Do you know some strange musical instruments?

The first thing that comes to mind is the alto trombone. Although it's not very rare, I believe many people do not know about it. The reason this instrument comes to mind is because I played a very old alto once at a museum, and it was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.

Years after that, I had the opportunity to play a contrabass trombone, which was also very interesting.

One very strange and rare instrument also comes up in my memory: the contrabass sarrusophone. Not sure where I actually saw this, but I still don't know what to think.

Apparently it's a mix between a bassoon and a saxophone, except REALLY low pitched. I like these contra bass instruments, and they're really fun to play.

Some of the strangest instruments came from the middle ages.

The Snorg, which is now known as the Serpent, was introduced back in the late 16th century. Although the instrument looks pretty simple, it actually has finger holes and is meant to both blend with men's voices and fit into a military setting. It's low pitched (again, I like the low instruments), and I've actually gotten to see this thing in person!

I believe I visited a small museum (perhaps the same one in which I played the alto trombone) and the owner played a little bit of each instrument for us, including the Serpent. This instrument's really cool, and maybe you can look into getting some recordings.

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I know of a few interesting ones. The buffalo horn is an ancient instrument that is still mildly popular today in the middle east and in certain tribes. Today it is much more sophisticated with fancy finishes and specific pitches.

buffalomoonflutes.com/buffalo_moon_flute... also Zithers, Psalteries, or Dulcimers are quite strange instruments that seem to be a little more outdated. "Zithers are string instruments without a neck, where the strings run the full length of the soundboard. There are a number of sub-categories including: plucked, bowed and fretted.

Zithers have multiple origins and it is sometimes difficult to trace them clearly. " here is a list of these and other similar unusual instruments that can all be found at the same website. Spike Fiddles and Bowed Rebabs Free Reeds Lutes and Plucked Rebabs and other unusual forms of reeds and fiddles asza.com/ihm.shtml below are tube zithers and buffalo horns.

I know a cool instrument that was very strange at the time - the Fairlight CMI - the first sampler workstation keyboard. It weighed a ton and only celebrities could afford it (around $70,000 adjusted for inflation). It had a monitor with a light-pen ::awesome::.

The preset samples were used in hundreds of famous songs and opened up tons of new doors for music in the 80s. This was the first time people could play real-sounding instruments from a keyboard (except possibly the mellotron, which used loops of analog tape instead of giant floppy disks). It was widely used by Peter Gabriel, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, and more.

The "orchestra hit" sound was used in so many songs that it became a signature sound throughout the 80s and even into the 90s (widely used in New Jack Swing music, ending around the time of Michael Jackson's Dangerous album). Truly a legendary computer instrument.

Well, I’m not sure if this count as a strange musical instrument, but you must admit, that the iPhone is the latest instrument built so far. Please check this video: youtube.com/watch?v=rwhl-LxS4Go This girl is playing Irreplaceable using several iPhones. And I have to say she’s doing a great job!

Now, here is another girl, playing Pokerface, using 4 iPhones. Again, this is an amazing video! youtube.com/watch?v=ibyBnZOVkVI If that won’t count as strange instruments, maybe this will.

This guy is using a leaf to perform a traditional song from Romania. I tried this and never succeeded to produce one sound. Lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvutEeLr5ps While the iPhone can be considered the latest singing instrument, I really think the leaf can be considered the first instrument ever created to produce sounds.

But I think that you need some talent to do that.

There are indeed lots of strange musical instruments around the world. A favorite of mine is the Didgeridoo. This originated from the Aboriginal people of Australia, probably about 1,500 years ago.

The instrument is classed as woodwind and is also called an "aerophone". The digeridoo is most often made of Eucalyptus wood. My second unusual instrument is the cimbalom.

This instrument can be dated back as far as 3500BC. The cimbalom is a type of cordophone, where a large box has strings stretched across the top. It is officially classed as a string instrument (see the diagram).

The third unusual instrument is a Therumin Cello. This is similar to a usual Cello, instead of strings it has a plastic film fingerboard. When this fingerboard is pressed it produces a tone.

If you keep your finger depressed on a Therumin Cello a sound will continue to be made.

Until a couple of months ago, my husband was the proud owner of a contrabass clarinet. He bought it for nearly $4000, and it lived under our bed for years without ever actually being used. About once a year, he’d pull it out and play a few notes and then put it back again, never tiring of telling people how much he loved owning a “contra.

€? Its most distinctive feature was the fact that when it was standing upright, it was taller than I am by quite a lot. I’m 5 feet, 3 inches tall.

My husband is 6 feet tall and had to sit on a high stool to play the instrument. He used to joke that its main use was for frightening our three cats and making our kids giggle. He sold it for a steal to a man who nearly hopped up and down in excitement over owning it.

I think my husband considers the $2000 loss we took on the clarinet as well worth the joy he had in owning it.

Bikelophone Originally constructed in June 1995 as a side instrument for The Lyle and Sparkleface Band, the bikelophone has evolved into a palette of sonic exploration. With magnetic pickups attached to amplify the sound, anything connected to the bike becomes amplified. The current configuration includes - bass strings, scrap wood and metal, metal bowls, telephone bells, a mechanical foot pedal and a touch sensitive tone generator.

The bikelophone produces sounds ranging from tranquil bliss to cacophonic terror. Using a loop-based recording system and outboard signal processors (reverbs, delays, pitch shifts, etc. ), sound compositions are built in layers. If you want to know more you may visit this site : oddmusic.com/gallery.

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