Blog For Independent Reading Q2: Post 3; The Complete How To Kazoo by Barbara Stewart

For my third blog post I want to focus on the care for a kazoo. There are plenty of things to consider when taking care of a kazoo. These things include the material your kazoo is made of, where you’re playing the kazoo, how you play the kazoo, etc. For this blog post, I’m going to be talking about how you should care for a metal kazoo. Or as the book referred to it as the King Kazoo. One of the most important things to know about caring for a kazoo is to know it’s parts. In the pictures below I have a page from the book which labels the parts of the king kazoo as well as my own king kazoo.

The importance of knowing a kazoo’s parts being that knowing the parts allows you to better understand where things go and how things works. For example, if the kazoo isn’t producing sound properly, you could point to either the resonating membrane or the turret. This then could for either a replacement or something like tightening the turret to keep the membrane secure. Fun fact about the membrane according to the book is that, “Until recently, the resonating membrane used in metal kazoos was made exclusively of an animal membrane, stretched and held in place by a tiny circular frame of cardboard.” (Stewart 20). Luckily, due to rising sheep prices for resonator materials, resonators are now made of polyurethane plastic, waxed paper, or glassine weighing paper. On the topic of resonators, one should always be careful with the volume they play their kazoo at. Because in the book it says, “If you play the kazoo too loudly (fortissimo), the membrane might break.” (Stewart 53). Sadly, I’ve had a run in with this situation as I played one of my older kazoos too loudly and ended up ripping the membrane apart which rendered the kazoo unplayable and unrepairable as the turret didn’t allow for a membrane replacement. Back on the topic of kazoo care, common tools that can be used to clean a kazoo are pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, small hammers (to fix dents), toothbrushes, etc. Really anything that can get into the barrel of the kazoo to either scrub, apply, or fix things with the kazoo will suffice.

The other thing one should be weary of when operating a kazoo is where you’re playing the kazoo and other possible mishaps. Examples being humid climates where biological growth can affect the kazoo, incorrect technique, a defective vibrator, an upside down diaphragm, having thumbs or fingers over the end hole or the vibrator, a dented body, or a broken hummer. As well as all of these possible situations listed by the book in the picture below.

Well, that about does it for this blog on care for a kazoo. If you have any questions or comments on the kazoo, music, or care for instruments, leave them below and thanks for reading.