"Top 10 Bizarre Musical Instruments"

i.e., choose your new age weapon of choice

i keep reading that some dude on the new devendra banhart album plays an instrument that's made out of the spine of an armadillo or something so i would've voted for that, but out of these musical saw is the obvious choice .

No stylophone, no credibility.

No "H", no credibility.

I don't really get the inclusion of the cymbalom, it's not nearly as bizarre as the bagpipe, for example.

choose your new age weapon of choice

Hee. I like that!

Anyhow, while I love the Ondes, I'll have to go with the glass armonica. It's not only a gorgeous-looking instrument---its SOUND is so spectral. Such a shame very few people compose for it.

I feel compelled to vote for the Theremin since I own one, but I'd love to have a glass armonica or an ondes.

but I'd love to have a glass armonica or an ondes.

^^ yes

Iceman Is - Terje Isungset
(064 458-2 Jazzland rec. distributed by Universal Music).

The World's first serious recording of musical instruments made from ice!

ICE HARP
ICE TRUMPET
ICE PERCUSSION

Background
Norwegian percussionist Terje Isungset has for years used a variety of organic sound elements in creating music and instruments. He has incorporated the sound of naturally found wood, stone, metal objects, and industrial machines and processes in the creation of musical works. Utilising ice as a source of sound has long been a dream of his, and in the year 2000 a serious opportunity came along to explore this possibility. He was commissioned to create a performance piece and composition incorporating the live sound of water beneath a natural frozen waterfall at the 2000 Lillehammer Winter Festival, at minus 15°C degrees and with Palle Mikkelborg and Lena Willemark as participating musicians. (the concert was televised in Norway). This was likely the first public concert ever combining instruments of ice with traditional musical instruments. While preparing for the Lillehammer concert, Isungset was contacted to help create Sweden's contribution to the world-wide televised New Years Day Millennium Celebration . In co-operation with sculptor Bengt Carling, Isungset created a set of ice percussion instruments that were played for the whole world to see and hear.

Iceman Is
The sonic qualities of ice turned out to be so fantastic that Terje decided to start working on a CD recording with ice instruments. He wanted to expand beyond ice percussion, and had ideas for ice "brass" and string instruments. Recording conditions would have to be extreme, because the fragile ice instruments are very quiet and also prone to temperature damage. The perfect location was found at the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi , North Sweden , and music for the CD "Iceman Is" was recorded the first two days of February 2001.

The Ice Hotel is built every winter on a frozen lake, and the nearby frozen river was a perfect source for the quality ice needed for the Iceman Is project. It is essential for good sound that the ice is free of air bubbles, cracks, pollutants, or dirt. This area is known to have large amounts of superior quality ice. With special tools and machines, huge blocks of ice were harvested from the river and cut to specific sizes. A 4x16m (13'x 52') recording studio room was built using 1 meter (3') thick hard packed snow blocks, and a small window for natural light. This room proved to be 100% sound proof. We built an adjacent control room for the audio technician, and to separate the hum of hard drives from the recording room. The outdoor temperature was -37°C , -8°C inside. (-34°F/17°F) Ideal conditions for ice instruments, if not for musicians. The ice changes character and density with different temperatures, and conditions are best around -10°C.

Isungset and Carling worked for 3 days and nights prior to the recording, inventing and developing new instruments made from ice, some building on previous experiences, others completely from scratch. New inventions undoubtedly came to light... Ice harp, Ice horn, Ice trumpet, ice bass drum, and other percussion instruments. New unknown timbres and sonic adventures. The only parts not made from ice were the strings for the ice harp, and the bass drum pedal. In addition, horn player Arve Henriksen at times used a glass fibre mouth piece, although most of the time he'd blow with his lips directly onto the ice trumpets.

The recording.
Two days of practice and performance featured Iro Haarla (iceharp), Arve Henriksen (ice trumpet) and Terje Isungset (ice percussion). 3 hours of recorded ice music resulted from this unique session.

During the following months, Isungset continued to work with this raw material, editing and rearranging the sonic elements, selecting and creating a more unified progression of musical elements, but without altering the original sound.

On some of the tracks on the final CD "Iceman Is", other instruments have been added later, Lena Willemark - vocal, Palle Mikkelborg - trumpet, Hilmar Jensson and Skuli Sverrison - electronics.

Still, the mood from the Jukkasjarvi session is preserved, and the ice instruments form the foundation and inspiration for the other instruments that were added. The sound of natural ice is the essence of the music on "Iceman Is". 100% natural - this is the sound of ice! You really can't get more "chill" than this…

The Byzantar *sounds* wonderful.

Have you guys heard Christina Kubisch's 'Armonica'? She made this long drone piece with glass harmonica sounds. She played on an original instrument and then layered up the sounds. The overtones are very intense.

but what about hans reichel's daxophone?

Cymbalom isn't bizarre. Harry Partch to thread.

> Glass Armonica

damon used one of these, and an Ondes Martenot, and something else that i can't find, for his Monkey thing recently.

ian masters, late of pale saints, has an alter ego as a musical saw player, I'm Sore. http://www.dfuse.com/spoons/sore-inside-rev.htm

Neil Feather played a march on Anaplumb and Former Guitar for my wedding. It was great seeing my incredibly uptight relatives squirm and flinch at the atonal beauty.

His instruments are very special. I truly love the Nondo and how different it sounds depending on the player.

i just bought a musical saw, they are a lot louder than you expect them to be!

What no laser harp?

There's an awesome thread somewhere in the archives about some dude who invented his own instrument and everyone was like 'OMG I WANT ONE OF THOSE!' and frustratingly I can't remember anything else about it, or where it is.

Otherwise, I'm going with the Ondes.

That's the first time I've heard a theremin played, as opposed to being employed by some indie band who want a cutting edge wow-ee-oww-ee sound. It's kind of beautiful. But I voted for gravikord, on the assumption that theremin will walk this poll.

Thought this would be a Sick Mouthy article on Stylus about unusual sounds on Talk Talk records.

daxophones are beautiful....

The saw is always a favourite but also very weird.

aulochrome:

http://www.jazzreview.com/f/user_images/4-1305-1706-1.jpg

(cool but one sax is already too many)

NO SACKBUT NO CREDIBILITY.

Contrabass serpent

http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/ujh/ujh2929f3_s.jpg

http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/ujh/ujh2929f3_s.jpg

Ondes Martenot. A no brainer-choice for me, it's one of the most beautiful-sounding instruments ever, also the most expressive electronic instrument UI, I think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy9UBjrUjwo

In action, thrillingly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv67YkOWJNA

Thought this would be a Sick Mouthy article on Stylus about unusual sounds on Talk Talk records.
No shozyg, no credibility.

http://www.emusic.com/album/Voices-Of-The-Wind-Roger-Winfield-MP3-Download/10589227.html?fref=150051

favorite aeolian harp record

Musical saw, for the first Flatlanders record alone.

I want a theremin that can make a different sound

then get an Ondes, fool

What about the guy who wanted to play a bridge in upstate New York?

no, I mean a theremin that can play any synth I want and I dont have to press any buttons. maybe it exists but it is not an Ondes.

different sounds

i guess they do. meh. not as cool as I hoped.

no, I mean a theremin that can play any synth I want and I dont have to press any buttons. maybe it exists but it is not an Ondes.

-- CaptainLorax,

Moog's company Big Briar used to make a model called the Ethervox. It was a MIDI controller as well as a top-of-the-line theremin. They no longer produce it, but if you had 4 or 5 grand I'm sure you could find one on the secondary market.

Theremins sound rad with effects & distortion. I heard one dude get some killer synth-like bass sounds.

(I voted for ondes btw)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

saw and theremin not even weird anymore

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.