Wild! Pitch-Bending Thumb Piano
This is a wild reinvention of the classic thumb piano (kalimba). By turning a spool, the user can change the lengths of the reeds while they are vibrating. The design is such that almost any thin strip of metal can be inserted into the instrument (last half of video). Read On!
Double Horn Pipe by Wouter Baeck
From Wouter Baeck, an amazing musician, sculptor, painter, and musical instrument creator. “An ancient instrument came to live. Based on a thin long straight bamboo reed tied up with a thread on a small bamboo mouth piece. Protected by a gourd. Double pipe made out of bamboo or elder wood, and always with an animal horn as resonator.” Read On!
50 Particles in a Three-Dimensional Harmonic Potential
The “50 Particles in a Three-Dimensional Harmonic Potential” is a 10-minute composition derived from the algorithms explained in the “Sonification of Particle Systems via de Broglie’s Hypothesis.” The composition is broken up into 5 movements (listed below), each 120 seconds long. You do not have to be a physicist in order to enjoy the sounds of this strange recording but if you are, and want more information, visit Composer Scientist. Read On!
Robert Fludd’s Musical Instrument Illustrations
These ingenious illustrations are from the book De Naturae Simia written by the very controversial physicist, astrologer, philosopher, and mystic Robert Fludd (1574-1637) who was first to discuss the concept of blood circulation. Maybe this is why so many of his instruments seem to involve hydraulics. Read On!
Super Sensitive Mic Can Hear Snail Heartbeats, Ant Footsteps
Somebody pinch me, please… “The microphone has a remarkable contact point design, through which it can detect minute sounds that are virtually inaudible to the human ear, such as an ant’s footsteps or the heart beat of a snail.” Read On!
Handmade Dual-Chamber Bamboo Flute from Avi
Check out this spectacular dual-chamber flute made by Avi. Read On!
Bin Zasara – A Traditional Japanese Odd Musical Instrument
A bin zasara (a.k.a. bin sasara, sasara) is a traditional Japanese percussion instrument. Due to the bin zasara’s self-vibrating nature, the instrument is classified as an idiophone. The instrument consists of many rectangular wooden slats, made from tonewood (wood that carries sound waves well e.g. maple, ceder, bamboo, walnut) strung together by some sort of rope or flexible wire. Read On!
Q&A With Sculptor Bruce Gray
Bruce Gray has been a full time sculptor since 1989 when he, on a creative whim, moved to Los Angeles, CA and picked up his first blow torch. Beginning with the “figure it out as you go method,” Bruce has made a name for himself with his humorously giant and pink high-heeled-shoes sculptures, oversized swiss cheese blocks, and plinko-style sound racks. Read On!
iBand, the iPhone Musical Trio
iBand is a trio of techie musicians who play two iPhones and an iPod Touch (and occasionally a Nintendo DS). Read On!
Musical Sculpture from Bruce Gray
This morning, to my pleasant surprise, I received an email full of wonderful instruments from the artist/sculptor Bruce Gray. I love it when this happens! Read On!
What is a Hurdy Gurdy?
The hurdy gurdy, also known as the “wheel fiddle,” is similar to the nyckelharpa in that it’s notes are summoned using a keyboard which controls tangents (wood wedges) that depress the strings at defined intervals. Read On!
Thailand’s Elephant Orchestra
Speaking of animal musicians, The Thai Elephant Orchestra is just that. Composed of up to sixteen elephants, this wild group of musicians perform human-guided musical improvisations on enormous xylophones, harmonicas, drums, gongs and other instruments. Read On!
Scott Gustafson’s Animal Orchestra
Check out these whimsical illustrations from Scott Gustafson’s counting book Animal Orchestra. Read On!
Made-of-Money Multitasking Musician!
I found picture of an artwork made with real paper currencies awhile back while browsing Make: Blog. Read On!
The Wyld Men – Musical Vegetable Theater
The art of cooking and the art of music merge into a new realm of expression thanks to vegetable musicians like the Wyld Men and the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra! Vegetables are, no doubt, a great, edible gift from the earth. But to fully appreciate this gift, one must indulge in everything the vegetable has to offer. Read On!
“Light harps” – Playing with Lasers
Light harps are interactive art installations that use laser beams to detect motion which, in turn, play corresponding musical tones. Jen Lewin, who created the instrument below, has been building light harps for the past 12 years. Her work has varied from indoor musical laser sculptures to on-stage performance pieces and outdoor installations. This light harp uses sophisticated motion detection to accurately mimic the player’s movement with sound. Read On!