HOMEGROWN MUSIC...AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS!

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THE JUG

You don't have to do anything to a jug to turn it into a musical instrument except at least partly empty it. Old ceramic molasses jugs (which, on occasion, have been known to become filled with other beverages ... such as corn liquor) are, of course, the most traditional for this use. Any kind of jug-from a half- to five-gallon capacity-will do the job though.

A jug is properly played something like a horn. That is, you do not use your lips and mouth to produce an ordinary "pop bottle whistle" noise. Instead, press your lips tightly together and blow air through them to make sort of a "motor boat" sound. The tone is then directed into the container which resonates and amplifies it in somewhat the same way a guitar body resonates and amplifies the sound of that instrument's strings. Different tones can be produced by both tightening and loosening the lips ... and by blowing harder or softer. Experiment, too, with tipping your jug up and down to change the angle at which you direct your sound into it.

A good jug has a bass range that, to some degree, overlaps the range of the washtub. Its sound is kind of a cross between the pipe organ, the gutbucket, and the slide trombone. The effect is both musical and humorous ... so get some folks together, pass the jug around, everybody practice his or her best tones, and see if you don't wind up with a hilarious evening for all hands.

THE KAZOO

It doesn't take anything but a comb and some waxed paper to make your traditional downhome kazoo. Simply wrap the paper around the comb, press it to your lips, and hum a tune. You can cup your hands (the way a harmonica player does) around the instrument for a "wahwah" effect. Other papers and techniques work too. Experiment.

If you want to get a little fancier, commercially made kazoos are available from both music and toy stores (they're usually less expensive at the toy shops). A few kazoos played in harmony make a great reed and brass section for any group of do-it-yourself musicians. And a marching kazoo band can liven up a dead church social, organization picnic, or other gathering when all else fails.

THE MUSICAL SAW

Basically any handsaw will do ... but some are definitely better than others and if you hunt around you're likely to turn up a few that have been manufactured especially for this purpose. In general the more pliable the saw you can find, the better the music you'll be able to make.

You play this instrument by holding its handle against your knee and bending its blade into an S-curve with one hand while striking or bowing it with the other. Any convenient rubbertipped striker is used in the first method, and a violin bow is the obvious choice in the second. A saw's tone is altered by using both wrist and knee pressure to change the tension on the larger (lower) curve. The resulting sound is similar to some of the modern synthesized music that is so popular these days. I've also heard the musical saw described as the "original pedal steel".

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