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The mouth organ, an offence against music?

TheCatWoman

To me it is, here was someone playing or preforming counry and westerm music earlier and was playing one of these instruments of aural torture, I mean C&W is bad enough, but combine it with a mouth organ, or gob iron as they're also known as, is just offensive. To me its finger nails down a blackboard level of horrible.

Any of you have instruments you can't stand he sound of?

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  • in reply to profdanger

    The history of bag pipes is quite interesting, most cultures have at least one version of them. I went to the Bag Pipe museum on Skye once, it was a wonderful mix of fact and fairy lore.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    OOOO bagpipes originated in Afganistan?! That is fascinating!

  • in reply to profdanger

    Fascinating stuff, I think we often forget that music was much more communal and did much more in the past than the background stuff we think of today.

    I love the different forms of bag pipes, some of the earliest examples are from Afghanistan, now wonder they were impressed by Scottish Regiments marching through the Kyber Pass in full regalia and playing the big drums and pipes!

  • in reply to ArchaeC
    ArchaeC said:
    The bagpipes have just gone up two places in my list of least favourite instruments.

    LOL Joy

  • in reply to profdanger

    That is very interesting Prof. Thank you for telling us about them.

    I can’t imagine what it would have been like to teach these instruments, and I can’t imagine ever wanting to learn how to play one either. Having said that, it’s important that old instruments continue to be researched and played as it adds another dimension to our knowledge of history. It’s wonderful how we can hear what people centuries before us would have heard. 

    The bagpipes have just gone up two places in my list of least favourite instruments.  

  • in reply to ArchaeC

    (A bit more) WHY were these instruments a thing? Well, as haut instruments their purpose was primarily for outdoor festivities, such as processionals. The quieter bas instruments, such as viola da gamba (early cello), lute, and recorder, were designed for more intimate indoor situations.

  • in reply to ArchaeC

    I had to teach these instruments when I was a music history professor. They are Medieval/Renaissance instruments, both of which are double reed but the shawm is a more direct ancestor to the modern oboe whilst crumhorn is just kind of a freak of nature. Both were haut instruments, meaning they were intended solely for outdoor performances. Thus they were both very LOUD. Especially the shawm, which sounded more like a wooden trumpet than an oboe tbh.

    The crumhorn was unique not just for its umbrella handle-like design, but it was also strange in that it was a rare case of a double reed instrument where you play with a mouthpiece, not directly on the reeds. So it almost plays more like a recorder despite sounding a bit like an oboe. Very strange, indeed.

    Regardless, both instruments are absolutely GARISH when played indoors with other instruments. That really makes harmonicas and bagpipes seem tame in comparison in my opinion lol.