The Kazoo: A Historical Perspective

The following piece was rescued from the bottom of a box of packing material in the shed in back of the House of Musical Traditions, inside a very beat up and moldy carton marked "North County Dulcimers." And indeed, Robert D. Hutchinson of North Country Dulcimers bravely wrote us in July of 2002 to claim authorship. The box has since been consigned to the trash heap. We thought the article deserved a slightly better fate.

While major kazoo research has been minimal for the past decade, those willing to explore the record will find the kazoo to have a long and fascinating history. Though some revisionist Biblical scholars would have kazoos, not trumpets, bringing down the walls of Jericho for the Israelites, substantial rumor place the origins of this instrument with the Roman military kazoo bands that led Caesar's legions against the hordes of Vercingetorix in 52 BCE. The record fades, of course, with the decline of Rome; however, through the oral tradition, we can follow the development of the kazoo within the Kingdom of Charlemagne, along the Mediterranean Crusade routes, and even across the English Channel with the more lyrical vassals of William the Conqueror. In fact, the kazoo, called the chasoux royale throughout the Dark Ages, was essentially a French device well into the 14th Century and was played at banquet or in boudoir by the nobility.

In the mid 14th Century, the name kazoo was first used to describe this instrument. The little known story of how this took place comes down to us from the scholarly works of one Ethelred, an Italian cleric and raconteur, will known in his day for his wit and charm, and remembered by historians as the "Fool of Bologna." As Ethlred recounts the event, the Dauphin, the future Jean II, surnamed the Inept, was entertaining at a court banquet and was wooing the lovely and ever-amenable Isabelle by playing chansons d'amour on his gold-inlaid chasoux royale. Ethelred then continues:

The Dauphine, full unto bursting with mirthe and merryment, did plaie both long and loud and with divers qualitie...and with great force did he bloe. And faire Isabelle near swooned for he did plaie but a handsbreadth from her ear. and at the height of that song's most prodigious volume...and thinking he to kiss her cheek at the completion of that verse and leaning he close unto here, the Dauphin did sneeze, and a most wondrous and exalted and abundant sneeze did he bloe, for he was of princely birth. The houndes did bark, the hawkes they did flutter; and all who did hear were amazed. And faire Isabelle did faint dead away across table and roasted pig, upon cleric and noble alike did she sprawl...and when her spirit returned and she did awake, she spake with voice aquiver and eardrums split asunder so that she did shout: "Good my Lord, I do but live by the grace and by thine every word; and thy words do fill me with joie and wonder and awe. Pray then, sire, was that last word not KAZOO?"

And of course, it was!

From this point in time, everyone is familiar with the meteoric rise of the kazoo in both liturgical and classical music. Who can forget Vivorelli's Kazoo Arrangements for Gregorian Chant? Or Zeitstein's Eine Kleine Kazoo Music? Or Paroushka's Kazoo Mazurkas and Polkas in F#? However, few are aware of the role of the kazoo in the 20th century Folk Rock movement. It was only a five minute "dinner concert" at the Chicago Music and Bratwurst Festival of 1938, but with this legendary performance, Richard "Blind Lemming" Kowalski began a musical trend that not only led to the rash of all-electric kazoo groups of the mid-sixties, but also to the development of the non-computerized, voice-synthesized kazoos in wide use in today's modern recording studios.

It is hoped that with this monograph now in print, the role of the kazoo will be better understood, and this instrument will take its rightful place within the musical community.

How to Use Your Kazoo Properly

To get the best tone from your kazoo, it is important to put your lips to the large hole at the one end of your instrument. Then hum, loudly and dramatically, into this hole. Once you have at least squawked a bit, begin humming all your favorite tunes: Happy Birthday, Beethoven's Fifth, Putting on the Ritz, Stairway to Heaven, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, the final aria from La Traviata, whatever. Then, if you've really got the hang of it, try varying the sound by humming in a falsetto. Now, go out there and amaze your friends!

Kazoo Repair Manual

If the little membrane in the top of your kazoo breaks, you will notice that your kazoo no longer works. To remedy this, merely back out the screws in the top and pull off the top plate. Then stretch a new membrane (a piece of garbage bag will do) into place and put the plate back on. Make sure the membrane is pulled taut.