Charlie Brown Christmas is on!

Calboner

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No adults. Wah wah wah
I haven't watched one of those shows since I was a child, but the one thing that would make me want to see one again is the memory of those conversations of the kids in the show with unseen adults whose voices are represented by that muted trumpet playing or whatever it was: "Wah, wah-wah . . ."
 

kenny233

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I haven't watched one of those shows since I was a child, but the one thing that would make me want to see one again is the memory of those conversations of the kids in the show with unseen adults whose voices are represented by that muted trumpet playing or whatever it was: "Wah, wah-wah . . ."

That is one of the most memorable, and best elements of Peanuts. I really do wonder what they used to make that sound...
 

Calboner

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That is one of the most memorable, and best elements of Peanuts. I really do wonder what they used to make that sound...
I said "trumpet," but apparently it was a trombone. And apparently it does not occur until the fourth of the Peanuts television specials:
How were the adult's "mwa-mwa-mwa" voices made?

With a trombone. Leonardo Morán of Bill Melendez Productions says: "Composer John Scott Trotter directed his trombonist to 'enunciate' the teacher's dialog as though it were a trombone riff. Trotter did a great job... he would read the teacher's line, e.g., 'Linus, where's your homework?' then direct the trombonist to repeat Trotter's inflection through his instrument."
The first special to feature the adult "mwa-mwa-mwa" voice was You're In Love, Charlie Brown (in 1967; the fourth Peanuts special).
That should say "adults'," by the way, not "adult's." There was more than one adult.
 

kenny233

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I said "trumpet," but apparently it was a trombone. And apparently it does not occur until the fourth of the Peanuts television specials:

That should say "adults'," by the way, not "adult's." There was more than one adult.

I should have figured that the answer was out there somewhere!

I definitely would have noticed the grammatical error, too.
 

MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK

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I said "trumpet," but apparently it was a trombone. And apparently it does not occur until the fourth of the Peanuts television specials:

That should say "adults'," by the way, not "adult's." There was more than one adult.
Actually, for all tents and purposes, the teachers were the only "adults" given an actual "voice". Parents, and other "grown ups" voices were non existent, and that was the point/genius behind PEANUTS; to just have kids observe the world and have adults as reference.
 

ggsitc

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I still have my Charlie Brown book. Go ahead and laugh.....

Not laughing!! We have a very dog-eared copy of "Peanuts Treasury" at the family cottage that my cousins and I all read and re-read dozens (hundreds?) of times over the years. When my one cousin took her kids to the cottage for the first time a year ago they were reading it as well. We got some pix of them reading it.

For those really into Peanuts, Fantagraphics is reprinting every Peanuts daily strip and Sunday in a series of books. It is fascinating reading every strip from Day #1 and seeing the evolution of the characters and the strip itself ... like there were adults speaking in some early strips!

Fantagraphics Books | Comics and Graphic Novels - Complete Peanuts