Wednesday 6 November 2024

UP YOUR KAZOO!

What does kazoo mean in slang?

KAZOO Also called mirliton. a musical toy consisting of a tube that is open at both ends and has a hole in the side covered with parchment or membrane, which produces a buzzing sound when the performer hums into one end. Slang. the buttocks.

 

I've been requesting that Richard writes a post on playing the gazoo but the request has fallen on deaf ears. Maybe he's gone deaf from playing the gazoo - who knows?
Intrigued, I checked out 'gazoo' on the internet and found this:
Well, not a musical instrument then but it could still be applicable to Richard's Bass Bag "reflecting life's vicissitudes, vagaries, ritual magic and dreary reality".

Further investigation showed that I've been misspelling the word (I'm not the only one) and should have been typing 'kazoo'.



The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbralquality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of mirliton (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifies its player's voice by way of a vibratingmembrane of goldbeater's skin or material with similar characteristics. There is a smaller version of the kazoo, known as a humazoo.[1]

Playing

A kazoo player hums, rather than blows, into the bigger and flattened side of the instrument.[2] The oscillating air pressure of the hum makes the kazoo's membrane vibrate.[2] The resulting sound varies in pitch and loudness with the player's humming. Players can produce different sounds by singing specific syllables such as doo, too, who, or vrrrr into the kazoo.
So now you know.


 

4 comments:

Richard (of RBB) said...

I already knew that.

THE CURMUDGEON said...

Empirical knowledge?

Robert the sinner said...

We used to have them when kids.

Anonymous said...

When kids what?