I never thought I would post a vuvuzela audio/video on this blog, because my understanding of them was pretty well exemplified by this sheet music (audio via the link):
(Hat tip to Spyra for noticing and translating the instructions at the top: "Insistent, like a wasp.")
I gained a new, grudging, appreciation of the instrument yesterday after I requested that readers post links to the best videos of their national anthems, and promisisti responded by offering the embed at the top as a version of the German national anthem ("Deutschlandlied") composed by Haydn.
it actually was the austrian empire's anthem before the germans appropriated it after the war (what with haydn being austrian and all that).
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gott_erhalte_Franz_den_Kaiser
It almost sounds like there's a harpsichord accompanying them. Not a sound I ever expected to come out of those demon horns!
ReplyDelete(It is telling that they're playing with headsets, though. The volume has to be reduced by a factor of 10 before you can do anything with it.)
Actually Mel, since it is actually only one person doing the playing, I would suspect that he is listening to recordings of what he has already done to coordinate between the four parts.
DeleteDaBris
How does he get it to play different notes? I thought they were set to "b-flat."
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia: "It is a common misconception that the vuvuzela can only produce a single note. With special play techniques (like with didgeridoo or jug blowing) many different tones and even melodies can be played on it."
DeleteMaybe you can find the details somewhere.
as a music geek i laughed very hard at the indication of fortissimo. As if there is any other dynamic appropriate for the vuvuzela
ReplyDelete