What is an unusual musical instrument? Unique, inimitable or simply unusual? Of course, such a tool should be admired, since people like everything non-standard. However, it should be borne in mind that if an unusual musical instrument is presented in the usual form (for example, a piano), and at the same time sounds like a violin, then its “unusualness” is doubtful. In this case, interest will be minimal. Another thing is when a guitar sounds like a guitar, but it has twelve vultures. Then, it cannot be called otherwise “unusual”.
Music and Cookware
Sometimes other criteria work. If an instrument evolved, developed over time, it could radically change, move away from the canons and turn into an unusual musical instrument. Examples include trombones and trumpets in the legendary Glenn Miller Orchestra. To muffle the sound, the musicians took ordinary kitchen bowls and covered them with trumpets of wind instruments. The effect was amazing. The instruments sounded in a new way.
So there was a mute - a special device for changing the strength and timbre, and in some cases the tone of the sound. But until the invention was patented, trombones covered with bowls in the Glenn Miller Orchestra were considered unusual. The new sound opened up great opportunities for composers and especially for arrangers.
However, the mute is just an addition, and in general an unusual musical instrument is characterized by other, deeper features that determine its exclusivity. First of all, this is a unique, special sound extraction technique.
History of musical instruments
Man has long been attracted to art since ancient times. Many folklore customs were accompanied by singing, and since my hands were free at that time, I wanted to somehow mitigate. So the first primitive musical instruments appeared. Bull's veins were pulled over a piece of wood, a stringed plucked instrument was obtained. The barrel, covered with animal skin, became a drum. Each following century brought new, ever more advanced musical instruments.
In the 16th century, a violin appeared, which immediately advanced far ahead the art of musical accompaniment. A noble instrument called “viola” required very delicate, gentle handling. At different times great masters began to appear - Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri - who made wonderful violins.
Later, in the 17th century, the harpsichord, the forerunner of the piano and grand piano, was invented. The possibilities of musical accompaniment have become even wider.
Even in ancient times, man learned to blow into the hollow horns of animals, into sea shells and pipes, carved from wood. And after people learned how to extract copper ore and smelting bronze, simple wind instruments began to appear, which gradually improved - they could already play simple melodies.
With drums it was easier. Ordinary pumpkins turned into maracas, empty barrels became drums, and all together became a means for performing rhythmic "works" that musicians invented on the go.
First groups
The history of musical instruments is far from complete, it continues today. And it is already clear that there will be no end. There are all new instruments, stringed, stringed and plucked, a variety of wind instruments, reed and ear pads, rocker and valve. About two centuries have passed since the time when the musicians began to gather in ensembles, quartets, quintets, and later in large symphony orchestras. Various musical instruments, as well as various auxiliary devices, were combined for the purpose of concert activity.
Didgeridoo
This is a rare wind instrument, which is included in the category of “most unusual musical instruments in the world”. Made from a branch of the Australian Arnhemland tree, eaten by termites from the inside. The sound of didgeridoo is low, vibrating, with continuous sound it can have a therapeutic effect on the respiratory centers of a person and prevent the occurrence of apnea syndrome (respiratory arrest in a dream).
A variety of didgeridoo are alpengorn and duduk, and the direct heir is lithuus, a wooden pipe about three meters long with an extension at the end and a mouthpiece from the mouflon horn. With the help of a unique instrument, in 1738 the cantata of Johann Sebastian Bach “Jesus Christ, the light of my whole life” was performed, in which the party for lithuania was registered.
Reed device
An unusual hang musical instrument is two oblate hemispheres made of brass of half-millimeter thickness, with a diameter of 250 millimeters, tightly connected to each other. The upper part - ding - is cut in such a way that eight segments with tongues, sounding from light touches, are formed on its surface. Each of the seven reeds corresponds to one note, and the eighth sounds like a f-sharp. The lower part of the hang is a resonator called "gu", it repeatedly enhances the strength of the sound, evens out the timbre and gives the melody a special appeal due to its light vibration.
The instrument was created by engineer Felix Roner and musician Sabina Scherer in 2002. Later, they complicated the task and constructed an all-in-one hang, with better acoustic characteristics. The new instrument was shown to the public in 2009.
Viel, or wheeled lyre
Any musical instrument can tell you what musical instruments are in Europe. But not everywhere there is information about the wheel lyre. This unique string instrument was invented by wanderer monks who requested alms, always accompanying their nods with music. Melodic strings were pulled over the body of an ordinary lute, and next to them were bass strings for a humming background. Special levers were installed along the string row, dividing the strings into sections. A bow-drum rotated above. Touching the tense strings, he made them ring.
The wheeled lyre is a large instrument, you cannot play it alone. Monks always played together. One turned the wheel, the other fingered frets. In the 15th century, the lyre was reduced and it began to fit in the hands of one musician. It is characteristic that throughout Europe, the viel was an instrument of roving musicians, and in France playing it was considered art.
Strings and wind
In the list of "unusual stringed musical instruments" the first place is occupied by the Aeolian harp. The principle of operation - the strings sound under the pressure of the wind. The ancient Greeks in addition built a resonator that amplified the sound. The harp, created in the 14th century, was forgotten for several centuries, and only in the 17th century the instrument was revived by two scientists: Athanasius Kircher and Jambatista de la Porta.
Currently, the Eolova harp is located in the eponymous gazebo in Pyatigorsk, the instrument is located in the center of the rotunda. And in the city of San Francisco (or rather, far beyond the city) in 1967, landscape sculptors Aristide Demetrios and Lucy Ames built a 27-meter-high Aeolian harp.
Music and air flow
You can learn about what kind of musical instruments are moved by the force of the wind by the example of a singing tree in the city of Burnley (Great Britain, County Lankanshire).
The multi-meter construction is composed of metal pipes of different lengths and diameters and is a spiral expanding upward. Wherever the wind blows, its flows will certainly fall into the pipes, and the metal tree will sing. And although the melody is conditional, it is still the music of nature. A deep vibrating sound spreads far around.
This unusual tool was created by Mike Tonkin, a London architect, and Anna Liu, a landscape designer.
Laser music
Rare and unusual electronic musical instruments are very effective in use. Music as such is accompanied by a real laser show, colorful and bewitching. In 1976, amateur musician Jeffrey Rose invented a laser harp, operating on the principle of extracting sound by touching the musician’s fingers to the laser beam. Multi-colored electronic threads vibrating in the air imitate the stretched strings of a regular harp. When you lightly touch the beam, you will immediately hear the sound of a given tone, clear and sonorous.
The laser harp in 1981 was included in one of his performances by the famous electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre, and after obvious success he began to use it when recording studio albums.
Stalactite organ
Another unusual electronic-controlled musical instrument was created by engineer Leland Sprinkle in one of the cave labyrinths in the US state of Virginia. The inventor chose several dozen stalactites in the vast Lurei cave, which, when struck with a hammer, made a sound matching the tone of a note. Then he systematized the search results, after which each stalactite was equipped with a shock mechanism. By combining all the devices in one circuit, the engineer connected to it a computer with an electronic module containing a database of various tunes. It remained to choose a song and press the button. A bright light flashed in the cave and music began to sound. The impression was amazing, because the natural acoustics in the underground labyrinth perfectly reflect the slightest nuances of sound.
Glass harmonica
In the mid-18th century, all of London, from beer halls to aristocratic salons, was embraced by fashionable entertainment - “Irish lotions,” that is, extracting sounds from glasses of thin glass by sliding a finger along its edge. The tone of sound depended on the level of water poured into the vessel.
The notorious Benjamin Franklin, who was then the US ambassador to London, in his spare time engaged in the manufacture of a musical instrument called "glass harmonica". The principle of the device was to rotate 48 glasses without legs of different sizes, mounted on one axis and half immersed in a bath of water. The touch of the fingers of the musician to the edges of the rotating glasses caused a deep and strong sound. In this case, you could even pick up a melody, alternating touches to different parts of the glass set.
Over the next several decades, the unusual tool was a popular means of entertainment, but it was once declared the cause of many troubles, such as family quarrels, nervous disorders and causeless anxiety of dogs and cats. The harmonica was banned, and she was forgotten. However, a certain musician Bruno Hoffman not only continued to use the instrument, but even released several records recording his jazz compositions on a glass harmonica.
"Coil"
A unique instrument was created by a priest from the French city of Auxerre, Edmé Guillaume. Not all churches and cathedrals had an organ, but all singing choirs needed musical accompaniment. The serpent, the so-called instrument, was a repeatedly bent pipe of their tree, covered with leather. Its total length was three meters, which made it possible to achieve a strong and beautiful sound. Six holes were located on the pipe, blocking which the musician could play a simple melody. In the second half of the 17th century, the serpent settled in military bands, and then in the courtiers. At the same time, the instrument was improved, the holes were closed with valves, and the bone mouthpiece was made removable.
Currently, the serpent is used in concert programs dedicated to ancient musical works. He is also attracted to work by contemporary authors, such as Judith Weir, who writes for the theater. Or the composer Jerry Goldsmith, who is trying to make his works for cinema as interesting as possible in sound.
Sakuleyta
In 2002, musician Monty Levinson took an ordinary orchestra flute with a valve mechanism and combined it with a Japanese bamboo shakuhachi pipe.
Folklore Japanese music in the early 20th century firmly established itself in Europe. And by the middle of the last century, the ethnic shakuhachi instrument began to be used in many concert performances by famous artists. The first popularizer of the Japanese bamboo flute was Bill Walker from Jamaica, who played it at almost every performance.
In the sixties, the Japanese flute participated in concerts of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 80s, an ethnic pipe from the Land of the Rising Sun further strengthened its position. Then, the shakuhachi was combined with a European-style orchestra flute - thus, another unusual musical instrument called sakuleita appeared.
Entertainment or art
The most unusual musical instruments are of interest primarily due to their appearance. They are unlike the usual pianos, guitars, saxophone. Each must have a twist that makes the tool unique. Unusual musical instruments, the photos of which, if it is not possible to see firsthand, always cause a keen interest and, of course, are part of the culture of the country in which they appeared. There are museums where unique exhibits of historical and antique value are collected.
Playing unusual musical instruments can also be special, not like the common methods. And the principle of sound extraction is far from always clear.