Blog For Independent Reading Q2: Post 2; The Complete How To Kazoo by Barbara Stewart

For my second post of the second quarter IRP I am going to actually get into "playing" the kazoo. Or in my case, the kazoos. As I own several of them and I find it's only fair to you, the reader, to demonstrate kazoo playing on all of the different kinds of kazoos I own. According to the book, to simple steps to operating the kazoo is to "1. Place larger end in mouth. 2. Keep fingers and thumbs out of turret or other aperture areas. 3. Hum (DO NOT blow). Note: If instrument fails to activate, loudly say the word 'doo' into the larger end." (Stewart 36).

In the below video I am doing as the book says in the picture above with the plethora of kazoos I own. As for anyone who may wonder why it is that my face isn't shown in the video, it's due to my severe lack of confidence. 👍 Have to fit some form of self depreciation in there some where. (Turn volume up)

As you may have been able to hear in the video, the sounds of the kazoos differed very subtly. The wooden kazoos had their own sounds, the metal kazoos had their own sound, and the plastic kazoo had its own sound. Even within the groups of metal and wood the kazoos sounded different from one another. This being due to their shape and quality. Also from wear and tear as while it wasn't shown in the video, the golden kazoo took several takes to activate as it hadn't been used in a while after being used a lot and took longer to activate again. As well as this, the video also shows that different kazoos accommodate different hand positioning with how they're built. For example, the first kazoo in the video had three indents on its lower base for the pointer, middle, and ring finger.


After the instructions for playing or starting to play the kazoo, the book then goes into the more specifics of playing the kazoo. For example, when it explains arranging on page 43. "If the notes extend too high or too low for your singing range, you are also in trouble. Certain adjustments must be made to accommodate these problems, such as adding rests, bending the rhythm, or transposing notes into more convenient octaves." (Stewart 43). This portion of the text basically just saying, "If you can't play it how it's meant to be played, adjust it to your liking." Aside from just talking about how one can change the music to better suit themselves, the book also goes into notes. "For the purpose of kazooing, it would probably suffice to mention melody as notes laid out horizontally. When notes are piled up vertically, they made a chord. In kazoo music, a chord presumes there is more than one kazooist. Otherwise, it is not a possibility, unless the kazoo is broken." (Stewart 43). This portion of the text basically going over the basics of how sheet music for a kazooist can look like.

On the topic of sheet music, reading music for a kazoo is the exact same as it would be for any other regular music. The diatonic scale for this being based on the "do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do" tones. Sadly for me, I don't have any idea on how to read music so the book suggests, "If you art musically untutored, hum something you know or stay with unitone kazooing." (Stewart 44). So, for the blog I'll be doing any song requests that I feel are an appropriate level for me or that I'm familiar with. So, please leave any requests for songs that you may have as well as any thoughts on music, instruments, kazoos, the blog, etc. and thank you for reading/listening.

                                                           (Sorry for the bad pun)