World's Weirdest Musical Instruments

By Shreesha Ghosh

June 21, 2022

Hornucopian dronepipe

The hornucopian dronepipe is a 3D-printed brasswind instrument designed by Eric Goldemberg and Veronica Zalcberg of MONAD Studio with musician/luthier Scott F Hall. It is a set of five individual 3D-printed instruments, including a 2-string piezoelectric violin, a 1-string electric travel bass guitar called a monobarasitar, and more.

Image source: Monad Studio

Stylophone

Invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis, the Stylophone is a miniature analogue stylus-operated keyboard. The metal keyboard is played by touching it with a stylus (a small, pointed device that picks up the sound signals on a record) to create each note. The latest Stylophone features the same quirky vintage analogue sound as the original. You can switch between three sound modes.

Image source:  Adobe Stock

Ondes Martenot

The ondes Martenot or ondes musicales is an early electronic musical instrument invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot. It is either played with a keyboard or by moving a ring worn on the right index finger along a wire, creating wavering sounds while the left hand modulates the dynamics control key. A player of the ondes martenot is called an ondist.

Image source:  Adobe Stock

Fluba

This instrument was made by the legendary tubist Jim Self with the help of brass manufacturer Robb Stewart. The Fluba is a hybrid of a flugelhorn and a tuba, which means it is a tuba-sized flugelhorn. In this photo, the inventor Self is seen trying his hands at the instrument. The Fluba's unique sound is slightly brighter than a tuba and darker than a contrabass trumpet.

Image source:  Pinterest

Cimbalom

The cimbalom or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on four legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. The modern version of the dulcimer family was modified and designed by V Josef Schunda in 1874 in Budapest. The instrument is played by striking two sticks on the strings to create notes.

Image source:  Wikimedia Commons

Hang Drum

The Hang Drum, also called a hangpan, is a melodic percussion instrument made of two sheets of steel glued together. The instrument has various dents hammered into it, which produce specific notes by vibrating tone fields described as acoustic membranes when thumped by the player. It was created by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer in Bern, Switzerland.

Image source:  Adobe Stock

The Singing Ringing Tree

This marvellous construction is part sculpture and part musical instrument. Overlooking Burnley in Lancashire, the tree is a three-metre (10 ft) tall structure made up of a series of pipes that create a melodious hum when the wind blows through them. The tree was designed by architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu in 2006.

Image source:  Adobe Stock

Sea Organ

The 230-foot-long Sea Organ in Zadar, Croatia, was designed by architect Nikola Bašić in 2005 that turns the ocean into a musician. The pipes installed into the cement underneath the stairs react to the waves as they crash in, creating harmonious sounds that thousands of tourists come to hear. Each organ pipe is blown by a column of air, pushed in turn by a column of wave-moved water, through a plastic tube immersed in the water.

Image source:  Adobe Stock

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