To understand slapstick all you have to do is watch old cartoons or old comic moves by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Gardy or The Three Stooges.
Characters slip and fall, get caught holding an exploding stick of dynamite, get squashed by a piano dropped from fourth story window — but they always survive.
But you can use all sorts of instruments to suggest physical comedy. Composer Paul Hart wrote a concert piece called "Cartoon" using a full orchestra. Here's a sample.
And if you want to hear more music about slapstick and pranks gone wrong, try "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" by Richard Strauss.
Music in this episode:
Paul Hart: "Cartoon"
Strauss: "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks"
