You've heard of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, no doubt, but you may not have realized that Rhiannon Giddens was this good on, of all things, the kazoo:
I wonder if she embosses, gaps the reeds, swaps out cover plates, speaker/tube swaps, C/M or C/R, white label/black label, effects pedals, reverb, mics or line-outs, customizes, flat sands, impedance matches, D/I box, switchcraft connector, pre-war/post-war, tongue blocks/ puckers...........
Interestingly, the kazoo is actually much like the trumpet or the trombone in one way: you have to be able to hear correct pitch and produce it. A kazoo has no notes, cannot be tuned and will never "hide" out-of-key playing.
Some people think of it as a novelty or a toy. I have a trumpet with a kazoo for a mouthpiece; it's a lot of fun!
She is quite good at it; very tuneful. The Carolina Chocolate Drops are a great band, too.
You don't need to hit the note exactly on brass instruments. You have to pick high and low, but you don't have to aim for the exact note- that's what the valves are for. You can play Taps in all open position, but to get smaller intervals you need the valves. There are, I think, some more archaic brass predecessors to the trumpet that were controlled entirely by embouchure.
I have a terrible time with kazoos. I hum too hard and break them. I am learning to play some tunes on slide whistle though. I wish I could find a bass slide whistle. They are a little high pitched for my taste.
Great stuff. In the 70's there was a local band where I was in school that styled themselves like Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks. I think they went by the name Ron & Gene and Their Hot Licks, or something. They had a guitarist who played kazoo like lead guitar. It brought the house down.
@nancoran -- Sorry, but as a longtime professional brass player I have to tell you that to play a brass instrument well you sure as hell DO have to buzz the exact note that you are trying to play. Not only that, the cleaner, stronger and more resonant your buzz, the more resonant, beautiful and powerful your sound will be, and the more you will be able to control the notes to make music.
The only thing controlled by the valves (or trombone slide) is the length of the tubing you are buzzing into and the subsequent harmonic series of notes you are working with. The rest is up to you and your chops.
It's actually a lot closer to controlling the 2-hole and 3-hole draw bends on diatonic, or controlling the pitch of overblows in the sense that the accuracy of pitch, resonance of the note and control of its musical expression are dependent upon your skill and musicality.
Last Edited by droffilcal on Dec 19, 2013 12:04 AM
Not to hijack your thread Adam but Dom Flemons, playing the Banjo here, is a equally talented in his own way; he's a multi-instrumentalist, singer and American musicologist. In addition to the banjo he plays guitar, bones, jug and... harmonica.
Dom has just recently split off from the Drops and is now going solo. It's bittersweet for me. I love the Drops the way they are but Dom is such a musical force that I know he needs more room to grow, so I can't wait to see what he comes up with.
Here's a sample of Dom's harp playing:
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Last Edited by mlefree on Dec 19, 2013 8:25 AM
droffilcal, I've played brass (baritone and a little trumpet)and I wouldn't say I buzz the same note, at least not in the same sense that you do with a kazoo. It's been a while since I played, and maybe I'm just describing what's going on in my mouth differently, but it doesn't feel as aimed as a kazoo.
Sadie Green has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it done by Jim Kweskin's Jug Band on a recording back in the 80's. I ran across this little window into history a while ago. This is how people got music before cd's and vinyl. Note the artwork and the trailers for other music.
I saw the Pittsburg philharmonic do a 4th of July show once. They did the 1812 overture with real cannons! Outside of course. Then during another piece, they all played Kazoos. Great Show. I really enjoyed the Sadie Green song, thanks STME58.
