The couesnophone, also known as the goofus or queenophone, is a
free-reed musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make 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 who pl ...
resembling a
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
harmonicor. Its
reeds vibrate when the desired keys are activated and the player blows through a tube. "Best described as a mouth-blown accordion,"
[Rosenkrantz, Timme (2012). ''Harlem Jazz Adventures: A European Baron's Memoir, 1934-1969'', p.52. Scarecrow. .] "it sounded like a cross between a
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
and an
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
." French manufacturer Couesnon was awarded patent no. 569294 in 1924 for an instrument that was described as a ''saxophone jouet'' (
fr. "toy saxophone"). However, the couesnophone is a
polyphonic
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
instrument, while the saxophone is
monophonic
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...
.
Play
The couesnophone's keys are set in a
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
with a layout similar to that of the
Hohner
Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg. Since its foundation, and though known ...
early melodicas, in parallel rows corresponding to the white and black
keys
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
of a
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
. Its rubber
mouthpiece
Mouthpiece may refer to:
* The part of an object which comes near or in contact with one's mouth or nose during use
** Mouthpiece (smoking pipe) or cigarette holder
** Mouthpiece (telephone handset)
** Mouthpiece (woodwind), a component of a woodw ...
allows the horn be held and played vertically like a saxophone or horizontally like a
melodica
The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...
.
Performers
The couesnophone was introduced into
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and America by
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
and
vibraphonist
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...
Adrian Rollini
Adrian Francis Rollini (June 28, 1903 – May 15, 1956) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played the bass saxophone, piano, vibraphone, and many other instruments. Rollini is also known for introducing the goofus in jazz music. As ...
, though he is sometimes credited with its invention.
The term "goofus" might have been coined by jazz musicians such as Rollini, or
Ed Kirkeby
Wallace Theodore "Ed" Kirkeby (October 10, 1891 – June 12, 1978) was an American bandleader, vocalist, manager, and salesman, best remembered as the manager of Fats Waller.
He was one of the first recording managers at Columbia Records to ...
, because it is easier to pronounce.
Recordings with Rollini on goofus include
The Little Ramblers
The California Ramblers were an American jazz group that recorded hundreds of songs for many different record labels throughout the 1920s. Four members of the band – Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, and Adrian Rollini – went on ...
' "Deep Elm"; The Goofus Five's "Everybody Love My Baby" and "Oh! How I Love My Darling";
[Stockdale, Robert (2008). ''The Dorsey Brothers: That's It!'', p.1-3 and 193. Lulu.com. .] the
Varsity Eight
Varsity may refer to:
*University, an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in various academic disciplines
Places
*Varsity, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
* Varsity Lakes ...
's "How I Love That Girl", "Doo Wacka Doo", "Oh! Mabel", "Happy (Watchin' All the Clouds Roll By)", "Ain't My Baby Grand?", and "I Ain't Got Nobody to Love";
and
Joe Venuti
Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist.
Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie La ...
and the
Eddie Lang
Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro, October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as p ...
Blue Five's "Raggin' the Scale".
Don Redman
Donald Matthew Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964) was an American jazz musician, music arrangement, arranger, bandleader, and composer.
Biography
Redman was born in Piedmont, West Virginia, Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia, Un ...
played the goofus on "You'll Never Get to Heaven With Those Eyes", "A New Kind of Man (With a New Kind of Love for Me)", and "Cold Mammas (Burn Me Up)".
[Magee, Jeffrey (2005). ''The Uncrowned King of Swing: Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz'', p.61. Oxford University. .]
References
Further reading
* Berindei, Mihai (1976). ''Jazz Dictionary'', Scientific and Encyclopaedic Press, Bucharest, p. 110.
* Missin, P (2004)
Couesnophone or "goofus"* Rollini, Adrian (March, 1928). "The Goofus and How to Play It", ''Melody Maker''.
*
, ''RedHotJazz.com''.
{{Reed aerophones
Free reed aerophones
Saxophones
1924 musical instruments
Toy instruments and noisemakers