Think about the last time you saw a cartoon with a funny dancing skeleton. Can you remember what music was being played? I can almost guarantee you that whatever the music, the main instrument playing it was a xylophone...
| A professional model xylophone |
As I had mentioned in my post for the letter 'F', my father could be quite funny. I never got tired of watching his comedy juggling act even though I'd heard the jokes and seen the funny tricks more times than I can remember. My dad had a boldness that I have often envied. And he could make people laugh.
When I went on went on with my own solo career in show business, with my father's blessings I incorporated some of his gags into my own comedy juggling act. As part of my shtick I was introduced as a serious violinist. Well, as most anyone who has heard me play, I am not strong enough of a violinist to pull off being serious for long. And though not a strong juggler either, at least I somewhat successfully made a living playing that role.
There have been a number of comic violinists through the years--Jack Benny and Henny Youngman immediately come to my mind. Not that playing a violin is inherently funny, but it acts as a humorous prop as people anticipate that they will hear some serious playing that never quite seems to come about. A person who is not overly funny--like me for instance--will often resort to some prop as a distraction. The audience sees a guy in a tux come out to begin a serious concert piece that devolves into nonsense--that might be funny.
While violins are not usually thought of in terms of comedy, the sound of the xylophone is genuinely funny. Just think about cartoon music. Do you eventually hear a xylophone somewhere in the music? Of course you do! Just like slide whistles, tubas, and trombones. Instrument sounds can be very funny. Xylophones are indeed funny! Hitting tuned wooden bars with a couple of mallets is a funny concept and can be quite funny to watch when performed by the right player.
Frank Zappa--one of my favorite modern composers--used xylophones often in his music. There is an absurdity to much of Zappa's music that lends itself well to the comic tinkling of the xylophone. I'd like to be able to play a xylophone, but a good one can be very expensive and take up a lot of room. Though necessity might be the mother of invention, it is a fact that I do not need a xylophone. My wife would be very annoyed if I were to bring a xylophone into our home. And that wouldn't be funny.
But the sound of a xylophone playing can bring a smile to my face as well as an occasional guffaw. In a way xylophones are kind of ridiculous, but at the same time I find the instrument to be rife with musical possibilities.
Not that I'll ever play one or even be around one for much length of time--I can't say for sure right now. However, one thing of which I have no doubt: Xylophones are funny!
Can you name any serious music written for xylophone? Where can you recall hearing a xylophone used for comic effect? Who are some of your favorite musician comics?
