The Media Portal Flew Away
The Oddstruments Media Portal has vanished. To where, I do not know, but it’s return is possible, as is anything. Thanks for reading. Tyler. Read On!
iPhone Paintings and Amazing Guitars
An animated video I painted and created using an iPhone and the amazing people I met during my life in Venice, Italy. Read On!
Electronically Modified, Blue Tooth Didgeridoo!
An incredible union of ancient spiritual craft with the newest digital technology, Kyle Evans has created an electronically enhanced didgeridoo who’s beautiful body competes with it’s voice for center stage. Read On!
Figurative Italy
Popularized by the Italian culture, these impressionist, moment-to-moment paintings are truly a remarkable discovery. Inspired by the pure passion of beings around him, Tyler White has enveloped what we know, as social beings, to be true to our minds subconsciously and physically. Created with the popular iPhone application, “Brushes,” these individual representations of life indicate a true understanding of the context of human existence. Translating, using what tools we have, can change the world and make those around us smile. Read On!
What Is Existence Without Sound?
What would your world be without sound? Would the absence of all sounds (the incessant bustle of cars - the delicate buzz of flies over a bubbling river) change your emotional state of being? Can we understand our world more completely if we remove sound, all the while noticing the differential in our realities? Read On!
Spinal Rod Box Made From Extra Surgical Equipment
A lamellophone (vibrating tongue instrument) made from extra spinal surgery supplies. The sound is amplified using a contact microphone and the pitches depend on the length of the threaded steel rods. I like what I see so far and I hope the creator over at Vulpestruments continues to experiment with homemade instruments. Read On!
Bacterial Orchestra
An evolving cluster of aggressive, and possibly angry, iPhones wants to take over the world! The experiment is called “Public Epidemic No 1″ and the goal is to create a world-wide audio illness, infecting one cell at a time. Read On!
Sound Healing: Didgeridoo Body Massage
“They weren’t giving out didgeridoo brain massages today, but a couple of didgeridudes were touting the instruments’ soothing qualities – and offering to play them directly into people’s chests.” -the listenerd Did you know that playing the digeridoo has been proven to help breathing problems such as obstructive sleep apnea? Read On!
Your Household Cactus Is Not What You Think It Is
Thanks go to Sam for pointing this one out - that cactus in your house can be plucked for some spontaneous musical fun. Read On!
The Music of Paint: Odd Music Composed by Colors and Shapes
At first sight, Orlando Leibovitz’s paintings are quite shocking. With their high contrast lighting and warped color palette, the feelings evoked, for me, resemble post-apocalyptic life viewed through the sunglasses of the button-pusher himself. Sulk no more! Not all of Orlando’s paintings are heavyhearted. Read On!
Single-String Odd Musical Instrument Improvisation
The Oddstrument Collection presents Andrew’s odd instrument improvisation utilizing the sonic properties of a plastic cup (liquid removed) resonator and an elastic band (stretched). Read On!
20 Very Odd Musical Instruments You Can Play Online
American Public Media has produced a playable-online collection of Harry Partch musical instrument inventions for your extreme enjoyment! Read On!
“Sonic Banana” Music Controller (Max/MSP)
Eric Singer, a roboticist and experimental musician, engineered what he calls a “Sonic Banana.” The rubber worm-like tube houses 4 variable bend sensors which work together to create a malleable and “versatile performance instrument.” Read On!
Score for a Hole in the Ground
Imagine yourself standing in the heart of a Medieval forest. A cool breeze blows around your body and the surrounding branches whisper secrets in your ears. You close your eyes for a moment and carefully listen, purposefully trying to focus your awareness on the most distant sounds. Read On!
Telharmonium
Here’s another amazing and somewhat old one: Google “Telharmonium”. It was basically a precursor to the Hammond organ, but being pre-vacuum tube, it’s tonewheels had to be large enough to drive all the phones in a city at once! A real steampunk monstrosity. Read On!
Vegetable Instruments, Baltimore, and the AVAM
I’m back in Santa Fe and I must say that the vegetable instrument workshop was a huge success! The American Visionary Art Museum gathered a bunch of us music folks together for an amazing day of junk instrument building, noise parties, instrument petting zoos, vegetable instruments, and discussions about music and the brain. Read On!
Review of the Tenori-On
The Tenori-on is a refreshingly innovative tool of musical personality. The Tenori-on, with its double-sided white LED grid and its sleek aluminum frame, is a stylish way of creating and presenting music. Read On!
Music Controlled Face
Daito Manabe is a programmer, artist, and designer who obviously isn’t afraid to experiment. From Daito’s website, “Yes. It is painful. but not as much as you think.” Read On!
Dueling Banjos, Man Vs Machine!
I’d like to warm things up here at the Oddstrument. Without further ado, may I present Stuart, an amazing musician and singer, playing his equally amazing Kazookeylele (a mini grand piano/ukulele/kazoo) vs. the WaldFlöte. This crazy fellow lives in Edinburgh, UK. The WaldFlöte is a computer controlled MIDI retrofit of a 1890’s era 16 foot pipe organ. “It converts MIDI input into solenoid drive to directly press the keys on one of the manuals - there is no permanent modification to the organ.” Read On!
The Ancient Alphorn’s Mellow Melody
The alphorn (or alpenhorn) is a natural wooden aerophone traditionally used by the mountain folk in Switzerland (Alps), and elsewhere. These lengthy horns were used to communicate in mountainous regions and across vast distances as well as announce daily activities in the village. Herdsmen used these horns to communicate to each other during herding activities. Read On!
Odd Instrument Inventor, Walter Kitundu, Awarded $500,000!
Congratulations to Walter Kitundu who is 1 of 24 people to be awarded a $500,000 grant by the MacArthur Foundation. His work in experimental instruments is truly incredible. Walter is a 35 year-old bird photographer, teacher, and oddstrument maker. Read On!
NPR Wants To Hear Your Odd Musical Instruments
Host Andrea Seabrook asks listeners to send in home recordings of their oddest musical instrument. Read On!
Soundscapes of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air
Emilio, from Chiapas, Mexico, sent in a home brew of some of his sound experiments. Four “soundscapes,” each one representing a different element (Earth, Fire, Air, and Water). These tracks are rich with texture and familiarity, especially “Fire,” which filled my thirsty ear with popcorn popping over an oscillating sea tide… Read On!
A New Kind of POP Music
Judy Dunaway, also known as “The Mother of Balloon Music,” is an experimental composer, conceptual artist, social activist, and noise enthusiast. She has created over thirty works using latex balloons as her instrument of choice! Read On!
Instruments from the Stone Age
Any knowledgeable landscape artist or tile setter knows that any leftover rock or tile must be recycled into lithophones. No brainer right? Well, Tom of TinkerTunes.com did just that using some scraps of Indiana limestone and some leftover granite countertop. Not only is Tom an instrepreneur, he is also a furniture maker and turns old upright pianos into desks. His website, TinkerTunes.com, has some interesting musical content including a document of his experience with building “friction harps.” Thanks Tom! Read On!
And the Winner of the Garden Instrument Contest Is…
Congrats to Abram and pop, you guys deserve it! I’ll be sending the prizes your way. And a HUGE thanks to all those who participated, I hope you guys keep us updated with any new musical instrument endeavors you may have in the future! Read On!
What Instrument Would Dr. Seuss Play? A Daxophone of Course!
Rarely does an instrument’s form match up with it’s sound as perfectly and whimsically as the daxophone’s. Invented by Hans Reichel of Germany, the daxophone is a friction idiophone who’s vibrating mechanism is an oddly but tactically shaped wooden tongue which is attached to a block of wood. The vibrations travel from the vibrating blade to the block where a contact microphone amplifies the sound. The whole concept is similar to plucking a ruler half-way off a table. Read On!
Wave Hello to the Secret Power of Sea Organs
What’s more intimate than walking on the beach at sunset? Walking on the beach at sunset while listening to the sweet serenade of a wave-powered organ of course! and if you ever find yourself in San Francisco, Blackpool, or Zadar, I suggest you make a date to visit the local sea organ. Read On!