# Is “Yakety Sax” inherently funny, or are we just conditioned into considering it funny by Benny Hill? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 7, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942 "2020-11-07T00:37:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/61 "2020-11-11T14:09:35Z")
Here’s a data point most of us have overlooked. In many of the YouTube videos linked above, the title of the vid, as chosen by that vid’s producer, includes the words “Benny Hill” but not “Yakety Sax”. The implication is that the tune is now irretrievably linked to Benny Hill in the popular mind just as the 1812 overture is (was?) linked to the Lone Ranger. Which says the question of “Yakety Sax is / is not inherently funny.” we’re going to be hard-pressed to untangle which is cause and which is effect. Unrelated to the above, I friend happened to send me this link that’s semi on-point for this thread: > **[Music and the Brain: What Happens When You're Listening to Music](https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music/)** > > "Music and the Brain," a popular class at the University of Central Florida, breaks down how our brains respond to music. I didn’t search further to see if those profs had any accessible research published beyond this not quite listicle. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/62 "2020-11-11T14:14:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The implication is that the tune is now irretrievably linked to Benny Hill in the popular mind just as the 1812 overture is (was?) linked to the Lone Ranger. Nitpick: the theme tune of _The Lone Ranger_ is an extract from Rossini’s _William Tell Overture_. Tchaikovsky’s _1812 Overture_ is a rather different piece 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/63 "2020-11-11T14:19:09Z")
D’oh! Thank you! Some little birdie was twittering an alarm in my head while I wrote that, but I swatted it away. Bad habit. But then again, if LR did use 1812 instead, they could use pistol fire in lieu of the cannons. So it’s sorta appropriate if you squint hard enough. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/64 "2020-11-11T14:38:32Z")
While we are on the subject of the _William Tell Overture_ it’s important to remember that its use in _The Lone Ranger_ didn’t change its intended theme; which is heroes (whether the Swiss army or the Lone Ranger and Tonto) racing to the rescue. The same isn’t the case for “Yakety Sax” unless someone can find an association with madcap chases before Benny Hill used it. That leaves mood, which I think the title plainly implies to be wacky or funny. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/65 "2020-11-11T15:40:25Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > …I think the title plainly implies to be wacky or funny. to ya(c)k = To engage in trivial or unduly persistent conversation; to chatter. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/66 "2020-11-11T15:50:56Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > > …I think the title plainly implies to be wacky or funny. > > to ya(c)k = To engage in trivial or unduly persistent conversation; to chatter. As Didi44 pointed out upthread, the title is inspired by The Coasters’ “Yakety Yak.” Don’t talk back. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/67 "2020-11-11T15:55:55Z")
It’s a pun which is (arguably) a form of a joke. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/68 "2020-11-11T17:25:23Z")
Have any of you heard a Yakety Tuba? Don’t miss the big finale. I’m surprised he doesn’t pass out. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3eJgD0NrDkc/hqdefault.jpg "Dave Gannett's Yakkity Tuba") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eJgD0NrDkc) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/69 "2020-11-11T17:43:59Z")
@saucywench: Between this and the llamas, you are hereby appointed the official YouTube tour guide of the SDMB. Or at least the **LSLGuy** division thereof. I’ll follow you anywhere (on YouTube that is). ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/70 "2020-11-11T18:47:34Z")
You flatter me! It’s amazing what you can find when you have a lot of time on your hands. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/71 "2020-11-12T17:49:34Z")
I am not remotely musical so apologies if this is obvious, is Yakety Sax a challanging piece to play well for a competent player? Is it something that if you can play well it admits you to the hall of fame? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/72 "2020-11-12T18:08:30Z")
Wow! He’s got game! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/73 "2020-11-12T18:38:04Z")
He lived very well for a lot of years off his “game”. Or in the immortal words of Ron White to Jeff Foxworthy: “Hence the Learjet.” ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/74 "2020-11-12T19:41:17Z")
Sorry, no movie clips with this one. Yakety Saxes [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qRPq2PEiyM0/hqdefault.jpg "Yakety Sax") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRPq2PEiyM0) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/75 "2020-11-13T09:38:27Z")
I am a musician but not a wind player (or guitarist) - I’d estimate it’s not a particularly tough piece to learn on the saxophone. Of course, like nearly all music, the faster you want to attempt it the harder it gets. I’d say at the ‘normal’ speed it’s something that a competent player (i.e. has been learning for a few years) could master without undue effort. Now, to pick it on a guitar like Glen Campbell in the link in post 16 above - I’d say that’s closer to hall of fame skill level. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/76 "2020-11-13T13:34:23Z")
Thanks ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/77 "2020-11-13T13:42:15Z")
How about “Daily Yakety Sax Post” (DYSP) or even a MMYSP thread? A great way to start my day! ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/78 "2020-11-13T19:47:44Z")
What’s MMYSP? (Edit: Okay, I got it.) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/79 "2020-11-14T01:24:29Z")
Someone mentioned “Entry of the Gladiators,” the most famous of the Circus March “screamers” and how it was originally a military march… I got to thinking of Strauss’ Radetzky March, which was written to celebrate Radetzky’s military triumphs. To me, it isn’t “serious” but it light and whimsical, almost a “circus march,” and far from anything really military. It isn’t quite “funny,” but it’s light and gay and flip and a bit goofy. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942/80 "2020-11-14T01:31:10Z")
Alex Trebek shakes does a bit of “the twist” to “Yakety Sax” (0:31): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/t_R2boTSg2E/hqdefault.jpg "MUSIC HOP opening credits") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_R2boTSg2E) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942.md?page=5)