• The bazooka is an important part of Arkansas' musical history.music note image by Nataliya Galkina from Fotolia.com
  
  A mix between a trombone and slide whistle, the bazooka is an instrument that was developed by an Arkansas radio disc jockey in the early 1900s. In the end, the instrument's small range of notes and its comical sound were some of the culminating factors that led to its decline into obscurity in the late 20th century.
  
  

Development

• The bazooka was developed by Arkansas radio personality Bob Burns in 1905. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, the instrument was conceived when Burns blew into a pipe at a plumbing shop. He later decided to connect two pipes pipes along with other miscellaneous pieces such as a slide handle, a whiskey funnel and a trombone-like mouthpiece. The sound that this crude instrument produced was whimsical enough for it to become known across the state.
  
  

Practical Application

• The primary sound of a bazooka is produced from buzzing lips in the mouth piece. While there is a sliding function, it does little to alter the pitch because of the wide diameter of the tubing. The horn typically is homemade from junk materials, which causes the instrument to sound rather imperfect, especially in terms of tone.
  
  

Difference Between a Bazooka and Trombone

• While both the trombone and bazooka are instruments in which the sound is produced by buzzing lips into a mouthpiece, there is little else in common. It is true that both instruments have a sliding mechanism, but the trombone uses the slide as a way to expertly control the tone of the instrument, while the bazooka's slide apparatus typically serves no purpose. In fact, the rest of the bazooka is essentially a crude megaphone. The material of both instruments is also vastly different: the bazooka's crude sound reflects the scrap materials that make up its body, while the refined brass of the trombone is heard in its aesthetically pleasing sound.
  
  

The Bazooka Today

• Other than a bazooka on display at the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, few of the original instruments remain. There were several performers who played bazookas since Bob Burns, most notably New Orleans jazz musician Noon Johnson in the middle of the 20th century. Today, it's difficult to find a musician who can still play this crude instrument. The legacy of the bazooka may live in its name after soldiers fighting in World War II dubbed a new anti-tank missile launcher the "bazooka" because it looked like the instrument developed by Bob Burns decades earlier.