[Trombone-l] Buzz Mute?

[Walter Barrett]

On Feb 8, 2008, at 11:17 AM, Tom Izzo wrote:

> Hi Larry,
>
> --- Lawrence Borden <lawrence.borden at vanderbilt.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi folks,
>>
>> I've got a part here by John Corigliano called "Pied
>> Piper Fantasy." It
>> calls for several mutes. Included are instructions
>> to use both buzz mute and
>> harmon mute. Left to my own devices, I would have
>> said they were the same -
>> NO?
>
> No. There is a mute called "Buzz-wow" mute.
> I have one for Trumpet, but have never seen one for
> (any) size Trombone.
> It looks like a cup mute from the outside, but inside
> it's packed with a very dense substance somewhat like
> concrete, then layered with plastic. On the bottom are
> wholes with screen mesh.
> Feels like a heavy cup; sounds like no other mute.
> Maybe you should "invent" the first Trombone one?
>
> Tom
>

This from the website, vintagemutes.com...

>
> Buzz - Early jazz  trumpeters such as Joe “King” Oliver, would  
> insert a toy kazoo in the bell of the cornet to get sympathetic  
> vibrations on the kazoo. This provided a raspy tone.  The 1920’s saw  
> many so-called “fussy” mutes made.  The earliest of these appears to  
> be a mute patented by Guy Humes in 1920 which basically bundled  
> three dime store kazoos together and fit them into the instrument  
> bell by means of a cork fitting.  Buzz mutes are rarely used today,  
> but Humes & Berg still makes their variant  known as the “Buzz Wow”.


H&B does indeed make a trombone version of the Buzz-Wow. Frank  
Rosolino used one once in a while. Joe Jackson plays a solo on the  
Airmen of Note recording of "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch," where he  
uses 3-4 kazoos taped together and used like a pixie mute, together  
with a plunger. Dave Taylor has a homemade buzz mute, made from an old  
straight mute, with about 8 kazoo buzzers stuck onto the bottom, plus  
(I think) some rice inside (Held in with some mesh over the opening of  
the mute). As much as Dave moves around when he plays, it doubles as a  
large maraca.


Walter Barrett

"Ask questions. Maybe it might lead to somethin’."
	-Yogi Berra

Alto, tenor, bass trombones
Bass trumpet, euphonium, tuba
Yamaha Artist/Clinician
http://www.walterbarrett.com