How Is Sound Made in a Kazoo?
Most of us can remember our first kazoo and the fun sound it makes while you hum into the mouthpiece. Many do not understand what makes a kazoo work; we just know they seem to have been around for as long as we can remember. Learning the basics of the kazoo and history of it can give us insight about this fun instrument.
Other People Are Reading
-
How It Works
-
A kazoo uses a type of resonating membrane to amplify the sound. The musician hums into the kazoo which vibrates the thin film or membrane on the top of the kazoo. As the musician changes his voice, the vibration changes and gives the kazoo the buzzing sound.
Background
-
The kazoo is a wind instrument. However, it is not like most other brass and woodwind instruments in that it uses the human voice to create the vibrating sound it makes instead of a reed or the buzzing sound of our lips. The kazoo is usually a short tube that is open on one end and tapered on the other end. On the wider end of the instrument, there is a turret section or opening on the top. This is where the thin resonating membrane is contained. There are no valves or buttons on the kazoo.
-
History
-
The kazoo was believed to have been created from the design of the African instrument called a mirliton, used by tribes for religious ceremonies. The mirliton also has an internal membrane that creates the buzzing sound.
The kazoo was created in the 1840s by Alabama Vest. A clockmaker named Thaddeus Von Clegg made a kazoo for Vest and the two demonstrated the instrument at the Georgia State Fair in 1852. Emil Sorg and Michael McIntyre created a large-scale manufacturing process for the kazoo in the 1900s. McIntyre began selling the kazoos in 1914 and patented the process in 1923. Original American Kazoo Company, in Eden, New York, was started by McIntyre and still makes metal kazoos. However, the most popular kazoos are made from plastic.
Materials Used
-
The body of the kazoo is usually made from plastic, but can also be made from metal, wood or glass. Thermoplastic material is usually used to make the instrument more rigid and durable. Polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) may also be used. Colorants are usually added to the plastic to make a variety of kazoo colors.
More expensive kazoos are made of metal, usually stainless steel. Silver and gold kazoos have been occasionally produced. Wood and glass kazoos were popular in the 1800s but are rarely made today due to the high cost to manufacture them.
The resonating membranes were originally made out of wax paper but are now made from an advanced silicone plastic. This material proves to be more reliable and tear-resistant and is thin and flexible enough to maximize the sound and resonance.
Design
-
Most kazoos are made from three parts: the body, the turret section and the resonating membrane. The body is tapered and provides a playing surface and a means to amplify the sound. Some kazoos have a body in the shape of a bugle, saxophone or trumpet, but the traditional shape has a tapered body. The turret houses the membrane, while the membrane provides the buzzing sound for the kazoo. A two-piece steel mold is used to make the kazoo parts.
-
References
- Photo Credit flutes image by Hubert from Fotolia.com
