0:00:21 > 0:00:24- So this is it, then. - This is it, my friend.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28This bad boy is the latest in technology from taking
0:00:28 > 0:00:32time out from time travelling, sitting on your backside
0:00:32 > 0:00:34and doing precisely...
0:00:35 > 0:00:37..nothing.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41- Show us what it can do, then! - Let's just say it's the business.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43- How?- Well, it does this.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46I'd say it's more than a chair.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I'd say it was more like a throne fit for a king,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53say like the ones they used in 1256.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04- What happened to your eye? - What happened to your clothes?!
0:01:04 > 0:01:07I'm a king and you're not, so I'm sat on this throne here.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- Cool.- When you're the ruler of a country,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12you need something that makes a statement,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15- you need to sit on something that says, "I'm the man".- Sure!
0:01:15 > 0:01:19A throne like this, which is larger and more extravagant
0:01:19 > 0:01:22than normal chairs, shows everybody how important I am.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25OK, I get that, but you're the king, shouldn't it be made out
0:01:25 > 0:01:29of something expensive like gold? This is made out of wood!
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Not all thrones were made out of lavish materials, in fact,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34a lot of thrones were made out of wood.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38It's thought that wood added a common touch and symbolised
0:01:38 > 0:01:41that the monarch was still the servant of its subjects.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Fair enough. On me 'ead!
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Sometimes I think your head's made out of wood.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51WATCH BEEPS
0:01:59 > 0:02:01What a smell!
0:02:01 > 0:02:04- I'm sat on the toilet. - Oh, that's disgusting!
0:02:04 > 0:02:08No, it's a commode, taken from the French word for "convenient".
0:02:08 > 0:02:11It meant that in Georgian times you could hide your toilet
0:02:11 > 0:02:14in a piece of furniture and keep it for your convenience
0:02:14 > 0:02:15in your living room.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19No more need to go upstairs or outside. It was genius.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23- Stinks!- Later, armrests were added
0:02:23 > 0:02:27so that elderly or infirm people could have a poo.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29- Gross!- We still use them to this day.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Quick, do the finger-clicky thing and let's get out of here.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34How about 1963?
0:02:34 > 0:02:361960-anywhere! Come on!
0:02:36 > 0:02:38I've got to think.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47CHILDREN LAUGH
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Thank God for that!
0:02:49 > 0:02:53It's good to get out of the early 1700s, dude.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55You may not call me "dude".
0:02:55 > 0:02:57You may call me "sir".
0:02:57 > 0:03:00OK, "sir", what gives with the latest chair design?
0:03:00 > 0:03:02You're sat in it.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06What, this plastic thing? What's so special about this?
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Up until now, most school chairs have been made out of wood, yeah?
0:03:10 > 0:03:13- Yeah.- Well, this was a huge deal, because in 1954,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17polypropylene plastic was invented. It was really strong
0:03:17 > 0:03:21and could be moulded into loads of different shapes, like chairs.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25So by 1963, the polyprop chair was all the rage in schools.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28It was designed to be easy to clean, tough and mass-produced
0:03:28 > 0:03:32- and could be stacked one on top of the other.- Nice idea.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33SCHOOL BELL RINGS
0:03:33 > 0:03:35That's the end of today's lesson.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38If you'd like to stack your chair on top of the others?
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Obviously, time travelling doesn't always have to span the centuries.
0:03:44 > 0:03:51In fact, we can step forward just three years, to 1966.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54- Are you all right?- Great!
0:04:01 > 0:04:02Now I like that!
0:04:02 > 0:04:06- I thought you would. This is the ball chair.- Very futuristic!
0:04:06 > 0:04:10This was the decade of the space race, the first man on the moon,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14and people were looking towards a future, where by the year 2000
0:04:14 > 0:04:19space travel would be the norm, streets would have moving pavements
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- and people would get to work with jet packs on.- So what happened?
0:04:22 > 0:04:25- They're still working on it, I guess.- Can you work on
0:04:25 > 0:04:29getting me out of this chair, please? I think I'm going to be a bit sick.
0:04:33 > 0:04:39So here we are, back in the latest state-of-the-art
0:04:39 > 0:04:43best-euros-can-buy chair, complete with built-in heater and massager...
0:04:45 > 0:04:46..and best of all,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49built-in, its very own fridge.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55OK, you just, er, chill, yeah?
0:05:04 > 0:05:05I can't wait for this.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09I'm so hungry I could eat a horse between two mattresses.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12What?
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Haven't you "fork-gotten" something?
0:05:15 > 0:05:17What?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20"Fork-gotten" something!
0:05:20 > 0:05:21Oh!
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Fork! I'm such an idiot!
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Yes, you are.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Er, what are you doing?
0:05:31 > 0:05:32I'm eating with my hands!
0:05:32 > 0:05:36But I thought you were Eon Straddler, time and space hopper,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- who travelled the centuries in style. - Style and panache.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44- But you're eating your food like some crazy caveman.- Yes, I am.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46But this isn't some prehistoric cave.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Yeah, but not if I do this.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Sometimes I wish we could just sit down and eat a dinner
0:05:59 > 0:06:02instead of going back through time, watch TV, play a computer game,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- like normal people!- Yeah, but as you know, I am not normal.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- You can say that again.- Yeah, but as you know, I am not normal.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14OK, so where are we?
0:06:14 > 0:06:18- 10,000 BC.- We're the furthest away in time from home we can be!
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Yeah, but with this time travelling watch, we can also
0:06:21 > 0:06:24travel back short distances, like, say, three seconds.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Short distances, like, say, three seconds.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Short distances, like, say, three seconds.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Look, stop it, you time travelling freak!
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- Why are we cavemen?- To show you that prehistoric man would use
0:06:35 > 0:06:38the same tool he just killed an animal with to cut off pieces
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- of meat and then eat it with his bare hands.- So?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44So you try.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48But be careful, because it is...
0:06:49 > 0:06:50..sharp.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58- Why are you using that empty snail shell?- It's thought that your clever
0:06:58 > 0:07:02cavemen would use empty snail shells to scoop up food like a spoon.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Making it the first spoon ever?
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Exactly. This idea travelled through the ages.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12In fact, the Latin word for "spoon" is "cochlea", meaning "snail shell".
0:07:14 > 0:07:17But you might want to make sure yours is empty before you...
0:07:17 > 0:07:21eat with them.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22RETCHING
0:07:28 > 0:07:30This is more like it!
0:07:30 > 0:07:35- Where are we now?- We, my friend, are Ancient Greeks in the year 400 BC.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39- Chicken!- And there's no more need to eat with your hands,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42because the Greeks gave us the early prototype of the fork.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44Right, let's have it, then.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49I know what you're going to say, it's only got two prongs.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53But this held down your food while you used a knife to slice off
0:07:53 > 0:07:56the pieces of meat, just like you do today. You try.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Be careful, because it is really sharp and you could easily...
0:08:00 > 0:08:02HE YELLS
0:08:05 > 0:08:08..cut yourself. I'm afraid us Brits were well behind the rest
0:08:08 > 0:08:11of the world. We didn't pick up our knives and forks until...
0:08:17 > 0:08:21..the 1600s. And even then, they were still only two-pronged.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It wasn't until the late 17th century zat ze French developed
0:08:25 > 0:08:29ze four-pronged fork, making it easier to get food into ze mouth,
0:08:29 > 0:08:34and this is the way we 'ave used to ze present day. Voila.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Here in the late 1800s,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43cutlery had become an elaborate and expensive business,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46with the rich owning giant, ornate silver cutlery sets
0:08:46 > 0:08:50with which to impress their posh guests at dinner parties...
0:08:52 > 0:08:56..served up by their incompetent butlers.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Will you stop staring? It's only acting. It's not real!
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Stop it, now, you're freaking me out.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07There's only 30 seconds left of this sketch. Do your finger-clicky thing,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10your watch thing, and let's get back to present day.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13WATCH BEEPS
0:09:20 > 0:09:21HE YELLS
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Did you know, if evolution carries on at this pace,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28because man uses cutlery every day of his life,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31in one million years he will have developed
0:09:31 > 0:09:34one knife-shaped hand and one fork-shaped hand?
0:09:34 > 0:09:37- Really?- Of course not!
0:09:37 > 0:09:38No.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Not the starey thing again. Stop it now! I mean it. You're weird!
0:09:45 > 0:09:47# See, I don't understand
0:09:47 > 0:09:48# How you're number one... #
0:09:52 > 0:09:57Do you realise how close you just came to mortal peril?
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- Do you know I'm trained in martial arts?- No, I didn't know.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Yeah, I'm a black belt World Champion in origami.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06- I never saw your World Title fight.- You wouldn't.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Origami is on "paper-view".
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Paper-view?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Anyway, what's that thing you're wearing on your head?
0:10:13 > 0:10:15The new style, innit? All me crew is wearin' it.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20But you're Eon Straddler, time and space hopper,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24the one-man history hurdler. You ain't got a crew, mate.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28All right, it's just me and you, then, innit? Stick this on.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33I have spent hours combing out my 'fro to perfection, and if you think
0:10:33 > 0:10:37I'm putting this over my head, you're very much mistaken.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40You'd never have said that in 20,000 BC.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53In these times, a hat wasn't a fashion accessory.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54Your life depended on it.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Like the life of the animal whose skin provided it.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Aside from stopping you from freezing to death,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03prehistoric man was a hunter, so he needed something practical,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06that wouldn't slow him down or easily fall off.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11It looks rubbish. Can we go now? It's miserable and this hat stinks.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13How about 106 BC, Ancient Rome?
0:11:13 > 0:11:18Anywhere! I just don't like wearing something that's dead on my head.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25There's no place like Rome! Do you know the Ancient Romans
0:11:25 > 0:11:29- invented loads of things we use today?- Like...?
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Like roads, sanitation, the aqueduct, medicine,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35the postal service, the protective helmet, central heating.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- They didn't invent central heating! - Actually, they did,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41though they didn't technically invent the protective helmet.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- No?- No. That was your Assyrians in 900 BC.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48The Ancient Romans just took their idea and modified it into this
0:11:48 > 0:11:52protective garment, protecting you from spears, swords and rocks.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57So did the Romans invent cricket?
0:11:57 > 0:12:00- No.- So why am I dressed like Freddie Flintoff?
0:12:00 > 0:12:03To illustrate the point that the protective helmet is still
0:12:03 > 0:12:07used in sports today where there's a chance of being hit by a hard ball.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09OK. So where's my helmet?
0:12:09 > 0:12:10Oh, it's here.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Also, Roman gladiators would use the protective helmet
0:12:17 > 0:12:19in a fight to the death with other gladiators.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22They would even fight wild animals, like tigers.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- Tigers?- Tigers.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- Tigers?!- Tigers!- Just stop it!
0:12:28 > 0:12:30I'm not into my tigers, OK? So do the watch thing,
0:12:30 > 0:12:34the finger-clicky thing, and let's get out of here quick-smart.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36How does the 1800s grab you?
0:12:36 > 0:12:39They grab me just fine, just as long as I'm not grabbed by any tigers.
0:12:39 > 0:12:40ROARING
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Eek! You better click your fingers right now.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50You fancied something a bit different.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54I didn't say I wanted to be somebody another bloke might fancy.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Look, before we go, let me tell you about your hat.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59So far, hat fashions had mostly been for men,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02but now you ladies were starting to catch up.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Anyone who was anyone had one of those.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- Feathers?- Yes, feathers, which meant millions of birds were killed.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Some Victorian women would even wear the whole dead bird on their head.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- Oh, that's gross! Can we go now? - No. This top hat was quite
0:13:16 > 0:13:19literally the high point in men's hats' history.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22It was worn by Victorian authority figures,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24like policemen, doctors and magicians.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Good! Make me disappear, will you?
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Because this is embarrassing.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30OK. Happy now?
0:13:30 > 0:13:34'Not really. I was being sarcastic. Listen, can we go home now?
0:13:34 > 0:13:36'I've had enough of all this.'
0:13:36 > 0:13:38All right, all right.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51- I'm not keen on disappearing.- You weren't the only thing disappearing.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Hats fell out of fashion over the next 100 years,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55because people found them impractical.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Travelling outside was being done less on foot and more
0:13:58 > 0:14:01in cars and on public transport, so there was no more need
0:14:01 > 0:14:04- to keep your head warm with a hat. - So why are you wearing a hat?
0:14:04 > 0:14:09Fashions may change, but style, that's something else.
0:14:16 > 0:14:22MUSIC: "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz
0:14:30 > 0:14:31What DO you look like?
0:14:31 > 0:14:35A solid gold rock god that the girls can't stop screaming at.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Screaming at you, no.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Laughing at you, yes.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47All that's very well, but if we were to go back in time right now,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50we would see that the guitar has a well-rich history,
0:14:50 > 0:14:55as opposed to that piece of plastic. It makes you look a right idiot.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57No! No, no! This is my big solo!
0:14:57 > 0:15:01It's my solo! My solo!
0:15:06 > 0:15:10- So, what time is it, then? - The year is 1520 precisely.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12And what's happening here, then?
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Here in front of us, playing for our enjoyment, is a mere minstrel.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23And what's that freaky guitar-looking stringy weird thingy in his hand?
0:15:23 > 0:15:26That, my friend, is a lute.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29The first lute came to Europe in the Middle Ages,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32and by the Tudor times it became really popular.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36This lute has six pairs of strings. Plucked with the fingers,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- it fast became the instrument to sing along and dance to.- Dance?
0:15:46 > 0:15:47Yeah, how can you dance to that?
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Minstrels who played for the kings and queens became
0:15:50 > 0:15:55really sought-after and became the celebrities of their day.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- So this guy's famous?- No.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59That's just a bloke.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07SCUFFLING
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Oi!
0:16:12 > 0:16:14I'd better get out of here.
0:16:14 > 0:16:15Wait a minute!
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Don't leave me here in 1520!
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Sorry.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27It wasn't until here, in 1850,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- that a Spanish guitar maker called Torres...- Hey.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41GLASS BREAKING
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Not that one. A Senor Antonio Torres encompassed all the developments
0:16:44 > 0:16:47of the guitar throughout history.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49GUITAR MUSIC
0:16:55 > 0:16:58He made the body of the guitar much bigger than it had been
0:16:58 > 0:17:02in previous instruments, meaning the volume and tone got better.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07Ole!
0:17:08 > 0:17:11GLASS SHATTERING
0:17:17 > 0:17:21The next new thing was the electric guitar and amplified sound.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29It's here, in the 1930s, that the electric really got switched on.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- Cool!- Cool as ice.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47Now this you might recognise. Here, in 1957, we pretty much
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- have the guitar as we know and love today.- Go on.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55That there is a Stratocaster. Like other guitars, it had a solid body
0:17:55 > 0:18:00and the sound of the strings could be heard through an amplifier.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04This meant the electric guitar could be heard in noisy clubs
0:18:04 > 0:18:07with loads of people or in giant stadiums with thousands of people.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12And so from here on in,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15the future of the electric guitar was set to stay.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Rockin'!
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Stage dive!
0:18:22 > 0:18:25SCREAMING
0:18:32 > 0:18:36# Are you gonna go my way? #
0:18:45 > 0:18:47'The trumpet has a long and rich history
0:18:47 > 0:18:50'and has gone through centuries of evolution.'
0:18:54 > 0:18:57'More than any other musical instrument, it can be traced... '
0:18:57 > 0:18:59FARTING SOUND
0:19:00 > 0:19:01FARTING SOUND
0:19:01 > 0:19:07- Do you know what you're doing?- Yes. I'm making a hilarious farting sound
0:19:07 > 0:19:11with my mouth against the back of my hand.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16No. Technically, what you're actually doing is creating sound
0:19:16 > 0:19:18with the power of air in a confined space.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- If you say so.- I do say so. What you've got there
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- is a replica of a brass instrument in action.- Really(?)- Yes, really.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29And if we go back in time, we can see how the trumpet has evolved.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32No! Not again! I'm watching this! Can't we just sit down and...
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- Chill out!- If we're tracking the rich history of the trumpet,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46we need to go back to when prehistoric man first
0:19:46 > 0:19:48started blowing into large shells.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55MAKES FARTING SOUND
0:19:56 > 0:19:59MAKES PERFECT NOTES
0:19:59 > 0:20:02It was used as an early form of communication.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04HORNS IN DISTANCE
0:20:04 > 0:20:07- What does that mean?- Oh, that just means there's a giant killer tiger
0:20:07 > 0:20:11that's really hungry and in a really bad mood on its way here,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14and if we don't leave right now, it's going to eat us alive.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Do the finger-clicky thing and let's clear off!
0:20:16 > 0:20:17ROARING
0:20:17 > 0:20:21- Now!- Right now?- Now!
0:20:27 > 0:20:31TRUMPET FANFARE
0:20:32 > 0:20:35As I always say, there's no place like Rome.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39So did the Romans invent the metal trumpet as we know it today?
0:20:39 > 0:20:43- Not exactly.- Oh.- Trumpets from the year 3000 BC were found
0:20:43 > 0:20:46in the tomb of Tutankhamun, and the Ancient Greeks and Chinese
0:20:46 > 0:20:50- had their very own versions of the trumpet.- How do you know all that?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53I don't just go time travelling with you, y'know.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- You never said.- You never asked.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Trumpets like these were used to send troops into battle
0:21:00 > 0:21:03and also at the start of a fanfare of a gladiator contest.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07They were long and straight, actually a bit like you.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11These kind of trumpets could only be played in one key
0:21:11 > 0:21:15and so were a bit limited, also a bit like you.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- Why have you got it in for me in this sketch?- I don't know.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21I think it's because our scriptwriter is using this point
0:21:21 > 0:21:25in the sketch to illustrate the fact that I'm the time travelling genius
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and you're my long suffering foolish friend who has to endure my insults,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32have accidents and draw the short straw for comic effect.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34That's all right, then.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43So...
0:21:43 > 0:21:48So, this is 1436, the Middle Ages.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50So what's this got to do with trumpets?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Because this was the era of technical improvements in metalwork.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Basically, you could bend it,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59meaning that trumpets no longer had to be long pieces of pipe.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02They could be shaped and moulded into this bugle.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04PLAYS BADLY
0:22:04 > 0:22:07By tightening your lips, you could change the pitch,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10and now you could play a whole eight notes of an octave.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13PLAYS PERFECTLY
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Now, in the Victorian era... - Where we are now?
0:22:26 > 0:22:30..where we are now, things really started to take off
0:22:30 > 0:22:34as valves were added to the trumpet around 1814.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37They could change the flow of air and now play a lot more notes.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54From being a minor role in the orchestra, say, a fullback,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58the trumpeter stepped up to become the orchestra's star striker.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00WATCH BEEPS
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- How did you do that? - I'm not Eon Straddler,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14time and space hopper, for nothing. I can travel through time,
0:23:14 > 0:23:19so moving a jazz trumpeter off a table is an absolute doddle.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23With valves on the trumpet, you can get close to the human voice,
0:23:23 > 0:23:28- which we can demonstrate through the medium of jazz.- Go on.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Skidley-bap-bap-a-do-da-bap!
0:23:30 > 0:23:32TRUMPET PLAYS SAME
0:23:32 > 0:23:33Nice.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Bap-bap-a-do-da-bap! Bap-bap-a-do-da-bap!
0:23:42 > 0:23:44MAKES FARTING SOUND
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Don't give up your day job.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49EON FARTS
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Can you stop that?
0:23:58 > 0:24:02- Stop what?- That drumming. It's doing my head in, and I can't concentrate.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05And I'm trying to get my quickest time ever.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08You can't stop people drumming. It's a basic human instinct.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12People have been drumming since civilised man walked the planet.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16That may be, but what about my basic human right to peace and quiet?
0:24:26 > 0:24:30Look what you've done! You've scuppered my chances of beating
0:24:30 > 0:24:33my quickest time ever on Formula Racing!
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Where are we now? This isn't our flat!
0:24:39 > 0:24:44- Ghana, 790 AD.- Why are we in Ghana?! - To show that the drum was not always
0:24:44 > 0:24:48- used as a musical instrument but also to send messages.- How?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51By using patterns and rhythms instead of words.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54This is a talking drum called a dongo.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- Well, I suppose a talking drum is pretty cool.- It's very cool.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02It was used to send signals such as announcing a religious ceremony,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05a wedding, or to warn the next village of an approaching danger.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09- Very clever.- Even the latest Premier League football scores.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10Manchester United...
0:25:12 > 0:25:13Manchester City...
0:25:15 > 0:25:19- That's amazing!- Yeah, especially as City were down to nine men.- Really?
0:25:19 > 0:25:23You really do spend too much time playing computer games.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Welcome to 1520 and Renaissance Europe.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36What's that?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39This, my soon-to-be-beheaded buddy, is a tabor.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42An ancient drum.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45I'll ask again. What's that?!
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Oh, that. That's an axe.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50Very sharp.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53In the 1500s, drums were used to announce a joust
0:25:53 > 0:25:55or the build-up to a beheading.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56So when the drums stopped...
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Can we just stop right now and get us out of here?
0:26:01 > 0:26:05But I need to show you that the tabor was a double-headed drum.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08The only head I'm concerned about right now is my own!
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Typical. Always thinking about yourself.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12TAPS WATCH
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Don't you ever, ever do that to me ever again.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27For centuries, the drum had been used mainly in ceremonies,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30but by Victorian times, composers were writing
0:26:30 > 0:26:34orchestral and classical parts to add colour and drama to the piece.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37I've had enough drama for today, thank you very much.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Seeing as the drum kit hasn't been invented yet,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43all the parts are played separately, so it means we both get to play.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44OK, here we go.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54OK, are we ready to go?
0:26:54 > 0:26:55TAPS WATCH
0:26:55 > 0:26:56'Eh?
0:27:00 > 0:27:041910 is when all the percussion instruments were brought together
0:27:04 > 0:27:07with the introduction of the bass pedal.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10So now all the instruments can be played by one person.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13- Pardon?- And this was the beginning of the drum kit as we know it today,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15with a crash cymbal...
0:27:16 > 0:27:18..floor tom...
0:27:18 > 0:27:20..bass drum...
0:27:20 > 0:27:22..snare...
0:27:22 > 0:27:24..and the high hats.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26The drummer set the tempo and became the timekeeper
0:27:26 > 0:27:28that took us through jazz...
0:27:32 > 0:27:35..swing...
0:27:37 > 0:27:38..and rock 'n' roll.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46- Sorry, can you say that again? - No, I can't. We've only got
0:27:46 > 0:27:49one minute left of this sketch and I need to get us to the year 2000.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Get to what?
0:27:56 > 0:28:00- That's better. I can hear again. - Good, because by the year 2000,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03it was not uncommon for drummers to be replaced by equipment,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06computers with programs that could activate loops,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10sample sequencers, metronomes and tempo meters, timing sequencers,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13recording devices and sound reinforcement such as
0:28:13 > 0:28:15a small PA system to amplify electronic drums.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19Now I can hear you, I don't understand anything you just said.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Basically, this lot can create hundreds of different sounds
0:28:22 > 0:28:26- that weren't available to standard drum kits.- Ah.
0:28:26 > 0:28:27Just press that button.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31- Nothing.- Sorry.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34DRUM MACHINE
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Which meant that sometimes a drummer wasn't even needed.
0:28:43 > 0:28:44- You feelin' it?- I'm feelin' it!
0:28:46 > 0:28:48CRASHING
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Can we get the drummer back in here, please?
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd