Vuvuzela 'apps' are storming the Apple iTunes charts, allowing users to turn their phone into a virtual trumpet. There are around 11 vuvuzela apps available from Apple's App Store.
One named 'Vuvuzela ' has been downloaded more than , times, and is currently the most popular free app in the entertainment category, while another, Virtual Vuvuzela, is the seventh most popular free sports app. Sheffield-based trumpeter John Hemmingham — who leads the eight-man England orchestra which has not missed a game since — said the horns were a good thing. A recent survey found that the sound emitted by a vuvuzela was the equivalent to decibels - louder than a drum's decibels, or a referee's whistle at Vuvuzelas are modern spin-offs of traditional instruments made from spiralling kudu horns.
Van Schalkwyk said he decided to develop a plastic version after spotting the original versions of the horn being blown at games. The company says it had sold 1. The vuvuzela's musical ancestor is said to be the kudu horn pictured - ixilongo in isiXhosa, mhalamhala in Tshivenda - blown to summon African villagers to meetings, according to South African tourism chiefs.
Later versions were made of tin. The trumpet became so popular at football matches in the late s that a company, Masincedane Sport, was formed in to mass-produce it. Made of plastic, they come in a variety of colours - black or white for fans of Orlando Pirates, yellow for Kaizer Chiefs, and so on. 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 , that South Africa would host the Fifa World Cup gave the vuvuzela a huge boost, to say the least - some 20 were sold on the day by enterprising street vendors. It's a noisy thing, so there's no surprise some don't like it. Journalist Jon Qwelane once quipped that he had taken to watching football matches at home - with the volume turned low - because of what he described as 'an instrument of hell'.
South African shopkeepers have also reported a boom in earplug sales as visiting fans try to avoid the noise at matches. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo was the latest World Cup star to voice unease about the trumpet, telling reporters that it affected players' focus. France captain Patrice Evra has blamed the noise for waking the team in their hotel and stopping the players from hearing each other on the pitch.
And Argentina's Lionel Messi complained they made it impossible for players to communicate on the pitch. I've got two in my bag already,' Carragher added. The vuvuzela also secured support from the England Supporters' Band as the travelling musicians vowed to compete with the deafening sound of the vuvuzela.
The brass orchestra, which has not missed an England game home or away since , promised 'the band will play on' despite the din of the South African horns. We'll notify you here with news about.
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Will it impact racial wealth gap? Jan 12, AM. A flared instrument has louder higher-frequency harmonics than a cylindrical one. The flared instrument is perceived as louder because the higher harmonics are at frequencies where our hearing is most sensitive.
This is partly why the conical saxophone sounds louder than the cylindrical clarinet. Since it produces decibels at 1 metre, prolonged exposure to the vuvuzela poses a risk to hearing, according to a study by the Department of Communication Pathology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Listen to just one instrument for 7 to 22 seconds and you exceed typical permitted levels for noise at work. A whole crowd produces even higher levels, and measurements at a training match have shown temporary hearing loss among spectators.
Experiments on other noise sources show that louder sounds are more annoying. Our hearing is an early-warning system: we listen out for sudden changes in the sounds around us which might indicate threats, and ignore benign, persistent noise. When noise becomes as loud as a vuvuzela, however, it becomes impossible to habituate to the sound.
The droning quality makes it more annoying — the fact it has a distinct pitch or note. But the only real outcry comes now, after the World Cup tournament has started. Go here to keep up with the coverage. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
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