Kazoo

The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, one of a class of instruments which modifies its player's voice by way of a vibrating membrane.

Playing

A kazoo player hums, rather than blows, into the instrument. The oscillating air pressure of the hum makes the kazoo's membrane vibrate. 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, who, rrrrr or brrrr into the kazoo.

History

Similar hide-covered vibrating and voice-changing instruments have been used in Africa for hundreds of years, often for ceremonial purposes. A popular belief is that Alabama Vest, an African-American in Macon, Georgia, was the one who invented the kazoo around 1840. However, there is no documentation to support that claim.

The first documented appearance of a kazoo was that created by an American inventor, Warren Herbert Frost, who named his new musical instrument kazoo in his patent #270,543 issued on January 9, 1883. The patent states, "This instrument or toy, to which I propose to give the name 'kazoo' "..." Frost's kazoo did not look like present-day submarine-shaped kazoos. The modern kazoo—also the first one made of metal—was patented by George D. Smith of Buffalo, New York, May 27, 1902.

Clã

Clã is a Portuguese pop-rock band of a mixed nature in terms of style, ranging from moments of pure balladry, through jazzy details, to enthusiastic pop songs. They are currently regarded as one of the best Portuguese bands. They have established themselves as a popular live act and have earned consistently positive reviews.

Biography

The band was formed in November 1992, consisting of Hélder Gonçalves (guitar), Fernando Gonçalves, Manuela Azevedo (voice), Pedro Rito (bass), Miguel Ferreira (keyboards) and Pedro Biscaia (keyboards).

Their first album, LusoQualquerCoisa, was released in 1996. In 1997 they released the album Kazoo.

Their third record, Lustro, was released in 2000. With it they won the Blitz Awards for Best Female Vocal, Best National Band and Best National Album. Lustro was also released in France, and the band played in Paris, Bordeaux and Barcelona.

Interested in art, as a whole, Clã were invited by Porto 2001 – Portuguese Capital of Culture - to compose and play live an original soundtrack for a classical silent movie. The band chose Murnau's Nosferatu (1922).