Top 10 Strangest Musical Instruments

When most of us think of a musical instrument, we might think of a guitar, a piano or even a set of drums. All normal enough instruments to be sure, but there are stranger musical instruments out there. These strange instruments may not produce a melodious quality we would expect, but certainly they will make you look, if not listen, twice.

10. Nano Guitar

Musical instruments don’t get any smaller than this. Coming in at a whopping 10 micrometers long, this little guitar, created by researchers at Cornell University, is no larger than a human cell. The nano guitar has six strings, each only about one hundred atoms wide, which can be played only by an atomic force microscope. You won’t be hearing any new music groups claiming nano guitar fame, however, as the sound produced by the nano guitar’s silicon strings would be much too slight to be heard by human ears. Also, tuning can be a pain.

9. Sea Organ

This musical instrument, built on the edge of the Adriatic Sea in Zadar, Croatia, is the world’s first sea-powered organ. The wind and waves from the sea play this organ’s diatonic tones endlessly, allowing a visitor to sit inside single chords of sound as they look out into the sea and watch what Alfred Hitchcock called “the most beautiful sunset in the world.” Created by architect Nikola Basic in 2005, this unpredictable musical instrument plays itself into the top 10 strangest musical instruments.

8. The Great Stalacpipe Organ

Created by a mathematical and electronic scientist from the Pentagon in 1954 in the caverns of Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, this organ takes its place as the world’s largest musical instrument at 3 ½ acres in size. Leland W. Sprinkle carefully selected stalactites throughout the Luray caverns which resonated at specific pitches and tones, and attached rubber mallets which would play these stalactites when keys were pressed at the central organ mechanism. An incredibly unique instrument.

7. The Symphonic House

These days a person can live in their musical instrument. The Wege house sits on a beach on Lake Michigan, and serves as both a home to the Wege family and as their favorite instrument. Long strings run throughout the house and can be played by running one’s fingers along any string with a gloved hand. The sound produced by the house is something akin to a very deep, powerful viola or cello. Wind harps also sit outside the house, creating their own tones as they are played by nature itself.

For more information, please visit www.symphonichouse.com

6. The LEGO Harpsichord

If you build it, they will come. Well, maybe not, but they will certainly take note of your strange creation. Created by LEGO enthusiast Henry Lim, the LEGO Harpsichord is built entirely out of LEGOs, with the exception of the wire strings. His project took him two years of planning and building to create an instrument which would hold up to the 325 lbs of tensile pressure exerted on the LEGO blocks by the piano wire strings, but his ultimate triumph, built out of an estimated 100,000 LEGO pieces, stands as unique even among the world’s strangest instruments. Photo credit: pashasha

To see more of Henry Lim’s creations, please visit http://www.henrylim.org/Harpsichord.html. You can also hear the harpsichord.

5. The Fence

Australian Jon Rose has a mission, and that mission involves both breaking down the boundaries that separate people and playing a very unique and unusual musical instrument: a fence. Conceived as a metaphor for the regional boundaries and borders which separate and divide the human race, Jon Rose’s practice of playing fences reached its peak when he played a barbed wire fence with a bow at the New Music Festival in Vitasaari, Finland in 1995. His mission currently has him on a long trek across the Australian outback playing fences and writing about their history.

To learn more about Jon Rose’s mission and music, please visit jonroseweb.com.

4. Didgeridoo

While there are many “one of a kind” musical instruments that belong on this list of the top 10 strangest musical instruments, one instrument that is not completely unique deserves a place among them: the didgeridoo. This Australian wind instrument is believed to be the oldest wind instrument in the world. Each one can play only a single “drone,” however human voices incorporated into it can cerate a variety of musical uses. While the sound that this instrument makes is fairly common (you have heard it if you have ever seen any movie set in the Australian outback), it remains unique as an instrument type.

3. Bazantar

Mark Deutsch took the five-stringed bass to the next level with this stringed instrument. The bazantar is fitted with 29 strings more than its more common sister instrument, which all ring sympathetically when the original 5 strings are played with the bow. The resulting sound is a chorus of strings singing along with the tones of the played bass, beautiful and haunting when either plucked or bowed.

For more on this strange instrument, please visit Mark’s website at www.bazantar.com.

2. The Bowafridgeaphone

This instrument is exactly what it sounds like: an instrument made from parts of a refrigerator. To be more specific, the bowafridgeaphone is made from refrigerator grates, a bundt cake pan, and a salad bowl, among other things. Iner Souster, creator of experimental instruments that have been used by bands such as the Fembots, designed this instrument which creates a very industrial, interesting sound.

For more on Souster’s interesting instruments, please visit inersouster.blogspot.com.

1. The Bubble Organ

Yet another in the series of strange organ instruments, the bubble organ might be the most unexpected. Aaron Wendel created this instrument out of old rain drain pipes, PVC, pieces of old furniture, and even clothespins found around his apartment. Using two balloons as the source of air, the depressed keys create resonating tones in the PVC pipes that combine with the sound of bubbling water to create this organ’s one-of-a-kind sound. Blowing bubbles in your chocolate milk was never this cool.

Honorable Mention

Pencilina

A combination stringed and percussive instrument, this invention created by Bradford Reed is an incredibly complex instrument. Combining the sounds of electric guitars, drums, and bells, Mr. Reed is able to serve as a one man band of sorts, manipulating basic chords and keeping a regular, albeit unusual, beat. The unusual mechanism of the pencilina is comprised of two parallel boards fitted with strings and sliding mechanism that has to be seen and heard to be believed.

Optivideotone

Professor Scott F. Hall of Cogswell Polytechnical College has used modern technology to create a theremin-type instrument which is truly unique. The optivideotone projects video onto a ceiling from stock footage, movies, etc. and simultaneously responds to the light, color, and images it creates with loud tones, buzzes, and howls. Professor Hall can control the images to create his own music. The optivideotone might not create the most beautiful or symphonic music in the world, but it certainly deserves a spot on the strangest instruments list. Here is a music sample.

Top 10 Wine Myths

Urban legends and myths continue to dupe us. Until the Paris tasting in 1976, the myth that France was the only Country that could produce high quality wine lived on in oenophiles minds. Even though you may laugh at the myths below some people are still fooled by them. Let’s try to set the record straight. Here are the top 10 myths about wine.

10. Fruit used to describe wine went into making it.

Unless you are buying a wine made from a fruit other than grapes, it is made from the grape varietal on the label, and not from fruit used to describe it (e.g., black cherry, strawberry, kiwi). It’s comparable to artificial flavors, i.e. they taste similar to whatever is being copied but do not contain the actual ingredient. So when you see, “hints of raspberry, cherry, and vanilla” on the label, the producer is simply describing how the wine tastes similar to these components, they weren’t actually used in the production of the wine. Photo by DeusXFlorida

9. You need a different wine glass for different types of wines.

Again, this is a myth that was debunked a long time ago. You do need a tulip shaped glass or a glass that tappers towards the top to concentrate the aroma toward your nose, but, different shapes to place wine on your tongue in different areas or to aerate the wine faster aren’t necessary. Get yourself a nice set of stemware (Riedel Ouverture Red Wine, Zinfandel or these Riedel O Stemless) and save the space in your cupboard. Photo by Xipe Totec39

8.You can’t age wines sealed with an alternative closure

In fact, the data shows that screw caps, or twist-offs as they are sometimes called, are more consistent at sealing wine than cork. One study, cited in the March 31, 2005 issue of Wine Spectator on pages 59-60, found that screw caps allowed .001 cc’s of oxygen per day on average, versus corks that allowed anywhere from to .1 to .001 cc’s of air to enter a wine bottle. In fact, 7 of the 35 bottles sealed with cork allowed .1 cc’s! That means twist-offs are more consistent and let in less oxygen over time, which would result in longer bottle aging. The cork industry would like to have you believe otherwise, but don’t buy it, screw caps are here to stay and you won’t have a problem letting these wines age. Photo by Keith Chu

7. Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Sherry, and Port are grape varieties.

Thanks to a confusing labeling system from the old world this is a common mistake wine consumers make. Cities in France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal, among others, restrict production of grape varieties in their area. For a winery to receive legal approval and label their wine, it must be made in the manner mandated by the organization that oversees production there. That means Champagne is not a variety of wine, but the place where some sparkling wine is made. Want to make a non-sparkling wine in the Champagne region from say, Cabernet Sauvignon, and write that on the label? You can’t. Same with Bordeaux, which is a blend of different red varietal grapes, Burgundy, which is primarily made from Pinot Noir, and Port, which is made from various red and white grape varieties. More information can be found here [Wikipedia]. by aran but whothehellgivesadamn

6. Pair white wine with fish or chicken and red wine with red meat

Although this is the most common answer to ‘what wine should I pair with what food,’ it is incorrect. The better way to pair food and wine is by anylizing the flavors of the food and the flavors of the wine. For example, if you are grilling fish and decide to season it with a little salt, lemon, and butter, a nice Sauvignon Blanc with citrus notes or a Chardonnay with buttery flavors would work great. If, however, it’s salmon that will be smothered in a blackberry sauce, you would be better suited in choosing a fruity red wine like a Pinot Noir, Merlot, or even a Syrah. The best thing to do is read the description of the wine from the label or a review on a blog and then pair like with like. It’s also helpful to understand that wines with firm tannins work better with salty dishes, or that acidic wines need a dish with a bit of acid, or how spicy food works better with wines with some residual sugar and not a high alcohol level. Just remember there are no hard and fast rules to this. Dr.Vino has been playing with impossible pairings for some time so search out advice if you get stumped, it’s available. Photo by Shannon At Zeer

5. Wine lovers are snobs

Only people that live in Napa or Bordeaux are….no, I kid. Actually, most serious wine lovers are students of it and are quite down to earth. It’s the people that mask their ignorance with arrogance you have to watch out for. True wine lovers are passionate about continuing their wine education, and are willing to share their knowledge and a glass with anyone interested. Photo by Eda Cherry

4. You can discern wine quality by looking at the legs.

You swirl your glass, set it down and notice that a thin, clear layer has stuck to the inside of the glass, and begins to drip down. Sometimes referred to as tears, this is simply a small amount of alcohol and water that adheres to the surface of the glass and as the alcohol evaporates water is left dripping it’s way back in. Why? Water is a primary component in wine, and alcohol evaporates much quicker, so when left on the glass, the alcohol evaporates and the surface tension of the water increases forming drops that gravity takes control of. This is not a measure of the viscosity or the quality of the wine so don’t worry about it. Further reading on this phenomena can be found here [kitchensavy.com] and on Wikipedia. Photo by dkjd

3. Drink Red Wine At Room Temperature, White Wine Chilled

Although this idea isn’t necessarily wrong, it’s interpretation almost always is. Many see this as letting a red wine sit out on the counter so it can come to the current room temperature, and opening white wine right out of the fridge. The real idea behind room temperature for red wine was getting it to around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the typical temperature of a “room” when this saying was popularized. Many professionals agree, the best way to enjoy wine if you don’t have the luxury of a temperature controlled storage device, is to put your red wines in the fridge for about 5 – 15 minutes before consuming, white wines about 20 – 30 minutes. If you store your wine in the fridge, take the whites out for at least 15 minutes before serving, reds at least 30. Again, it isn’t an exact science, but typically you’re looking for around 60 degrees Fahrenheit on a red, a little below that for a white, and a bit colder for anything that sparkles. Some argue that nuances aren’t observed in white wines that are too cold, which is true. I find that if you chill your wines, over the course of the evening they will warm up and you can observe the development through the night. Professor Bainbridge expands on the subject a bit at the bottom of this op-ed The Red Wines of Summer. Photo by aasmundbo

2. All wines get better with age.

Actually, a very small number of wines have the proper structure to hold up to aging. Most wines are made with the intention that they will be opened within a few years. The small amount of trophy wines that garner the majority of the press are the ones that have been built for longer aging, and most people don’t even buy these wines. So if you’ve been saving that white Zinfandel from 10 years ago because you think it’s getting better, might want to cut your losses now. (Can you say Re-gift?) Photo by elinar

1. Smelling the cork in a restaurant will tell you if the wine is bad.

Cork’s smell like….well, cork, and won’t give you an indication of the quality of the wine. It’s the wine that you want to smell, the cork is only offered to you for a quick examination. So what should you be looking for when the waiter hands you the cork? If you’re buying an expensive bottle the biggest thing you want to avoid is fraud, and if you’re at a reputable restaurant, they’re going to be buying from reputable sources, but again, this is just a precaution. Does the winery’s name, logo, or other branding information appear on the cork? Has the cork been damaged, compromised, allowed seepage in any way? If it is a more expensive bottle, does the year stamped on the cork match the vintage of the wine?