The Last Post Game!!!!

[Swatopluk]

First, this has far too many letters (you need only 5). Second, you overlook something very simply (given some other thread you regularly post in, I am actually surprised).

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[Griffin NoName]

It's all Greek to me.

I haven't a clue what Swato is on about. Well, except maybe that

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[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Not a gouge, chisel, v-tool, flutter, tang, bolster or rasp either.

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[Swatopluk]

Does the term 'solo entertainment'* ring a bell?


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*Not of the sexual kind

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Last _{now a flute is commie?} Post

[Swatopluk]

Now you are really close. The traditional shepherd flute is not actually a flute but something from a closely related family.

In German (not in English) it rhymes with ZnCO₃, in English with something that's bad in red

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[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Where exactly -do you suggest- that this precursor of the oboe was played by shepherds? Or how exactly it was pagan, or much less communist it's beyond me.

Last _{one of the Spanish names is very close to a traditional fruit from home} Post

[Griffin NoName]

Or how exactly it was pagan, or much less communist it's beyond me.

That floored me. But I'm sure Swato has a perfectly sensible explanation.

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[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Sensible being the key word...

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[Swatopluk]

Instruments of this kind were an important part in Mediterranean pagan/temple cults. As a result woodwinds in general and reed instruments in particular were seen as inherently pagan an thus not suitable for Christian use even by those fathers of the church that did not condemn musical instruments per se (as many did). In the Middle Ages the fiddle and the pipe were seen as connected to the  devil. One might also remark that 'pagan' literally means 'rural' because outside the city the church had far less control and could not stamp out the disfavored customs (Russia later was more successful there, where at times even singing of non-sacred songs or the possession of any kind of musical instrument was severely punished). Another reason to be against woodwinds (reeds in particular) stems from old Platon and likely has influenced 'Christian' beliefs: these instruments are not limited to certain keys but can play them all. It was a universal belief that musical keys directly influence the human psyche and that there were good keys and bad keys. Since woodwinds could not be prevented from playing the bad keys, they were seen as innately evil (a stringed instrument can be checked directly before the performance and is thus more controllable).
A proper flute is actually more difficult to get right and requires more skill to play. A working reed instrument that any fool can play is far easier to make. It is also far louder at the same size*.
It looks like the church managed to stamp out the old tradition of reed instruments in Western Europe. Only with the crusades it came back from the East first in the shape of the Zurna from the Kurdish regions of Asia Minor. Reed instruments then became the quintessential 'medieval' way of making music. The flute (now as traverse flute) became the dominant woodwind again only with the arrival of the baroque era.
If one looks at (late) medieval depictions showing shepherds, they very often play a woodwind but not the cylindrical flute but the characteristically shaped conical LPWB. Same is true for the earliest depictions of the Pied Piper (mere speculation on my side: given that this type of instrument came back to Europe during the crusades, the Piper was playing something literally unheard of for centuries. That might explain the 'magic').
As for the commie connection: After WW1 all leftist movements used music for agitprop purposes with a clear preference for woodwinds (while the right went for brass). The German communists specialised in Schalmei ensembles. In German 'Schalmeienmusik' is proverbial for 'allure with evil intent' (equivalent to Siren Song). The connection between communist agitprop and the Schalmei became so close that possession of and performance with this instrument was seen as proof of communist beliefs. After WW2 some innocent street musicians in Western Germany got arrested because of that. Erich Honecker, the head of the East German government from the 70ies to the end of the GDR played the Schalmei as a young communist in the Weimar Republic and famously used them as gifts.
Swineherds traditionally played certain varieties of bagpipes often including a Schalmei-like melody pipe*.
In the Rococo era Schäferspiele (shepherd plays) were popular with the decadent nobilty, making the very lowly position of shpeherd very fashionable. The standard musical instrument for that was not the LPWB though but the hurdy gurdy (which can sound surprisingly like a woodwind though).

*a reason for the preference for loud and shrill instruments by herders (swine and sheep) is also the secondary function of scaring wild animals away. Cows can take care of themselves in that regard and as far as I can see depictions of cowherds seem to be mostly devoid of pipes (horns seem to be their favorite instead).

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And now please spell out the LPWB at least once!

Edit: Not all of the above can be found on wiki and the English wiki lacks afaict any of the commie stuff

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Not that it makes any difference, as the word I knew was one of the Spanish versions and had no idea of (one of it's) English counterparts (which BTW I tried about ten relatives before reaching the word):

S H A W M

Last _{I would've clued that it rimed with a particular anseriforme} Post

[Swatopluk]

Rhymes tend to be too easy.

Last _{and I held back as long as possible with Shaun the Sheep} Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

In any case as the current winner and holder of the LPWB I declare the game in hiatus until more players pledge their participation.

Last _{it can't be just the two of us} Post

[Swatopluk]

Agreed and aggrieved about it

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Edit: Here a clip with a traditional Schalmei
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XuQe8G02Rs

And here one with the modern metal abominations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGJP4qf3CFE

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Mmm, hybrid volkmusik...

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