An eclectic assortment of stuff: food, archaeology, fun, books, history, geekery, etc.
Posted in unusual musical instruments on Aug 17th, 2009
From roundhouse.org.uk: Playing the Building: An Installation by David Byrne.
Imagine an old pump organ, set at the heart of the Roundhouse, with a series of low-tech cables and wires attached to the building’s pillars, pipes and beams. Then imagine the ping, rattle and blow as they vibrate and resonate in response to the organ keys, [...]
Posted in history & archaeology, unusual musical instruments on Mar 6th, 2009
From Science Daily: Scientists Reconstruct An Ancient Greek Musical Instrument, The Epigonion.
The ASTRA project, standing for Ancient instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application, has revived an instrument that hasn’t been played or heard in centuries.
Using the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE infrastructure for computing power, a team based in Salerno and Catania, Italy, has reconstructed the "epigonion," a [...]
Posted in Norway, music, unusual musical instruments on Nov 11th, 2008
From The ice instrument recording project:
Norwegian percussionist Terje Isungset has for years used a variety of organic sound elements in creating music and instruments. (…) Utilizing ice as a source of sound has long been a dream of his, and in year 2000 a serious opportinty came along to explore this possibility. He was [...]
Posted in history & archaeology, technology, unusual musical instruments on Sep 15th, 2008
From the Beeb: Putting a ear to the past.
When a Scottish academic discovered a piece of 17th Century harpsichord music in a little known archive, he was keen to hear it played on the instrument for which it was written.
But bringing the music back to life proved a hard task for Dr Kenny McAlpine, a [...]
Posted in unusual musical instruments on Sep 10th, 2008
I just know you need a Tromba Marina. Don’t we all?
A tromba marina (or trumpet marine) is probably one of the more unusual instruments that was ever invented. Fantastic as it may seem, it is a legitimate instrument, and enjoyed a brief Golden Age in the first half of the eighteenth century. [...]
Posted in history & archaeology, technology, unusual musical instruments on Sep 3rd, 2008
From Bios Magazine: Ancient Musical Instruments Play Again Through Astra Project.
Ancient musical instruments can now be heard for the first time in hundreds of years, due to a new computer modelling project. ASTRA (Ancient instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application) has recreated the sounds of the harp-like Epigonion musical instrument from Ancient Greece and has performed one [...]
Posted in unusual musical instruments on May 22nd, 2007
From HenryLim.org: Lego Harpsichord.
With the exception of the wire strings, this instrument is entirely constructed out of LEGO parts–the keyboard, jacks, jack rack, jack rail, plectra, soundboard, bridge, hitch pins, tuning pins, wrestplank, nut, case, legs, lid, lid stick, and music stand are all built out of interlocking ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene) plastic bricks and related pieces.
And [...]
Posted in unusual musical instruments on Apr 26th, 2007
From Odd Music: The Sea Organ.
The Sea Organ (morske orgulje) is located on the shores of Zadar, Croatia, and is the world’s first pipe organ that is played by the sea. Simple and elegant steps, carved in white stone, were built on the quayside. Underneath, there are 35 pipes with whistle openings on the sidewalk. [...]
Posted in unusual musical instruments on Mar 22nd, 2007
The astonishing world of musical instruments is a fun place to noodle around for a few minutes. There are photos and descriptions of the mvet, the njembe, the kadandzi sanza, and a bunch of other instruments as well. Wouldn’t you love to try playing a few of them?