unusual musical instruments
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Home made, Unusual, and Experimental Musical Instruments
I've always been fascinated by making sounds out of unusual objects. Even with more usual musical equipment available, I'll frequently do something unusual with it. For example, I've occasionally gone into my kitchen with a pair of drum sticks and started drumming on the pots and pans. Interesting tonal qualities! The metal furnace ducts in my basement make long booming sounds, and an oatmeal box makes more of a dull thud. Naturally, I've always been interested in what others are doing in making odd sound-makers, too. More ideas of make to make for myself, you know.
Here's a great book about unusual musical instruments!
I read this book back in 2003 and was absolutely fascinated. I'd had no idea of of the wide variety and number of really different ways there were for making sounds.
Experimental Instrument Websites
- Gravikords Book home page
- This has a full list of what's in the book "Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones", as well as what's on the CD. There's also some sample musical excerpts.
- Experimental Instrument magazine
- Here's a magazine about experimental musical instruments. The website for it has some interesting photos and articles! There are also links to other sites here.
Car Horn Organ
This instrument is made up of car horns and a home made keyboard. The horns are naturally of different pitches and are arranged so that when the keyboard is played, you get a tune.
Car Horn Organ Links
- History & Details
- This tells about the inventor and has some of her music for sale.
- Smaller Car Horn Organ
- Different looking than the other one.
Home Made Water Instruments
Here's some home-made instruments using water and containers.
- Find a number of glass or plastic bottles with narrow necks (pop bottles) about the same size. Pour a different amount of water into each one. Blow across the top of the necks to make sound. You can "tune" each one by adding water, or pouring water out.
- Pour water into glasses, and have a different amount in each glass. When lightly tapped each will give a tone. A wooden stick is best -- fingers don't give much tone and metal too likely to break the "instrument".
- My favorite incident with a water instrument was in college, during dinner. One of the music majors had gotten a row of glasses with different amounts of water and did an impromptu performance during dinner using spoons for the strikers. He kept playing even after one of the glasses shattered from being hit and we all gave him a big cheer!
Other Water Instruments
Some water organs use water to push the air through the pipes. Not sure how the ones in the videos work, but they're definately unusual instruments.
curated content from YouTube
Pyrophone & Fire Organ
These instruments use fire to create the sound. Naturally, they're most effective in the dark, and safest outside well away from buildings and shrubbery.
I've never experimented with these, so I can't tell you personal stories about them. Sorry!
I've never experimented with these, so I can't tell you personal stories about them. Sorry!
Pyrophone & Fire Organ Links
- Several Kinds
- This shows several kinds of pyrophones, all of which look to be one-of-a-kind home-made instruments.
- Being Played
- This is a closer view of the one that's in two of the videos below.
Home Made Percussion Instruments
Percussion instruments are like drums and cymbals, they're things you hit to make a sound.
- Oatmeal boxes, especially the nice big sturdy ones that are round, make nice hand drums. I occasionally dress one up by putting tinfoil around the sides. Beat the bottom, leave the lid off. This is a one-headed drum, like a doumbek which is Middle Eastern and used by bellydancers.
- Hitting pots and pans with drumsticks. Actually, I recommend this to all frustrated housewives as a soothing therapy during a tough day. Note: If you don't have drumsticks, wooden spoons will do. Espcially the big ones.
- Since I have a kitchen where I'd hung all the pots and pans on the walls I sometimes would "play the kitchen" by walking through with either drumsticks or wooden spoons (or both) and hitting kettles rhythmically. This works even better if you set the radio to hard rock and play along. I also "played the kitchen" at someone else's house (at her encouragement). She didn't have kettles, but did have an interesting variety of bottles, cans & other objects that made dull, sharp and ringing tones. The idea is to mix the tones together into a rhythm. Like dull-ring-dull-ring, or dull-sharp-sharp, or low-high-low-low-high. While a four beat rhythm is typical on the radio, you can play with three beat (waltzes), five beat (experimental), six beat (folk tunes), and other numbers of beats per measure. The really important bit is, and I can't stress this enough, have fun.
Other Unusual Percussion Instruments
Various things getting hit by hands or sticks.
curated content from YouTube
Theremin
Theremins have been played in numerous movies and songs and are still not in the main stream of instruments, though lots of people know about them.
They are an electronic instrument that involves two antennas. The player moves his/her hands by one antenna to change the pitch and by the other to change the volume.
They make lovely wavering tones and it takes a lot of skill to play tunes.
I keep wanting one of these. But hey, I tend to collect musical insturments!
They are an electronic instrument that involves two antennas. The player moves his/her hands by one antenna to change the pitch and by the other to change the volume.
They make lovely wavering tones and it takes a lot of skill to play tunes.
I keep wanting one of these. But hey, I tend to collect musical insturments!
Theremin -- Links
- Theremin World
- Information, where to buy them, etc.
- Theremin kits
- He sells kits, and there's experimental theremin ideas, articles and circuit diagrams.
Conch Shells
The conch shell is a blown instrument (air powered, like a clarinet or trumpet)which makes a resonant note.
This is used by peoples all the way around the Pacific rim for ceremonial & religious purposes.
I own one, which has been on in my house for maybe 40-50 years. This photo is of it. I don't play it well. Don't ask me for a concert, please.
Conch Shells
More information on conch shells, which is a folk and religious instrument.
- Over view of where used
- This article is a list of the various cultures that used conch shells.
- Hawaiian Pu
- This tells how conch shells are called Pu in Hawaii and are used for ceremonial purposes. Has photos of fancier shells than what I have and has a great deal more information.
- Conch Shells in Buddhism
- Conch Shells are an important Buddhist symbol and are also used by Buddhists as trumpets.
- Conch trumpets with added metal
- These are from Tibet and are called Rag Gshog-ma. Very detailed artwork involved.
- How to Make a Shell Instrument
- This link is a long informative article by someone on how to make a conch instrument and how to play one.
- Instructables how-to on making a conch trumpet
- This is with multiple photos and instruction panels.
Conch Shell -- on YouTube
I found a variety of videos including folk, religious and general musical. I picked the three that I thought showed the variety of conch shell music the best.
First two videos have only a short bit of conch shell music (and don't show it played). The third one shows a lot of conch playing by someone who does it well.
Enjoy!
First two videos have only a short bit of conch shell music (and don't show it played). The third one shows a lot of conch playing by someone who does it well.
Enjoy!
curated content from YouTube
Other Instruments That I've Heard Of
This is a random catch-all of a few of the odder instruments out there.
- Explode-o-phone. One hopes that this is only on the Muppet Show with Crazy Harry playing it...but I'm sure someone has created a real one by now. Basically, explosions. Probably only good as a percussion instrument, I can't see melodies played on this.
- Car pipe organ. Tubes on the roof of the car that wind goes through and makes sound while you're driving.
- Clay-pot-o-phone. This is from the "Gravikord, Whirlies & Pyrophone" book. This is a percussion instrument that is made up of different sizes of clay pots. You know those reddish clay pots with the hole in the bottom you plant flowers in? Those. Lay them out in order of tones and tap with sticks.
- Blown instruments. Grass reeds, blown bottles, home-made pan pipes, hollow wooden items with holes, there's lots of styles.
Even *more* unusual instruments
Here's links to more instruments!
- Moodswinger
- The moodswinger is a custom-made string instrument that has 3 bridges. The third (middle) bridge shifts to change the over tones. This instrument was made by Yuri Landman. This link goes to a Wikipedia entry about it.
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