The Acme siren is a
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
used in
concert band
A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...
s for comic effect. Often used in cartoons, it produces the stylized sound of a police
siren. It is one of the few
aerophones
An aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes (which are respectively chordophones and membranophones), and without the vibration of the instrum ...
in the
percussion section of an
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
.
The instrument is typically made of metal and is cylindrical. Inside the cylinder is a type of fan-blade which, when the performer blows through one end, spins and creates the sound. The faster the performer blows, the faster the fan-blade moves and the higher the
pitch the instrument creates. Conversely, the slower the performer blows, the lower the pitch.
Iannis Xenakis used it in the 1960s in his works ''Oresteia'', ''Terretektorh'', and ''
Persephassa''. A siren was used in
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
's classic album, ''
Highway 61 Revisited''. One is also heard in
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
's song "
Sir Duke" just before the second chorus, and in
Supertramp's song "
The Logical Song
"The Logical Song" is a song by English rock group Supertramp that was released as the lead single from their album '' Breakfast in America'' in March 1979. It was written primarily by the band's frontman Roger Hodgson, who based the lyrics ...
" immediately after the final chorus.
Dan Zanes also uses a siren in his version of "Washington at Valley Forge."
Acme is the trade name of
J Hudson & Co of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England, who developed and patented the Acme siren in 1895. It was sometimes known as "the cyclist's road clearer".
See also
*
Acme Corporation
The Acme Corporation is a fictional company, fictional corporation that features prominently in the ''Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote'' animated shorts as a running gag. The company manufactures outlandish product ...
References
External links
Archive.org: MP3 audioof an Acme Siren, on Hudson's website
Blown percussion instruments
Orchestral percussion instruments
Unpitched percussion instruments
19th-century percussion instruments
Concert band instruments
{{percussion-instrument-stub