The sudrophone is a

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by Sympathetic resonance, sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. The term ''labrosone'', from Latin elements meani ...

invented by the French instrument maker

François Sudre Jean-François Sudre, also written Sudré (15 August 1787 – 3 October 1862), was a violinist, composer and music teacher who invented a musical language called ''la Langue musicale universelle'' or Solrésol. Sudre was born in Albi in south ...

(1844–1912). Its shape resembles that of an

ophicleide The ophicleide ( ) is a family of conical-bore keyed brass instruments invented in early 19th-century France to extend the keyed bugle into the lower range. Of these, the bass ophicleide in eight-foot (8′) C or 9′ B took root over the cour ...

. It was patented in 1892.Renard, Jean-Michel
"SUDROPHONE"
. Old Musical Instruments. Retrieved 12 August 2013. A sudrophone has a conical bore and three or four Perinet valves. Its length is and the bell diameter is . The "valve" nearest the mouthpiece on the bell throat controls a silk membrane to create a nasal effect, which Sudre designed to make a sound like a cello or a bassoon. The instrument is very similar to the

baritone horn The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...

and helicon. Acoustically these resembled the

saxhorn The saxhorn is a family of valved brass instruments that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by Adolphe Sax, who is also known for creating the saxophone family. The sound of the saxhorn has a ...

s, but the shape was different as the main tube was doubled back on itself, giving a vertical appearance reminiscent of an

. This design choice was made by Sudre to make the instrument stand out more amongst the primarily saxhorn-shaped brass instruments that were much more popular. The unique feature of these instruments was the , a

kazoo The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a ''buzzing'' timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (itself a membranophone), one of a class of instruments that modify the player's v ...

-like apparatus attached to the side of the bell with a membrane which vibrates sympathetically, creating a buzzing effect. The device membrane can be engaged or disengaged by the player, so it can also function as a normal

-like brass instrument.

References

External links

Demonstration of a sudrophone
1892 musical instruments Brass instruments {{brass-instrument-stub