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In the list of “Days” for July 31, you will find Uncommon Musical Instruments Day, which is a day of appreciation for all the ingenious, ancient or just plain strange instruments that people play.
Here’s a round-up of some, in no particular order, that I found especially odd, and in some some cases, beautiful:
The American Fotoplayer was developed by the American Fotoplayer Company, and introduced in 1912. The Fotoplayer is a type of player piano that was especially created to provide sound effects for silent movies during the early 19th century.
Designed by Manzer, the Pikasso Guitar is a notable instrument whose name was derived from its resemblance to the cubist works of renowned artist Pablo Picasso. This instrument is basically a harp guitar that has four necks, two sound holes and 42 strings.
The Wheelharp produces the rich sounds of many stringed instruments at once. It is basically a keyboard that controls 61 bowed strings, allowing a single musician to sound like many players.
A Crwth is an ancient stringed musical instrument that is sometimes called a “crowd.” This musical instrument is believed to have been played in Wales since the 11th century.
Also known as hardanger fiddle, the Hardingfele is a type of violin that has twice as many strings as a normal violin and originated in Norway.
The Singing Ringing Tree, also called the Panopticon, designed by Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu, is a musical instrument made of steel pipes of various lengths and orientations.
The Hydraulophone is an organ powered by water. It starts producing sound when the musician covers one or more of the water jets, forcing the water through a calibrated pipe.
The Lur is a wooden Viking wind instrument introduced during the middle ages. It can be straight or curved in various shapes. The curves make the long instrument easier to carry.
Nyckelharpa is a Swedish musical instrument that is composed of 16 strings and 37 keys. It was introduced around 1350 C.E. and is considered one of the oldest existing instruments today.
Aeolus was the ruler of the four winds in Greek Mythology. His name has been given to a new giant stringed musical instrument designed to resonate and sing with the wind without any electrical power or amplification.
Loophonium is the marriage of a euphonium and a lavatory. It was made for a concert of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on April Fools’ Day 1960, at which the instrument was played. It was invented by the orchestra’s principal flautist, Fritz Spiegl.
The Chrisalis was invented and built by Cris Forster, the Chrisalis was his first concert-sized instrument. The instrument’s design was inspired by a huge, round, stone-hewn Aztec calendar. Cris thought to himself, “What if there were a musical instrument in the shape of a wheel? And what if this wheel had strings for spokes, could spin, and when played, would sound like the wind?”
G’Morning MOTlies!
Which unusual instrument do you like the best?