What's the bet the vuvuzela makes an appearance at the Proms this year?
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Vuvu what?
Although not a footie fan I tuned into the first match and was bemused to hear commentators referring to the 'traditional' instrument know as the vuvuzela. Traditional, my eye. I grew up in southern Africa, including Botswana, and the only 'traditional' instruments tended to be of the plucked or beaten variety. I'm no ethno-musciologist but I reckon this plastic horror - now on sale at my local supermarket - is nothing more than a clever marketing ploy. Harmless enough, I suppose, but at 127 dB I wouldn't want one playing next to me for 90 minutes or more.
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Yes, it's only been 'traditional' for a few years - I hear it was first used in the 1970s.
ReplyDeleteThere are some remarkable African wind players, producing amazing results with the upper harmonics of flutes that have only one finger hole. I've heard brass players here get 3 or 4 notes out of a vuvuzela - lower pedal tone with one lip, that Bb, and a few overtones, not very subtle...
....but by the way, I WOULD like to see the vuvuzela appearing at the Proms this year, but only as conductor.
ReplyDelete:-)
Dan Morgan seems unaware of the pennywhistle as a popular musical instrument in South Africa. It's not "traditional" but it was part of "kwela" music played in the streets of South Africa, and it came to British attention as described in this piece from the internet:
ReplyDelete"On the evening of Saturday 17th March 1958, the British independent television channel ATV, broadcast the first of a series of six new plays by Wolf Mankowitz, entitled The Killing Stones. The plays were set in South Africa, and to add local colour, the series used a tune by a group of African musicians by the name of Elias and the Zig Zag Jive Flutes, entitled Tom Hark. Unexpectedly, the record of this tune, (Columbia DB 4109 Tom Hark / Ry Ry), became a best seller, staying in the UK charts for 14 weeks, and reaching No.2. It was unexpected because this type of music was previously more or less unknown in the UK, although kwela or tin whistle jive was increasingly popular in South Africa at this time".
To hear the original Elias record, key "Tom Hark" into YouTube.
There is also a good example of pennywhistle playing here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIzxeTQcHM&feature=related
You may be amazed to discover that I am old enough that I actually bought Tom Hark back in the 50s
ReplyDeleteLen
Tony
ReplyDeleteI am indeed aware of the penny whistle. I remember my parents had a recording called simply 'King Kwela'. If I remember rightly it grew out of the thriving musical scene in what was then known as Sophiatown.