Weird instruments for weird moods

Ever heard of the drums, the guitar or the xylophone? How about the theremin or the harmonic generator? There are thousands of musical instruments from places all over the world and built anywhere from thousands of years ago up to the past year.

Some instruments such as the harp are familiar and can ring a bell but what about all of the other instruments out there that we haven't heard of? Oddmusic.com is a unique site offering information about different types of instruments, where they come from and how they work.

The theremin is one of the oldest electronic instruments. It was created by Lev Termin and dates back to the 1920s. This instrument is played without ever touching it! A theremin has two antennae and is played using the instrument's electrodes. The theremin is considered a classical instrument whose pitch is controlled by the right side and the volume on the left. This instrument was very popular in the 1950's for its spooky noises featured in horror and sci-fi movies. The theremin is also featured in the music of Led Zeppelin and Radiohead.

The harmonic generator is a new experimental electronic instrument, created by Isac Zal. This electronic experience consists of five main components. It features 64 piano strings which are turned into 32 "chromatically tuned" notes and 32 motors with bristle paint brushes that beat the strings at different controlled speeds. The harmonic generator also has a homemade keyboard, played like a piano and 12 pick ups that focus on one octave of strings, or set of eight notes. This unique instrument has large transducer at the end which makes it so that the sound of the 12 pick ups is fed back into the machine to make a loud resonance hull.

The Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ is in the Guiness Book of World Records for being both the largest instrument in the world and the loudest. This pipe organ was built between May of 1929 and December of 1932 by the Midmer-Losh Organ Company of Merrick, Long Island, New York. The instrument can be seen in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the main auditorium of the Convention Hall. It has 33,112 pipes and 455 ranks. The last 12 pipes alone are made from more than 10,000 board feet of lumber, which is enough to build a house! This massively grand organ weighs well over a ton.

There are all sorts of musical instruments out there that were created in the 1920s and still hold records or were just recently created. If you're ever feeling inspired to pick up a new hobby or learn something new why not learn to play a harmonic generator or a bamboo saxophone. I hear they are pretty easy to learn and they could be a great addition to any band or musical group.