1 Giant Leap
“Music for me is proof of the existence of god.” -Kurt Vonnegut I just finished watching the musical-DVD “One Giant Leap” and I have to tell you, it was incredible. The segment about sex was most interesting and happiness was really good too. 1 Giant Leap is an incredible fusion of musicians and instruments from around the world. Read On!
Flight of the Bumble Bee On Accordion
Oh my goodness, beat that! Flight of the Bumble Bee on the accordion (a free-reed aerophone and also known as a squeeze box!) by Alexander Dmitriev. Read On!
Traditional Swedish Tune Played With Nyckelharpa
Here is a traditional Swedish tune, “Polska After Sven Donat,” played with nyckelharpa. Notice the mechanical shifting sounds of the keys being pressed. Read On!
The Nyckelharpa
The nyckelharpa, meaning “key harp,” is a traditional Swedish instrument. The first clues of this instruments existence are from 14th century European relief sculptures. The nyckelharpa is classified as a bowed string instrument. It is played in much of the same way a violinists plays a violin with the exception of the 37 wooden keys which, when depressed, act as frets (pushing up from below the strings, changing the pitch). Read On!
Mongolian Throat Singing (Overtone Singing)
If you’re like me, you’ve probably made this sound accidentally while you were bored or drawing pictures of laser guns and aliens. This sound has a name, and it isn’t “rotating-space-crystal.” Read On!
Contest #1: Odd Garden Musical Instruments
The contest is now over. Vote here! Send in pictures of your garden musical instruments. Things like wind chimes, outdoor gongs, bells, fountains, musical sculptures, “wind banjos”, etc. Think solar, wind, water powered and beyond. Read On!
Interesting Over-the-Shoulder Cornet from 1850
From the National Music Museum: “This instrument is one of only two surviving over-the-shoulder cornets featuring three valves and five keys made by E. G. Wright.” Apparently cornets with both valves and keys were cutting edge at the time because they combined both old and new brass instrument technologies. Read On!
Zelda Theme Song Played With Tesla Coils! By ArcAttack
ArcAttack blows me away everytime. I can’t even imagine them live. Their instruments include two Tesla Coils, robotic drums, and self-resonating PVC pipe organs. Read On!
An Odd Instrument: The Tesla Coil
The Tesla coil is a very odd instrument indeed! With the right controller, this wild-beast-of-an-instrument can be tamed to hum a perfect tune. Read On!
ArcAttack’s Musical Tesla Coils (Shocking!)
From Austin, Texas: An advanced composition of Tesla coils, robotic drums, and a computer controlled, self-resonating pipe organ makes ArcAttack and Resonance Studios one wildly electrifying group of sounds. Their main venue is the club/dance/spirit scene and I could definitely picture ArcAttack performing downtown with some high budget videography (as if the 10ft electricity-arcs weren’t captivating enough). ArcAttack has a sound distinct from anything I’ve ever heard before. Read On!
Glass Armonica, Playable Online!
This is a crude, but interesting digital emulation of the glass armonica’s sound. Read On!
A Single Thread Plays the Igil
The musician in the video is John Pascuzzi- the man behind a single thread. The primary sound of “a single thread” comes from an instrument called an igil (ee-GIL), a 2-stringed Tuvan musical instrument, usually made from a solid piece of pine or larch, and played with a bow. The top of the sound box is covered with skin, like a drum. The strings are made from the hairs of a horse’s tail, strung parallel, not twisted, but may also be made of nylon strands. The igil features a carved horse’s head at its top. Read On!
Glassharmonica & Quartet / AdagioK617-Mozart By Thomas Bloch
I found this Mozart piece to be the perfect complement to this beautifully laid-back Sunday afternoon. I hope you do too. Please relax, open your ears, and enjoy the wonderful sound of the glass armonica. Read On!
11 Vegetable Instruments from the VVO
The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra was kind enough to share these photos with The Oddstrument Collection. Enjoy. Read On!
An Odd Instrument: Xylem
Xylem is a very odd instrument. Xylem is a type of plant tissue which is responsible for the transportation of water and mineral nutrients throughout a plant. When water is absorbed by xylem, the cells cavitate, producing a clicking sound. Who knew you could listen in on a tree drinking? Read On!
Tree-Listeners Hear Trees Drinking
Alex Metcalf’s “Tree Listening Installation“: Taken directly from Alex’s website: As you approach the installation you will see 9 sets of headphones suspended from the branches of a very large and impressive Sessile Oak tree, and a beautiful Chestnut Leaved Oak. Read On!
Introduction To the Hang
The Hang (pronounced hong) is a type of percussion instrument similar to the steelpan. The hang was invented in Switzerland and there are only two makers in the world. Read On!
The Acoustics Of Vegetables: Vienna Vegetable Orchestra
Incredibly innovative with their sound and style, the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra plays nothing but vegetables and kitchen tools. Consisting of eleven musicians, one cook, and one sound engineer, the orchestra incorporates a spectrum musical styles including contemporary music, free jazz, noise, dub, experimental electronic, and house beets. Some of their instruments include onion peels, pepper trumpets, leek violins, pumpkin bongos, carrot flutes, and cucumberphones. Read On!
Smoking Didgeridoo Bursts Into Flames
This is an incredible video of Bruce Copley, world-renowned musician-healer-educator, playing the ancient fire stick technique. Read On!
Dual-Chamber, Forked Didgeridoo
The dual-chamber didgeridoo is an illusive instrument to find on the internet but I did find this side-ways video of two people playing the same didge.. *jaw drop* ..at the same time! Think of the possibilities… Read On!
Banned Odd Musical Instrument “Causes Insanity”
The glass armonica’s ghostly notes will cause insanity in its musicians and listeners! At least this is what was thought to be true in the 18th century. People were frightened by the armonica’s sound due to it’s strange interactions with the human brain and ears (more on this later). Read On!
Liquid-Gas-Solid Fusion
Powered by three states of matter (excluding plasma), a violin (solid), a clarinet (gas), and a hydraulophone (liquid) come together to produce this unique version of “Summertime.” Read On!
Tension Guitar
Another wonderful homemade instrument from Ranjit on vimeo. The pitch of the note is controlled by a solenoid motor which changes the tension of the wire as it is strummed by an automatic strummer. Read On!
Automatic Music Machine Emulates Recorded Sounds
From Ranjit on Vimeo comes a very strange instrument. From Ranjit: Simple automatic instruments are constructed from local materials and objects on site. The system learns the sounds it can make by trying out its instruments, and then uses its range of sounds to try to reproduce the rhythmic and melodic qualities of sounds such as the voices of visitors. Read On!
The Dual Primate Console
Dewanatron is composed of two cousins, Brian and Leon Dewan. In this video, they are playing one of their homemade instruments, the Dual Primate Console. Each side of this instrument is operated by one primate. Read On!
Pagophones, Vibrating Ice Bars
Another water instrument created by Steve Mann (see hydraulophone) from Ontario Canada. A pagophone, meaning “ice sound” in Latin (similar to xylophone or “wood sound”), consists of ice bars of different lengths. The shorter the length of the bar, the higher the pitch. Acousitc pickups can be attached to the bars themselves or inside the mallets. Read On!