Exotic Instruments You Should Know About

24/03/2021

Glass Armonica
Derived from the Greek word ἁρμονία (harmony), the harmonica is a well-known instrument. However, few people have seen or heard of a glass armonica. Invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761, the glass armonica works in a similar way to sound produced from tuned bottles and glasses. For its construction, glass bowls are lined in a row and continuously spun on a long rod. While the glass keeps spinning, the player taps the edges of different bowls for each note. The sound resonates clearly, creating an angelic aura. In a generous spirit, Franklin refused to patent it, like the rest of his inventions.

24/03/2021

Gameleste
A relatively new instrument, the Gameleste was created when Icelandic artist Bjork commissioned the creation of new instruments to complement her music style and 2011 album. A modified celesta (similar to a piano) with tone bars from a gamelan (an ensemble of kettle-shaped tuned gongs prevalent in Java, Bali, and Indonesia), the gameleste produces unique chime-like sounds.

24/03/2021

Friction Harp
True to its name, a friction harp produces sound when you rub your fingers along the length of its metal tubes to create friction. It can be constructed from various metals cut to different lengths for practically any range of notes, and screwed or welded to a secure bass. To fit a player’s preference, it can be set up parallel or perpendicular to the ground.

24/03/2021

Dulcimer

With the first hammered dulcimer appearing in the Middle East around 900 A.D., the modern Appalachian dulcimer was evolved in the 19th century by Scotch-Irish immigrants residing in the Shenandoah Valley of the Appalachian Mountain region. Played with the instrument resting on your lap and plucking it with your fingers, one can find the dulcimer being played on someone’s porch like a banjo often is. Its fun sound is created from a long, thin, wooden body strung with melody strings close to the player and a bass string on the outside. The dulcimer became popular in American folk music and is still prevalently heard in Appalachia to date.

23/03/2021

Double Contrabass Flute

If you thought carrying a sousaphone was difficult, try carrying a double contrabass flute. This massive musical contraption made by Kotato & Fukushima in Japan contains around 18 feet of tubing, providing for an unusual range of fluttery sounds, and making it the largest flute ever created.

23/03/2021

Didgeridoo
Perhaps there’s nothing that musically depicts the landscape of the mysterious and amazing Australian Outback more than the didgeridoo. Termites in Australia can hollow out entire trees, creating a perfect instrument body base, often out of eucalyptus branches. Indigenous Australians were the first to create instruments from these abandoned, piped branches by stripping off the bark, smoothing them out, whittling the mouth top, applying gum or beeswax around the rim, and sometimes decorating the final product with brightly colored paints. Didgeridoos are still used in traditional indigenous Australian cultural ceremonies, as well as in mainstream music applications.

23/03/2021

Crwth
The sound of the crwth takes you back in time through the scenic land of Wales. Originating in Medieval Times, this lovely Celtic bowed lyre is one of the predecessors to modern day bowed instruments in the violin family, though it’s played facing away from the musician like a cello. Made with a wooden, rectangular body that frames the fingerboard, the crwth has two holes in the soundboard, very small tuners, and a special cavity running through the fingerboard. Crwth competitions date back to the year 1176, and this 6-stringed instrument is still played to date.

22/03/2021

Chapman Stick
Created by Emmett Chapman, the Chapman stick is a 10-string instrument resembling the fretboard component of a guitar. To play it, you simply tap the strings. Along the road, Chapman’s company has created several models based off the original including those with a longer scale, 8 and 12 strings, different string spacing, multiple wood compositions, and bass and alto versions. They’ve even put together their very own stick camp learning program for those who want to join in and jam with their stick.

22/03/2021

Banjo
Even though the banjo is strongly connected to American folk and bluegrass music, it originated in Africa and was brought over to the Americas by slaves. With an animal hide drum head over its circular body and unique arrangement of 5 strings (with the highest string in the place you’d expect the lowest to be), the banjo is very distinctive from the mandolin and other plucked instruments, so much so that new plucking styles and picks were made just for this instrument.

22/03/2021

American Fotoplayer
The first introduction of sound to film was one of the biggest breakthroughs in the movie industry and sent a shock wave to all, as well as a wave of new and inspiring innovations. Developed in 1926 in California, the fotoplayer kickstarted this movement. This instrument combined piano parts, organ pipes, a xylophone, bells, triangle, drums, and more, and included tons of pedals, levers, buttons, switches, and pull chords that each made a different sound. Before sound could be recorded for films, the fotoplayer enabled musicians to add in musical effects during a screening, bringing entertainment to a brand-new level, and strengthening the ties between the worlds of music, theater, and Hollywood.

22/03/2021

22/03/2021