Some say it sounds a bit like and elephant or a swarm of angry bees, but to get those notes – yes you can get a whole range of notes from a Vuvuzela to come out strongly and clearly require lung capacity and flexible lips.
Do you know the expression “to blow a raspberry”? Well that’s just what you do with your vibrating lips pressed up against the mouthpiece of the plastic trumpets that are seen (and heard) at every football (soccer) game in South Africa.
According to southafrica. info: “ There’s uncertainty on the origin of the word “vuvuzela”. Some say it comes from the isiZulu for – wait for it – “making noise”. Others say it’s from township slang related to the word “shower”, because it “showers people with music” – or, more prosaically, looks a little like a shower head.
The announcement, on 15 May 2004, that South Africa would host the 2010 Fifa World Cup gave the vuvuzela a huge boost, to say the least – some 20 000 were sold on the day by enterprising street vendors.
Popularity: 13% [?]
