyone can sit at a piano & hit keys at random and call that music too. So we're back to tarquin's "That depends what you mean by play." Or, more fundamentally, that depends on what you mean by music. FWIW, I do think Yanni is music, just not good music. Now Davis/Coltrane/Monk: that's music.  :-) KQ p.s. oh, and Brubeck bangs the hell out of the piano, but in his heyday he did indeed play.
but he bangs with style' ... ;-) - t
Of course, as a refined individual, I have never actually heard this Yanni you speak of. Ortolan88
Worse than that: Yanni <-- see? no article. ergo he doesn't exist! ;-) -- t
Great, now he goes on the most-wanted list. Ortolan88

The banjo is an African instrument, but otherwise you can consider me officially crushed like a bug. Ortolan88

I wrote the offending sentences in the exhilaration of writing about the kazoo and got carried away. Not only should writers avoid "anyone" and "everyone", but also "first". After all, Cortez, the "first explorer in Mexico" hooked up with Malinche, a Spanish speaking native who had been taught the language by previous visitors from Spain. And Thomas Edison didn't invent the phonograph. As I say, carried away by exuberance, the opposite of being a troll. Ortolan88

Ah, don't worry about it Orto - anyone would have got excited writing about the kazoo ;) (seriously, it's a great instrument - I own four). Something like "The kazoo is one of the few acoustic instruments to be developed in the United States and one of the easiest melodic instruments to play, requiring only the ability to hum" would OK, I think (in fact, I think I'll add it now). I'm a real pedant when it comes to these things, I'm afraid :) --Camembert
In the song Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz, Sesame Street character Big Bird ponders if Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz is a "strange type of kazoo".

Is this really useful? We could, I suppose, note every time the word "kazoo" has been used in television, films, radio, books and so on, but I don't think it would be much use to anybody. --Camembert

Contents

[edit] Is Kazoo an instrument?

"...it should be noted that to call the kazoo (which merely distorts and amplifies the sound of ones hum) an instrument would require one to call the distortion pedal used for guitar an instrument.". Well, I am a proud musician, and I play several instruments, kazoo included; and sincerely I don't agree at all about this phrase. All woodwind instruments are based on someone's mouthpieces. Kazoo is not less honourable than other instruments like saxophone, flutes and others, in my opinion, thus I guess that affirmation should be removed, also because that metaphor doesn't work (I have a distortion pedal, and it is quite useless without a guitar). --Angelo 23:05, 7 January 2006 (UTC)


I agree. The comparison to a guitar pedal is inaccurate, as the pedal requires input from the guitar. --Umma Kynes 08:36, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Playing the kazoo

Ok, first time edit after discovering the Wikipedia world and my entire section was deleted by an administrator with no explanation. What did I do wrong? My addition was intended to enlighten those newcomers to a kazoo (there are more than you might think) on how to get it to make any sound. There is nothing inaccurate or argumentative that I can see in my edit. I hunted down the administrator's email address from her web site and asked this question, but in the mean time, can anyone else offer any advise or explanation? Thanks much.

The deleted section: Notes on Playing the Kazoo: While humming is typically used as 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 stuggle with getting any sound from a kazoo when instructed to hum. But when instructed to speak "do, do, do..." into the kazoo mouthpiece, viola! Music for all to enjoy. Bellzerr

Since I've seen no further discussion on "Notes on Playing the kazoo" and have received no reply to my personal email to Ms. Martin concerning the deletion of this section, I've inserted it back into place. Bellzerr 20:16, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

I found Bellzerr's comment helpful. I suggest that it be kept. Typofixer76 15:17, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Where else can kazoos be heard?

I am certain that I have heard a rendition of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin, with all instrumentation performed on a set of kazoos. However I cannot identify the performers, only that it likely has been around since the late 1970s. I suggest adding this to the Pop Culture section if proper attribution can be obtained. Typofixer76 15:23, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Barbara Stewart

I replaced the one guy with Barbara Stewart as she seems to be more notable. Also I just saw her on Conan. I'm not trying to tick anyone off, I just couldn't find much on this BrianApocalypse if that it is his real name. (Which I somehow doubt) Also I didn't put her name in brackets because at present Barbara Stewart leads to a politician from New Zealand.--T. Anthony 06:01, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tampa Red

If anyone wants to hear some REALLY GREAT kazoo playing (as opposed to its usual appearance as a "gag" instrument), check out the work of bluesman Tampa Red. He gets a wonderful trumpet-harmonica sound out of it, with interesting vocalization and wah effects. He's mostly known as a guitarist and singer, and he only breaks out the kazoo occasionally-- you can hear some excellent playing on a few old Ma Rainey records in addition to his solo work. It's a shame that the expressive possibilities of this instrument have not been explored further. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Paulybrooklyn (talk • contribs) 08:05, 13 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] History of Name?

is there any information on where the strange name comes from --voodoom 09:44, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Request for phraseology fix

"In North East England and South Wales, kazoos play an important role in so-called jazz bands (really children's marching bands)."

This sentence is pretty unintelligable - I'd correct it myself but I have no idea what it's on about. Thanks 82.20.14.88 (talk) 07:59, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Removed trivial list

I have removed almost the entire section listing recordings with kazoos - more than 20 different items, none with references, and none with much point except to say "hey, I heard a kazoo on this record!" It could use some expansion about when/if/why kazoos are used in recordings today, but that wasn't it. - DavidWBrooks (talk) 22:36, 28 May 2008 (UTC)