Acoustic engineer explains why vuvuzelas are annoying

This post comes from my favorite blog of interesting facts - boingboing. For a different perspective please see the video from my friend @nicpaton at the bottom of the post!

Some people who attend the World Cup games enjoy blowing plastic horns called vuvuzelas, which are loud and make an ugly sound. Trevor Cox, president of the UK Institute of Acoustics explained to New Scientist why they sound so awful.

The vuvuzela is like a straightened trumpet and is played by blowing a raspberry into the mouthpiece. The player's lips open and close about 235 times a second, sending puffs of air down the tube, which excite resonance of the air in the conical bore. A single vuvuzela played by a decent trumpeter is reminiscent of a hunting horn – but the sound is less pleasing when played by the average football fan, as the note is imperfect and fluctuates in frequency. It sounds more like an elephant trumpeting. This happens because the player does not keep the airflow and motion of the lips consistent.

What makes the sound of vuvuzelas so annoying? (Via Kristie Lu Stout)

Photo by Dundas Football Club | Attribution 2.0 Generic

Now, please take a look at a different perspective from Nic Paton (aka ZuD)!  Heck, I think the vuvuzela should be officially adopted as the national musical instrument of South Africa!  ha ha!  Just make sure you have your earplugs handy!  I made sure that I had mine with me when I went to the Uruguay versus France match at Cape Town stadium in Greenpoint.