May 19, 2023
by Aswirbaad Das
We grow up learning to play musical instruments like the guitar, piano, violin and so on. But what could broaden our musical horizons is exposure to sounds we may have never heard before. So, here are 7 of the most exotic and unusual instruments in the world that a music enthusiast should hear and know about.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
This World Heritage item is believed to have had its origins in West Java, Indonesia, about 400 years ago. Villagers believed that the sound of the Angklung, which was made of intricately cut bamboo pipes and frames that are harvested for two weeks a year, would appease Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice and prosperity.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
This pocket-sized behemoth that produces vibrant synth music was invented by Brian Jarvis in 1967. It comprises a metal keyboard made of printed circuit board that responds when a metal stylus plays on it. Each note connects to a voltage-controlled oscillator via a different-value resistor that closes the circuit and creates a vivid sound.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Although officially invented by an Italian teenager, Giuseppe Donati, in 1853, the origin of the Ocarina dates back 12,000 years! The Mayans, Incans and Aztecs developed clay ocarinas in the shapes of birds and animals. This ‘flute vessel’ with multiple finger holes can play a full chromatic scale with a bird-like melody!
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
This jaw-dropping instrument was invented by Leland W. Sprinkle in 1954, after his visit to the Luray Caverns in Virginia. There, he serendipitously tapped a stalactite to discover its resonant, musical properties. He later shaved and fitted each stalactite with rubber mallets to form the ‘pipes’ of the organ and wired an electric console to make it the largest musical instrument in the world!
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
This unusual yet melodious instrument was invented by the great Benjamin Franklin in 1761. It is made up of glass bowls of varied sizes nestled into one another in ascending or descending order and produces pristine bell-like sounds when fingertips run over their lips.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Among the oldest wind instruments of all time, the didgeridoo traces its roots back to Aboriginal culture. This huge instrument is typically played with the heavy end lying on the ground and demands the circular breathing technique–in through the nose and out through the mouth–to produce hypnotic echo sounds.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
As sometimes rightly referred to as the H2Organ, this unique instrument involves the use of hydraulics, water and, sometimes, other fluids. Sounding somewhere between a pipe organ and a wind instrument, this instrument is played by restricting or releasing the flow of water through multiple sound holes using one’s fingers!
Image source: Wikimedia Commons