Ten of the most interesting and unusual musical instruments. The most unusual musical instruments in the world Unusual design in the form of musical instruments

Picasso Guitar

The Picasso guitar is a strange musical instrument created in 1984 by Canadian string maker Linda Manser for jazz guitarist Patrick Bruce Metheny. It is a harp guitar with four necks, two sound holes and 42 strings. The instrument was named because of its external resemblance to those depicted in the famous paintings (1912–1914), the so-called analytical cubism of Pablo Picasso.

Nikelharpa

Glass harmonica

Erhu

Zeusaphone

Hydraulophone

Singing tree in Barnley

Theremin

Hang

Stalactite organ

A true master can create a musical instrument from scrap materials. But some people from different parts of the world have understood it in different ways and have created some very unusual instruments in the world. It’s hard to even describe them, and not everyone can figure out how to play them. Many of them make very strange sounds.

The AK 47 electronic guitar produces normal sounds and should be comfortable to play. The oddity lies in the shape of this instrument and the material from which it was made. And it is made from an AK-47 assault rifle. The guitar is called "Escopetarra", a word created from a combination of the Spanish words escopeta and guitarra. There are several copies of such original instruments in the world, which, according to the authors’ ideas, are symbols of peace. One of them was presented to Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General.

The instrument, named by its creator as “Chrysalis,” makes one believe that music can be extracted from the most unusual objects. It was created in the 70s and resembles a harp with a resonator. The shape was inspired by the Mayan stone calendar. It consists of two wooden wheels with strings, and they rotate freely in different directions. Despite its simplicity, it contains the author's technology. As the author, Chris Foster, explained in his book, when listening to this instrument, one can imagine that it is the wind playing a harp.

The instrument produces sound and splash at the same time. Why the splash? Because it comes into direct contact with water to play music. A hydrolophone is an instrument in which sound is produced by pressure on water passing through many grooves and holes.

A fence is a fence that is installed at the border of a certain property, but according to musician John Rose, it can also be used as a musical instrument, especially if it is made of wires. The Australian musician, who considers himself a fencing specialist, uses both barbed wire and electric shepherd fences. The author of the idea plays them with bows and gives performances all over the world.

If we talk about future improvements in the sound of the harp, then most likely the strings will be replaced by lasers. This instrument has been used in sound and light shows around the world since the 80s. exist it different types from framed and without framed, to two-color and beam. To play it you need to use different electronic devices, software, a projector and many photodiodes.

Electricity in its purest form, a Tesla transformer and a plasma speaker are the main components of this musical instrument. Named after the Greek god Zeus, the instrument produces sounds similar to those of a synthesizer. The Tesla transformer can be connected to various devices, with the help of which you can control the operation of the transformer while playing sound and light.

4. Huaca

The instrument is made from three connected clay vessels and can produce three different sounds at the same time. In 1980, Sharon Rowel created it after two years of research. But he was not the first to play the huaca. The first was Alan Tower. He not only played, but also recorded a disc with unusual music. The instrument itself is designed on the principle of a piano. Externally, the huaca, consisting of three chambers, resembles the lungs and heart of a person. Each camera is tuned to a specific sound, but in general, the sound of a huaqui resembles the sound of a flute.

3. Jew's harp

The Jew's harp is considered one of the oldest musical instruments, not only in appearance, but also because the sound must be reproduced with the mouth, playing with the fingers. It is difficult to trace its history back to ancient times, but it is known to have been used different peoples, confirmed by multiple images and historical references to him.

The Peterson Tuner company decided to combine alcohol and music and came up with a unique musical instrument. It consists of beer bottles into which air is blown. Bottles filled with mineral oil are carefully arranged in a walnut wooden frame. An air pump, which is controlled and controlled by a keyboard, pumps air into the bottles so that the musician can produce the required sounds.

1. Badgermin

A wooden box with two antennas coming out of it will cause surprise, and a badger with two antennas coming out of it will cause shock. This is really the most strange instrument outwardly, however, he makes no less strange sounds.
Despite all the unusual forms and sounds, similar musical instruments are actively used by pop performers, turning their concerts into

The musical instruments on our list bear little resemblance in appearance to the familiar guitars, pianos or drums, which most people are familiar with from childhood thanks to their studies in music school or just television programs. Here's a look at the tools that give one artist the opportunity to be special, while others reconnect with history or have a creative outlet, many people have never even heard of.

It seems that our ancestors were just as obsessed with musical instruments as we are, and as a result, over the millennia, we have a wide choice of these devices. Some instruments, such as the Aeolian Harp, are an example of the use of natural forces, in this case wind, to produce sound, and an example of the use of scientific developments is the singing Tesla coil. Others try to imitate the sounds of several instruments at once, such as the recently invented string-keyboard-bowed instrument, the Wheelsharp. And finally, several custom-made instruments, such as the Gameleste instrument, created especially for the Icelandic singer Björk.

Gameleste was specially designed for the album and multimedia project “Biophilia” by the Icelandic singer Björk, which was presented to the public in 2011. The percussion instrument is a combination of the traditional Indonesian instrument gamlan and celesta, a small keyboard instrument with hammers that strike metal plates, creating a sound similar to the sound of bells. The instrument was created by a British percussionist and an Icelandic organist.

It took sound engineer Henry Degas 4 years to create a giant barrel organ that runs on solar energy. The author named his brainchild Sharpsichord. The instrument is a huge metal device with a gramophone and 11,000 holes for changing cylinders. The pins on which the cylinders are mounted, when rotated, touch the strings of the instrument and sound is generated. During the performance of the composition, all cylinders are changed manually, which takes a lot of time, so the concert can last a whole day or longer.

A lur is a wind instrument, a horn, which can reach two meters in length and is one of the most ancient instruments on our list. His image can even be found on rock paintings in Scandinavia. It can have a straight or curved shape and is often associated with the Viking period; there was a wooden equivalent of the instrument in the Middle Ages. When technologies changed, they began to make it from bronze; for example, in Denmark and Germany they used this version with a mouthpiece.

This is perhaps the most amazing tool on our list, and it looks like something from the future. The singing Tesla coil is a kind of plasma loudspeaker. The coil produces an ultra high frequency voltage followed by a sound effect. As a result of the voltage, low waves produce a sound similar to the sound of a synthesizer. Since this sound is not picked up by the human ear, a special installation transforms it, and we can hear it.

A pyrophone is a kind of organ that produces sound as a result of explosions. The tool was invented in the 19th century by accident during the development of the internal combustion engine. When a fire occurs, a sound is produced in the tubes. The exhaust from the combustion chamber passes through special chambers and produces sounds of different tones. The tool runs on propane or aviation gasoline.

hurdy-gurdy It looks as funny as its name, but it is a very important instrument in the performance of French, Hungarian and Galician folk songs, as the instrument produces a rich, exotic, long-lasting sound that is produced as the rubber wheel is turned against the strings. The instrument sounds like a string instrument, but is also equipped with keys. It is equipped with strings on top, which, when energized, produce a sound similar to the sound of bagpipes, which is why hardy-hardy is often used specifically for the bagpipe part in modern compositions.

4. Wheelharp

A wheel harp is a musical instrument with strings that is operated by keys and a foot motor. The strings produce a constant sound as a result of the friction of the wheel against them. Power is supplied using foot pedals that resemble piano pedals. The instrument was first presented to the public in 2013 in California, and was designed based on the drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci. Since there were no detailed drawings, it was only thanks to musicians and engineers that it saw the light of day. It is an orchestral instrument that produces a full, rich sound.

This is the cutest tool on our list. The Hardanger fiddle is a traditional Norwegian stringed folk song instrument, similar to a traditional fiddle but with 8-9 strings. 4 strings are played traditionally, like a regular violin, and the other strings create resonance, echo-like sounds. Externally, the instrument is very beautiful thanks to the figured carving.

The didgeridoo is a well-known Australian Aboriginal wind instrument. It was invented 1500 years ago. It is basically a wooden pipe that produces sound. The tool comes in different lengths and different sizes, but traditionally it should be long - the longer the instrument, the lower the tone of the sound produced. The didgeridoo can even be found in cave paintings of ancient people. Traditionally, the instrument is painted in the colors characteristic of a particular cultural group.

The Aeolian harp, or air harp, is a stringed instrument that produces sound when influenced by the force of the wind. It got its name in honor of the Greek god of the wind, Aeolus. The instrument consists of a box and, in fact, a neck with stretched strings. If you place the harp near an open window, the wind passing through the strings contributes to the formation of sound waves. The strings are stretched so that the sound is produced in different keys. The result is a haunting, even eerie sound, as if the gods themselves were playing the harp.

Trying to add a special sound to their music, some unique, memorable feature, musicians resort to different methods. Some songs are memorable due to interesting drum parts (like “They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson, where the whole trick is in the sound of the drums) or recognizable guitar riffs (who doesn’t know “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple?). Some become hits because of their ingenious simplicity, thanks to which, for example, “We Will Rock You” by Queen has firmly and permanently gained a foothold in the top of the most recognizable songs and most copied chants in the world. Such songs will never get lost in millions of lists of other musical creations. They say that the world has already acquired about half a billion songs. Well, in this situation, how can you create something truly unique, something that has not yet been invented by anyone? Or perform an even more difficult task: write a hit like no other. There are no guarantees that you will succeed, even if you are a brilliant composer. There are cases: while an unknown genius is working on a new masterpiece for months or years, some self-taught amateur will completely accidentally put together 3 notes in such a way that then half the planet will hum this simple song of his. Why? Yes, because the world is already full of beautiful, complex, but unremarkable melodies. For this reason modern musicians they are trying to achieve uniqueness in the two simplest ways: either reducing everything to maximum simplicity (an example of this is simple pop music tunes) or adding something unusual, which is often the use of various electronic effects using special computer programs (the same FL Studio). But there is a third option, in lately rapidly gaining popularity: adding some unusual musical instrument to the overall mix. Thanks to this, the overall sound of the song becomes more unique, and in some cases, the group’s performance becomes brighter and more effective.

What kind of unusual and interesting musical instruments are they? We have compiled a list of the most interesting specimens and even selected suitable videos that at its best convey the peculiarities of their sound. And so, we present to your attention our top 9.

9. Huaca

Our list opens with a rare and unknown huaca instrument, created by Sharon Rowel. This is a fairly new musical invention - the first copy was created only in 1980. The first musician to play the huac was Alan Tower, who, moreover, recorded an entire disc with music from this interesting instrument.

The body of the huaca consists of three clay vessels connected to each other, thanks to which three different sounds can be reproduced simultaneously. In general, the design of the huaca resembles the human heart and lungs, and the sound produced by the instrument is a bit like the sound of a flute.

8. Chrysalis

Another young invention from the list of rare musical instruments. The history of chrysalis began when, in the 1970s, Chris Forster came up with an interesting idea: “What would happen if you took a wheel and pulled strings instead of spokes?” The idea turned out to be quite successful, since the sound of the chrysalis turned out to be truly magical. In appearance, the design of the instrument is quite simple: 2 wooden wheels rotating in different directions and 82 strings on each side. But in fact, the creator assures that there is also a secret author’s technology, thanks to which the gentle sounds of the fox’s cry, as if flowing from under the fingers, come out so mesmerizing.

7. Hang

An absolutely cosmic instrument. And it looks like a flying saucer, and the sounds it makes are enchanting, as if from another planet. And the prices for hangs are a bit astronomical - at auctions it’s close to $10,000. Although it is best to buy directly from the authors of this creation - the Swiss Felix Rohner and Sabine Scherer, who created the hang in 2000. By the way, it will be cheaper - about 1500 euros.

The musical instrument hang itself consists of two flat hemispheres, one of which contains 7-8 dimples arranged in a circle (tone circle), and the other has a resonant hole.

6.Hapi

In 2009, the same Swiss inventors presented to the world a simplified version of the hang - hapi, for some reason called “glucophone” in the LIC countries. Hapi, unlike its “big brother,” is quite easy to acquire and much cheaper, but this does not make it any less interesting and unusual. Listening to the glucophone is pure relaxation and pleasure, and playing it replaces meditation. By the way, the purpose of buying hapi-drama is often to use it in various practices and exercises to immerse yourself in a meditative state. The reason for this is the sound, similar to the sound of a Tibetan bowl or bells.

Hapi is more rounded than hang and slightly smaller in diameter. In the lower hemisphere there is still a hole, but in the upper hemisphere there are no longer pits, but 5-8 “tongues” are cut, which are struck with fingers or special sticks.

5. Glass harmonica

A very rare instrument with quite a long history, dating back to England in the 1600s. And it all started with the English fashion for “Irish entertainment” - playing with thirty to forty glasses filled with water. Craftsmen, touching the edges of the glasses, extracted light, gentle sounds from them. Musical glasses became a full-fledged instrument in 1757, when the envoy of the Pennsylvania Assembly, Benjamin Franklin, arrived in London. He liked the British hobby, and the inventor decided to slightly transform the instrument, replacing the cups with glass hemispheres strung on a rotating iron axis. The lower edge of the hemispheres was immersed in a container of water, due to which they were constantly moistened.

The instrument was extremely popular in Europe until it was suddenly accused of having an excessive influence on the psyche of people: from mild disorders to loss of reason. In some places, glass harmonicas were even banned. But in the 1920s, the sounds of the magical instrument returned from oblivion in the records of Bruno Hofmann, who wrote many melodies specifically for the glass harmonica.

4. Tenori-on

Tenori-on is more of an electronic device for producing sound effects than a musical instrument in the usual sense. To play it, you don’t need any special skills or musical education—everything is based rather on an intuitive perception of music and a sense of rhythm. But this does not mean that the tool is intended only for amateurs! A professional will also appreciate all the advantages of tenori-on, using it to create electronic music.

The device is a square display with 256 sensor buttons with LEDs. The system has built-in effects and a library of sounds. The music that can be played on this instrument is exclusively electronic in nature. This is the first high-tech device on our list of unusual musical instruments. Now can you guess his high-tech homeland? Of course, as you might expect, the creators of Tenori-On, Toshio Iwai and Yu Nishibori, are Japanese.

3. Reactoscope

Another techno-new product, but this time it is not the product of a specific creator, but rather a collective invention of the participants in the Evolution Music Instruments music competition. One of the goals of the event is precisely to produce innovative ideas and the creation of unusual sound reproduction instruments. The reactoscope is the first achievement of the competitors. Based on the prototype of the Spanish reactable, the reactoscope is an interactive musical table with images multi-colored buttons, each of which has a specific function. It is with the help of these functions that tracks are played. Moreover, they automatically begin to be processed in real time, which allows you to achieve almost ideal sound. You don't need any special education to play the reactoscope. An intuitive perception of music is enough. And, of course, a detailed study of the functions of each button (and there are 20 of them). But it’s not that difficult, because there are graphical hints above each of the buttons.

2. Laser harp

The laser harp, like the previous two representatives of the high-tech music industry, is not a musical instrument in the traditional sense (or maybe that’s what the musical instruments of the future will look like). This futuristic harp is more of a controller than a full-fledged instrument. Instead of strings there are laser beams, when they overlap, sound is generated.

You might think that the laser harp is an invention of the 21st century, but no - Geoffrey Rose invented it back in 1976. This harp gained popularity thanks to famous musician Jean-Michel Jarre, who included her sound in the songs of the studio album “Rendez-vous”. By the way, the album was first performed at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of NASA (and, of course, the most striking object of the performance was, of course, a spectacular laser harp).

1. Tesla Coil / Zeusaphone

No matter how much they talk and warn, people like to play with fire, trying to conquer this powerful element. The only thing more dangerous than a burning flame is the mysterious lightning. And so there were enthusiasts who managed not only to conquer this deadly phenomenon (more precisely, a smaller artificially created copy of it), but also to make it play music!

Who created the Tesla coil? Of course the legendary Tesla! But did he think that someday someone would think of using it as a musical instrument?

Pure electricity + plasma speaker + Tesla transformer - these are the three components of a fascinatingly dangerous and very effective instrument, named after the ancient Greek thunder god Zeus. Of course, playing the Zeusaphone does not require direct contact between the musician and the instrument (and also prohibits it!) - the Tesla transformer can be connected to various devices and instruments that the musician owns. Often the coil is connected to a synthesizer. In general, the sound of a zeusaphone is the sound of high voltage (like high-voltage wires sometimes sound, but louder and more melodic), although the whole point here is not as much in the sound as in the show and the very fact: “we make the current play music!”

They can think of everything they can to diversify their musical creations or even make a name for themselves by inventing a new extravagant instrument! We have presented you with 9 of the most unusual musical instruments, but in fact there are many more similar examples. If we took on the task of describing all the strange, outlandish objects that reproduce any sounds, like ethnic instruments of tribes far from civilization or modern devices of the 21st century, an ordinary article on an Internet resource would smoothly turn into a full-fledged book, perhaps even several volumes. Therefore, we have chosen instruments that are truly worth your attention, where their unusualness is harmoniously combined with a beautiful original sound. If you are only a listener in the music industry, but our text has awakened in you the desire to try yourself as a musician (what if!), we do not recommend starting with some very unusual instrument. Firstly, most of them are very rare and, accordingly, very expensive, and secondly, to master the basics of musical skills, it is best to start with something more ordinary. And teachers are easy to find (in some cases, video lessons on YouTube are enough), and buying is much easier and more affordable. For example, in the online store of musical instruments www.robik-music.com. Here you will find many types of different instruments: from the well-known guitars and pianos to less common ethnic ones. If you are a professional musician, then we recommend that you take a look at the website of this store. There is not only a huge selection of traditional instruments, but even DJ equipment, sound equipment and, of course, lighting equipment, with which you will make your performance more vibrant and spectacular without resorting to the use of Tesla coils, laser harps and others that are too rare to purchase , tools.