Weird Instruments That Are Rare To See

Weird instruments come from everywhere. Some you wouldn't even know existed.

Weird instruments come from everywhere. Some you wouldn’t even know existed.

Jasmine Grundleger, Reporter

There are many instruments in the world of music, some tend to be more weird and rare or interesting than others. You’d be surprised how weird and wacky some of these instruments can be, but I can give you some examples of the weirdest instruments in the world.

 

  1. Didgeridoo

Even if you have heard of this instrument, you probably didn’t know that a didgeridoo is possibly one of the oldest instruments that we know of. It was originally found in Australia. A didgeridoo is a low sounding woodwind instrument. This instrument is made by taking the limbs and some tree trunks and letting termites and other insects create the holes in the didgeridoo.

  1. Glass Harmonica

Ben Franklin is known for his discoveries in the field of science, but he also invented the beautiful instrument known as a glass harmonica. Instead of putting this instrument up to your mouth like a normal harmonica, musicians who play this instrument the same way one would play a glass harp, by damping the fingers and grazing their fingers around the rim of the disks (bowls) that changes the notes and can create a beautiful sound.

  1. Zeusaphone (Tesla Coil)

You would be shocked to see this instrument being used in person, almost a little too literally actually. A zeusaphone is an instrument that uses large amounts of electricity to create music. This is a very complicated and technical instrument. For example, this instrument requires large amounts of energy and lots of wiring, you get electrical energy from an outside source (like an electrical outlet), and send it through a metal coil that’s wrapped around the tesla coil. While the electricity is being sent through the coil, it goes through a transformer that boosts up the amount of energy the electricity gets. While this happens, you play your chosen song through a synthesizer which makes the lightning-like bolts change tones when the tesla coil is in use.  

  1. Nyckelharpa

Pronounced “Nickle harpa,” this Swedish instrument looks a fusion between a violin and a small piano, but it’s more closely related to the French hurdy-gurdy. Like a violin, you play this instrument with a bow and you change the notes with the keys like a piano.

  1. Theremin

Whenever you watch old sci-fi movies and you listen closely to the music in the background, you can hear a sound that you can’t quite put your finger on. It comes from an instrument called a theremin. A theremin is an electrical instrument you can use without making physical contact with. The theremin has two rods that control what you hear, one sticking out of the top and one to the side. One rod controls the pitch and the other controls the volume.

In the music industry, there’s a bountiful amount of different instruments you can use for any song you can play or write. These weird instruments that are rare to see are fascinating to listen to. Who knows maybe this article gave you an idea on a new instrument to take up.