# What's that clown music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542 "2004-05-04T22:43:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/121 "2004-05-14T23:15:11Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > (Many years ago, a friend and I started riffing on Phantom of the Opera, and Tocatta and Fugue in D minor – and how the Phantom got an organ into the sewers underneath the Paris Opera…and how other instruments would have been more easily transported. It wound visualizing the Tocatta and Fugue being played on the banjo, or the ocarina, or the highland bagpipe. No, we weren’t high.) While I appreciate the gothic horror image of the Phantom with pipes, he wouldn’t have been able to play the Tocatta & Fugue - too many notes for the pipes, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/122 "2004-05-14T23:22:04Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > While I appreciate the gothic horror image of the Phantom with pipes, he wouldn’t have been able to play the Tocatta & Fugue - too many notes for the pipes, sadly. Such a pity. I image it might be possible to do the opening run “deedle-deeeeeee…deedledeedle dah dahhhhhh…” but that’s it. Harmonica, then? Kazoo? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/123 "2004-05-14T23:23:12Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > While I appreciate the gothic horror image of the Phantom with pipes, he wouldn’t have been able to play the Tocatta & Fugue - too many notes for the pipes, sadly. Such a pity. I imagine it might be possible to do the opening “deedle-deeeeeee…deedledeedle dah dahhhhhh…” but that’s it. Harmonica, then? Kazoo? Accordion? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/124 "2004-05-15T00:20:51Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Such a pity. I imagine it might be possible to do the opening “deedle-deeeeeee…deedledeedle dah dahhhhhh…” but that’s it. > > Harmonica, then? Kazoo? Accordion? 🙂 Crap, that’s funny. I now terribly want to get about 20 people together and do an all-kazoo rendition of Toccata and Fugue in D-minor. I can hear it now. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/125 "2004-05-15T07:48:38Z")
> [@lachesis](#): > > are you sure you’re not also referring to _Galop from the Comedians Suite op. 26_ by Dmitri Kabalevsky? (you can hear a short clip if you scroll down to its listing on [this page](http://www.gohastings.com/catalog/item/item.asp?prodid=36179819)). That sounds like the plate-spinning music to me. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/126 "2004-05-15T13:39:26Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Accordion? 🙂 Have heard BWV 565 with just such instrumentation in the Nevskij Prospekt station of the St. Petersburg Metro. Two players, two accordions… and very well done. Gave 'em 15,000 rubles for their efforts, too. (Which was about US$3 at the time.) ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/127 "2004-05-15T23:47:25Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > [Galop from the Comedians Suite op. 26 by Dmitri Kabalevsky] sounds like the plate-spinning music to me. You must’ve been privvy to different plate-spinners in your youth than the rest of us (who had to put up with Kachaturian’s _Saber Dance_). For my money, the opening bars of _Galop_ sound like certain portions of the music from _Airplane!_. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542/128 "2004-05-17T14:04:23Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Such a pity. I imagine it might be possible to do the opening “deedle-deeeeeee…deedledeedle dah dahhhhhh…” but that’s it. > > Harmonica, then? Kazoo? Accordion? 🙂 You can also visit your local 80’s arcade and plop a quarter into Gyruss. This was the music that played as you circled around the screen blasting inwardly at enemies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-clown-music/243542.md?page=6)