{{Short description|Musical instrument that sounds like police siren}} The '''Acme siren''' is a musical instrument often used for comic sound effects. Originally created by Acme Whistles in 1895, it produces the stylized sound of a police siren. It is one of the few aerophones in the percussion section.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strain|first=James Allen|url=|title=A Dictionary for the Modern Percussionist and Drummer|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2017|isbn=978-0-8108-8693-3|page=4|oclc=974035735|chapter=Acme siren}}</ref>
The instrument is typically made of metal and is cylindrical. Inside the cylinder is a type of fan-blade which, when the performer blows through one end, spins and creates the sound. The faster the performer blows, the faster the fan-blade moves and the higher the pitch the instrument creates. Conversely, the slower the performer blows, the lower the pitch.<ref>{{cite web | title = Acme Siren | work = Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary | publisher = Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | url = http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texta/Acmesiren.html | accessdate = 2006-08-27| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060828211122/http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texta/Acmesiren.html| archivedate= 28 August 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref>
Iannis Xenakis used it in the 1960s in his works ''Oresteia'', ''Terretektorh'', and ''Persephassa''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Xenakis|first=Iannis|title=Arts-sciences, Alloys: The Thesis Defense of Iannis Xenakis, Oliver Messiaen, Michel Ragon, Olivier Revault D'Allonnes, Michel Serres, and Bernard Teyssèdre|year=1985|publisher=Pendragon Press|author2=Olivier Messiaen|page=118}}</ref> A siren was used in Bob Dylan's classic album, ''Highway 61 Revisited''. One is also heard in Stevie Wonder's song "Sir Duke" just before the second chorus, and in Supertramp's song "The Logical Song" immediately after the final chorus.
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160313122353/http://acmewhistles.co.uk/sounds/small_siren_147.mp3 Archive.org: MP3 audio] of an Acme Siren, on Hudson's website
Category:Blown percussion instruments Category:Orchestral percussion instruments Category:Unpitched percussion instruments Category:19th-century percussion instruments Category:Concert band instruments
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