Lasso d'amore
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The lasso d'amore is an experimental musical instrument made of corrugated plastic tubing, employed in some of Peter Schickele's comic P. D. Q. Bach compositions such as the Erotica Variations and Shepherd on the Rocks with a Twist.[1] Schickele gives a tongue-in-cheek explanation of the instrument's evolution: Viennese cowboys twirled "their lariats over their heads with such great speed that a musical pitch was produced. ... The modifications that had made this development possible rendered [the lasso] useless for roping cattle."[2]
In reality, the lasso d'amore is a toy sold under various names including "bloogle" and "corrugaphone". It is much like a thin vacuum cleaner hose that is swung in a circle to play. The faster the toy is swung the higher the pitch of the note it produces. It produces discrete notes in the overtone series like a valveless brass instrument. To be played in concert as a lasso d'amore the length of the toy must be trimmed to tune it.
[edit] References
- ^ p. 273, Rickards (2008) Steven. Lanham, Maryland Twentieth-Century Countertenor Repertoire: A Guide Rowman & Littlefield
- ^ p.[page needed], Schickele (1976 or later edition) Peter. New York The Definitive Biography of P. D. Q. Bach Random House
