Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Music Expert Aims to Prevent a Bleak Musical Legacy for South Africa's World Cup African music expert argues South African vuvuzela trumpets could make beautiful sounds at 2010 football World Cup Darren Taylor | Johannesburg, South Africa 25 April 2010 Photo: AFP South African fans blow vuvuzelas in support of Brazil at last year's Confederations Cup in South Africa. .Football fans around the world want the instruments banned at the forthcoming World Cup Thousands blown in unison buzz like a furious swarm of killer bees, an evil, dread-inducing thrum. A few blown together conjure up images of stampeding, trumpeting elephants, or shrill, piercing blasts from truck air horns. Theyâre hated across the globe for their cacophonous qualities. But the vuvuzela plastic trumpets are loved by many South African football fans and are set to define the sound of Africaâs first-ever World Cup.  âThis deeply disturbs me,â says musicologist Pedro Espi-Sanchis. âI cannot bear the idea of the musical legacy of 2010 being just thatâ¦drone.â The South African of Spanish origin is an internationally renowned expert on African music.  âIt is unthinkable to me because (the vuvuzela as itâs currently blown) is an injustice to African music and to African culture,â Espi-Sanchis says.  Yet the man whoâs spent almost 40 years studying traditional African musical instruments is equally adamant that the vuvuzela â if used correctly â is capable of making âbeautifulâ music at the World Cup. Misunderstood and misused Espi-Sanchis describes the vuvuzela as a âproudly South African instrumentâ with âdeep, ancientâ roots in local traditional music. The plastic trumpet, he says, is based on the large Kudu antelope horns that indigenous groups blew to summon villagers to meetings. Charles Smith Vuvuzelas originated from the horns of South Africa's Kudu antelope that indigenous groups used to blow to call meetings Now, vuvuzelas are mass-produced and painted in team colors, often with the teamâs emblem emblazoned on the side. Theyâre blown by fans to support their teams âor to frighten the hell out of opponents,â as Espi-Sanchis puts it.  âThe problem is that people arenât playing it properly. Theyâre just blowing it as hard as they can to make an awful racket.â âThe vuvuzela,â he says, âis misunderstood and misused.â Espi-Sanchis insists the way South African football supporters currently play the vuvuzela â blowing it as powerfully as possible, whenever possible â âseverely limitsâ the instrument. It thus produces only one note â an âextremely loudâ B-flat that could damage peopleâs hearing.   Espi-Sanchis argues that vuvuzelas are supposed to be played âsofter, more subtly.â No one, he says, is getting the fans to play the same song or to have the same rhythm. âSo all you hear in the stadiums is this uncoordinated, noisy mess.â  To prove that the vuvuzela is capable of making âgreatâ music, Espi-Sanchis has formed the âVuvuzela Orchestra.â The ensemble, the first of its kind, recently released a song, âAbafana,â in support of South Africaâs football team, known as Bafana Bafana. In the song, vuvuzelas accompany other traditional South African musical instruments, such as township pennywhistles. Espi-Sanchis says âAbafanaâ offers evidence of the âunexplored potentialâ of the vuvuzela.  âItâs a rousing instrument that can, when played correctly, take its place in an orchestra as easily as a flute, violin or cello,â he says.  Sea of melodies The musicologist says vuvuzelas, when tuned properly, are actually capable of producing seven âchordsâ â two longer G and F notes, four shorter C, D and E variants, and a high F. D. Taylor Renowned musicologist Pedro Espi-Sanchis argues that the vuvuzela is capable of 'beautiful' music ....but is being used incorrectly Espi-Sanchisâs orchestra plays different, but synchronized rhythms, creating a âsea of melodies.â He insists it would be âquite simpleâ for football fans to do the same at World Cup matches. âThe orchestra members are untrained musicians â just like the vast majority of football supporters,â he says.  Espi-Sanchis has drawn and color-coded chords to make them easier to learn.  âYou donât have to know music or be a musician. You just have to be enthusiastic about being part of (a) musical event.â To make it even easier for vuvuzelas to be used musically, Espi-Sanchis suggests theyâre manufactured in seven different colors, with each color being capable of playing one specific note. Then, at certain times during a match, the stadium authorities could flash the different vuvuzela colors on the big screens, and indicate on the screens which particular section of the crowd should play which note. AP South African fans love blowing noise-emitting vuvuzela trumpets âYou come in (to the ground), you buy your vuvuzela at the gate, you look at the screen when you come in, and you blow when you see your color. Itâs as simple as that, okay?â In theory, itâs that simpleâ¦. But âpractically speaking,â Espi-Sanchis acknowledges itâs âprobably too lateâ to reach the masses of vuvuzela-blowing South Africans with his strategy to revolutionize the instrument and improve its sound.  Emergency plan The musician has an âemergency planâ to save the World Cupâs musical legacy âone that would incorporate the thousands of vuvuzela blowing fans. âWe must involve them,â he says, âBecause there are like 10,000 of them in a stadium and you cannot fight them! You have to work with them!â D. Taylor African music expert Pedro Espi-Sanchis has formed the world's first and only Vuvuzela Orchestra, to prove it's able to make great music Heâs asked World Cup organizers to allow his orchestra to play at the opening game of the tournament between South Africa and Mexico on June 11th. Fans would be guided to play along with his orchestra. This opening match could be watched by more than a billion people around the world. So Espi-Sanchis says itâs âessentialâ that South African supporters create a good impression.  Using his specially formulated chords, heâs arranged various traditional South African football songs especially for the vuvuzela. âBy means of a loud trumpet, the orchestra can announce the song and lead the song, and keep fans in pitch, and weâll use a drummer to keep everyone on the same beatâ¦. Weâve tested all of this, and itâs possible,â Espi-Sanchis says. D. Taylor Not all foreign football supporters loathe the vuvuzela. Here, two young Spanish fans blow vuvuzelas at last year's Confederation Cup in South Africa But heâs yet to hear from the authorities. âSo far thereâs been no reaction from the organizers other than confirmation that theyâve received my proposal and are considering it.â     Trumpets of Jericho Nevertheless, Espi-Sanchis says, even if his proposal is rejected, he wonât abandon the âfaithâ he has in the vuvuzela and will continue his mission to transform the way it sounds.  âI believe the standard vuvuzela has not reached its (full) power,â he says. âItâs going to reach its (full) power when you can get 10,000 or 20,000 vuvuzelas playing the same rhythm, at the same time. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine the sound? The trumpets of Jericho!â  If this were to happen, he says, it could drive South Africa on to unexpected glory at the World Cup. âReal South African chants and lyrics, set to real South African music, will stir the playersâ emotions to a far greater degree than mere noise,â he says. But, at this stage, it appears the sound of the 2010 World Cup will be the drone of thousands of ear-splitting, garbled B-flat eruptions, instead of the rich, powerful and melodic music that South Africans are famous for. .