Haven't been blogging for a really long time (except for my art blog). I finally managed to take photographs of all of my musical instruments. Unfortunately some of them turned out blur and would need some reshoots. But for those that are sharp enough, they'll go on the blog first.
Today, I'd like to introduce one of my toys. Well, I consider it a toy rather than a serious instrument (though there are probably some who would beg to differ). It's called a Kazoo, and it's a type of wind instrument. These things are available in Singapore. At least a couple of shops in Bras Basah sell them for just a couple of dollars.
Construction
The body of the Kazoo is conical, and open at both ends. In the middle is a resonator where there is a membrane covering a hole, somewhat like the membrane hole on the Chinese bamboo flute (dizi). This gives the Kazoo its buzzing sound.
Playing Method
If you blow into the Kazoo, you get.... NO SOUND! That's right. You don't blow into the thing. You have to vocalize. That means you hum, sing, or speak. There has to be some sound (coming from your voice box) for the Kazoo to work with. So vocalize into the end with the bigger hole. It's that simple
Videos
Check these videos out!
How to Play the Kazoo
Somewhere Over the Rainbow on the Kazoo
More information on the Kazoo can be obtained from Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazoo
