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[Beaniedude]

So I was browsing around looking for musical ideas for my Prog-Rock Indie Folk New Age Grass Roots Jugband that I am starting as a sort of joke with my friends. Now with some Jugbands they normally have a core set of instruments that play but every so often another instrument like a slide whistle will come in and play for a few bars, maybe someone will start tap dancing or whip out a kazoo, just something new to keep things fresh and "whacky".

So I was looking through kazoos and bird whistles and bones when something caught my eye. It was.... it was a musical note.

It is called an Otamatone. You control the pitch by running your fingers up and down its spine and you squeeze its head to allow it to let out the note. Adorbs!

It's easier if you just see it for yourself.

So all of this got me to thinking. Are there any other weird instruments out there that I don't know about? Common knowledge these days seem to extend to guitars, piano and the like but are there hidden gems like these that never caught on be it because it was too abstract to play or people didn't like the sound or a whole myriad of other reasons?


Another example of a weird musical instrument I can come up with off the top of my head is of course the theremin which apparently uses black magic to work

So what say you GAF? Are there any other crazy instruments like the Otamatone or Theremin out there?
Do any of you play them? Are any of you masters?
Have we reached the point that it is difficult to invent a new type of instrument because everything has been done already and it'll just be labelled as weird and viewed as a novelty item?

 

[kick51]

analog synths

 

[Kerned]

Well of course I came in here to suggest a theremin, but it looks like I'm not needed. (I used to be in a band that used one on ocassion).

Maybe check out a hurdy gurdy?

 

[StuBurns]

Array Mbira

A plinky plonky mainstay of Imogen Heap albums.

 

[Pete Rock]

FLEXATONE!

Gamelan

Array Mbira

Konono Nº1 makes extensive use of the Electric lamellophone which is very similar! Check out their whole setup for a lot of DIY instruments!

 

[see5harp]

Gamelan isn't a damn novelty lol. His band should definitely have someone who plays sawblade though. I remember seeing the lead singer of Man Man using a big straw to make though crazy laser sounds.

 

[Kerned]

Gamelan isn't a damn novelty lol. His band should definitely have someone who plays sawblade though. I remember seeing the lead singer of Man Man using a big straw to make though crazy laser sounds.

Every jug band needs a saw, that is an indisputable fact.

 

[kick51]

the saw-ist in Godspeed You Black Emperor is pretty tight

 

[bluehat9]

Glass harmonica.

 

[Nikodemos]

Some of the examples given are nowhere near novelty instruments. The array mbira is simply an ancient African instrument converted to current-day use. The hurdy-gurdy is a Medieval West-Central European instrument. The theremin is one of the first purely electronic musical instruments (it was invented about 100 years ago).

You want novelty? The hong (or hang, can't remember the correct form) drum. Resembles a South Asian traditional pan drum, is made by some Swiss guys.

 

[CountAntonius]

Holy crap that otamatone is suprisingly cool and funny.

 

[maruchan]

the Theremin gave us good vibrations..

 

[Borgnine]

Maybe check out a hurdy gurdy?

Definitely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXkBzTLOyjc

 

[Grakl]

not really what you're asking, but I'm a fan of taking random objects and using them for something other than their intended purpose, e.g. hitting a bag of rice and using that noise in a song

 

[Ferrio]

Holy crap that otamatone is suprisingly cool and funny.

Own one myself, it's fun to annoy people with.

 

[Beaniedude]

Every jug band needs a saw, that is an indisputable fact.

Man, it always amazes me whenever someone whips out a saw and starts playing it.
It shouldn't be able to make those notes!
You use saws for cutting! Not for playing!


The flexatone sounds hilarious. I'll definitely make a note and the Array Mbira, is that basically just a board with lots of stuff that you plink and plonk on it?

 

[Just take it with you.]

The theremin's sorta cousin, the ondes martenot.

Also, anything by Harry Partch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3zeJbHsQBQ

 

[psylah]

the skin flute.

 

[Pete Rock]

Gamelan isn't a damn novelty lol.

Well I certainly stand corrected. I guess I just don't hear it that much, which really doesn't make it a novelty, it just means I don't listen to the type of music that would utilize it as much as other genres. Thanks.

You want novelty? The hong (or hang, can't remember the correct form) drum. Resembles a South Asian traditional pan drum, is made by some Swiss guys.

Manu Delago - Two handsful of sound - Easily the most amazing hang drum composition I have ever heard.

Also - see Moondog

 

[ComputerMKII]

Hang

 

[Hobbestetrician]

Whamola

The Whamola is a bass instrument used in funk-jazz styles of music. The name is a portmanteau of whammy bar and viola.

The Whamola is a direct descendant of the washtub bass, an American folk instrument popular with skiffle and jug bands, and features a single string which is manipulated via a pulley-and-lever system. The pulley mechanism is mounted in place of the tuning pegs at the top of a double-bass-style neck, which is attached to a wooden or metal body featuring a bridge, pickup and stand. The Whamola is played by hitting the string with a drum stick and either fretting it against the neck with the other hand or using the lever to alter its tension and change the pitch.

Les Claypool - Whamola

 

[Partial Gamification]

Never seen an Otamatone, I thought it was cello-sized until I clicked the video.

[url="http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/]Here's a listing of weird instruments[/url] with audio clips, some are site-specific or part of an artist's collective works.

Didjibodhrán: Half Didjeridu - Half Bodhrán

The didjibodhrán is an original hybrid instrument. It's an Irish frame drum, called a bodhrán, that has a stretched goatskin head. The ceramic drum frame is also a circular didjeridu. When blowing into the didjibodhrán as a didjeridu, the drum head vibrates sympathetically, creating some eerie pseudo-reverberation effects.

 

[Astro Monster]

Jew's Harp.

 

[Borgnine]

You could do like a blue man group PVC pipe thing.

 

[kick51]

The drummer from Phish plays the vacuum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc-gZqP8F90

 

[ComputerMKII]

And this is the funniest musical instrument. Just listen to it, how could you not feel happy afterwards?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1R8Rx2db9c

 

[acheron_xl]

I've wanted a Suzuki Omnichord for a while. Pretty cool piece of vintage gadgetry.

 

[see5harp]

Well I certainly stand corrected. I guess I just don't hear it that much, which really doesn't make it a novelty, it just means I don't listen to the type of music that would utilize it as much as other genres. Thanks.

I didn't mean for that to come across as mean or anything. It's just a bunch of Indonesian instruments. I played Gamelan in college and it was badass. You could get stoned and then go into this room with 20 other people and it was like Philip Glass drones with reverb set to like 100x. Anyone who likes modern electronic music would probably appreciate it.

I was surprised to see Pitchfork had an article on the genre earlier this year.

http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/298-gamelan-and-electronic-music/

 

[Beaniedude]

Didjibodhrán: Half Didjeridu - Half Bodhrán

Man that looks amazing. It's weird little instruments like these that I never have heard of before that really fascinate me.

And this is the funniest musical instrument. Just listen to it, how could you not feel happy afterwards?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1R8Rx2db9c

My Lord that is hilarious. Someday I wish to build something like that and continuously annoy my family and friends by playing the same song over and over again.

 

[ComputerMKII]

A broomstick + a guitar string + an EMG 81 = the Djentstick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhOYflyfOPM

 

[Nikodemos]

The theremin's sorta cousin, the ondes martenot.

The Ondes Martenot is bloody awesome. You can tremolo the keys (they slide laterally on the frame). Needs better pitch control, though. Having one hand busy with the power cartridge is unergonomic.

Oh, and for an old 'novelty' instrument, the trumpet (Stroh) fiddle. Invented for use with mechanical recording apparata which didn't use microphones, fell out of fashion after said peripheral became commonplace.

 

[radios shipping overview]

I don't really consider any instrument a novelty unless it's just a simple noisemaker. Some just instruments have a different palette and/or application than others.

That being said, Peter B of Ciat-Lonbarde makes some wonderfully strange and unique instruments. They are synthesizers that work differently from any you might have seen before. They seem intended for people who want to get out of any preexisting or established norms and structure and produce completely unique timbres and sounds.

Cocoquantus

Plumbutter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Z_cNi1F7w

Rollz-5

And then there's Rob Hordijk's Benjolin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHnuK7EVquM

 

[AMUSIX]

First, have a listen to a fucking awesome song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw4bxcxjJ0Q

then check the instrumentation credits:
(I've highlighted what I found to be the weirdest musical intsrument)

Nils Frykdahl - guitar, flute, saxophone, insect guitar, percussion-duct, mic, stand, watering can, singing
Chuck Squier - drums, inflatable suits, giant heads, song wheel & much more
Gene Jun - guitar, violin, percussion, percussion guitar, fight with a folding chair in a parking garage, crinkling bag, fruit, ripping tape, saw blades, sleigh bells, bargooma!, beef glutton, singing
Dan Rathbun - bass, cello, trombone, cutting foam, megaphone, singing
Wes Anderson - drums, pan lids, spinning rims, trashcan, ashtray, skillet, drums army, singing

 

[dave is ok]

Glass armonica

The instrument's popularity did not last far beyond the 18th century. Some claim this was due to strange rumors that using the instrument caused both musicians and their listeners to go mad.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Love weird instruments. Here's a great site for oddities: Odd Music.

Ones I can think of:

Glass Armonica (EDIT: Beaten!):

The Great Stalacpipe Organ:

At 3.5 acres, it's a strong contender for the largest musical instrument in the world, methinks.

There are some amazing custom-made ones Bjork used for her Biophilia album:

The Singing Ringing Tree:

The Ocean Harp:

...and my personal favourite, The Katzenklavier:

 

[Just take it with you.]

The Optigan and the Orchestron.

 

[radios shipping overview]

analog synths

Is a DAW a novelty instrument, too?

 

[Nikodemos]

Another 'novelty' instrument:

The 6-pounder.

Used at the finale of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. The sheet specifies that for an authentic rendition actual cannon have to be used.

Edit: found a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNatwyAJ6dI

 

[Zeroxysm]

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP-Tzq3hFgQ

 

[Slackbladder]

What about the Tenori-On?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGwDhKTrwU

 

[Kerned]

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP-Tzq3hFgQ

Those are incredibly awesome. They are priced accordingly.

 

[radios shipping overview]

What about the Tenori-On?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGwDhKTrwU

These look like so much fun to play. I'd love to be able to justify the cost and use one as a sequencer.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Another 'novelty' instrument:

The 6-pounder.

Used at the finale of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. The sheet specifies that for an authentic rendition actual cannon have to be used.

Which reminds me, I think there is a Satie piece that requires typewriters and chains to be properly performed.

 

[Goldenroad]

The drummer from Phish plays the vacuum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc-gZqP8F90

zactly. Nice work.

Mickey Hart from the grateful dead had this amazing device on stage a lot of the time.(and it was prominently featured on Mickey's Apocalypse Now Soundtrack):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h8o-1IQ5G0&feature=share&list=PLvW6rvW_2lZCdX88iOcymAzX6CHkul8M0

 

[Kerned]

Okay, so this isn't an instrument per se, but it would amazing to have this custom built "2D Rubens tube" on stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2awbKQ2DLRE

 

[Rapstah]

Whamola



Les Claypool - Whamola

Around 3:20 in that video someone has a solo by rubbing the inside of a drum.

 

[Trouble]

The Optigan and the Orchestron.

YES

Pea Hicks and Rob Crow from Pinback made a band called Optiganally Yours centered around the Optigan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jkKwiu-ihA

 

[Toddimus Prime]

The Carnyx

Not sure the term 'novelty' fits this Celtic horn but as there are no surviving, original, completely intact examples I'd say its rare enough. Examples have been reconstructed though and the sound is terrifying. I can't imagine what mood soldiers would have been in hearing the noise on the opposite end of the battlefield.

The Wikipedia page is a great read and it has an example sound:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnyx

I find there's something ethereal about wind instruments and not many more so than the Carnyx.

 

[adamsappel]

Mickey Hart from the grateful dead had this amazing device on stage a lot of the time.(and it was prominently featured on Mickey's Apocalypse Now Soundtrack):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h8o-1IQ5G0&feature=share&list=PLvW6rvW_2lZCdX88iOcymAzX6CHkul8M0

The Beam! I came to post that.

I'll offer the Thumb Piano instead:

 

[Nikodemos]

I'll offer the Thumb Piano instead:

That's just another variation on the mbira design.

I had the chance to purchase one about 12 years ago for £10 (Cypriot). Stupidly, I didn't. I find the tone pretty relaxing.