BYU Library - Special Collections

Contains explanations of the folkloric significance of musical instruments. Items were collected by students in folklore classes at Brigham Young University and Utah State University from 1944 to 1985. Most of the items are typewritten, but a few of the older items are handwritten. Many of the items contain a description of how, when, and where they were collected as well as explanations of social and cultural contexts.

Report by Brigham Young University folklore student Louis W. Pollister about how, around 1940, he and his family would fashion kazoos with a comb and cellophane or wax paper.

Report by Brigham Young University folklore student, who collected information from his mission president, Clyde Summerhays. Heard two years before recording. A handsaw blade is bowed with a fiddle bow and tuned by flexing it.

Report by C. Devon Sanderson, who collected information from his grandfather, Martin Sanderson. A willow branch and bark are used to fashion a whistle. Report includes a drawing.