Musical Instrument
Sheng
The Sheng is one of the oldest Chinese Musical Instruments. It is a mouth-blown, Polyphonic Free Reed Instrument. It consists of vertical pipes. Sheng dates back to 1100 BCE and traditionally it is used as an accompaniment instrument for Solo Suona or Dizi performances. Sheng is one of the main instruments in Kunqu and some other forms of Chinese Opera. There is a belief that Johann Wilde (18th-century German violinist and musical instrument inventor) and Pere Amiot (French Jesuit missionary in Qing China) traveled to China. And that they brought the first Sheng to Europe in 1740 and 1777 respectively. Chinese Free-Reed Wind instruments Sheng and Yu were first mentioned in Bone Oracle writings dating from the 14th to 12th centuries BCE. The Sheng is used by either exhaling or inhaling into...
Hammered Dulcimer
Hammered Dulcimer is a percussion, stringed Musical Instrument, traditionally played in India, Iraq, Iran, China, Korea, Southwest Asia and few other countries. It consists of strings, typically stretched over a trapezoidal sound board that resonates. The Dulcimer usually consists of two bridges – a Bass Bridge on the right and Treble Bridge on the left side. The Bass strings are played to the left of the Bridge and the Treble strings can be played on either side of the Treble Bridge. Dulcimer is available in various sizes depending upon the number of strings. Typically, a 15/14 Dulcimer has 15 strings crossing the Treble Bridge and 14 crossing the Bass Bridge. It can span three Octaves. The strings of Dulcimer are found in pairs – two strings for each note. Each set of strings...
Nyckelharpa
Today we are going to have a look at a special musical instrument, Nyckelharpa. Not many of us would have heard of it. Nyckelharpa is a Swedish musical instrument and it is the National Instrument of Sweden. It can be called as a “Keyed Fiddle” or a “Key Harp”. Nyckelharpa is a String Instrument belonging to the Chordophone. The Nyckelharpa is similar to a Fiddle in appearance having key-actuated tangents to change the pitch. Its keys are attached to tangents. When a key is depressed, it serves as Fret to change the pitch of the string. Nyckelharpa is played usually with a strap around the neck and stabilized by the right arm. Watch a video on Nyckelharpa by Thomas Roth 00
Jhyamta – Musical Instrument
Jhyamta is a Nepali Musical Instrument which resembles the Cymbal. It is a traditional Musical Instrument played by the Kirat community and it is used along with Dhol. Jhyamta is used in various cultural festivals like Sakela, Chyabrung, Udhauli, Ubhauli. It is also used in social functions. Jhyamta is also known as Taal and belongs to the Panche Baja musical family. Its sound is loud but rhythmic to ears. It is also called as Bhushan. Jhyamta is played by rubbing the two plates with the right hand rising and left hand lowering. It is made out of Bronze and a typical size weigh about 2kgs. 0-1
Zeusaphone
Zeusaphone is a rare Musical Instrument that you might not have heard of. It plays music with lightning and is also known as Thoramin or Musical Lightning. Zeusaphone is a form of Plasma Speaker. The principle of working of a Zeusaphone is by modulating the Spark output of a Tesla Coil, creating a shocking effect. Zeusaphone modulates the Electrical Spark output producing a low-fidelity Square Wave, that can be musically manipulated. The high-frequency signal acts in effect as a Carrier Wave. Its frequency is significantly above the human-audible range of sound frequencies so that a digital modulation can reproduce a recognizable pitch. The Musical tone results directly from the passage of the Spark through the Air. It is developed by a company named Zeusaphone LLC. The concept was tradema...
Marble Machine
Marble Machine is a Music Box that uses Marbles to play different Musical Instruments. It is one of the rare instruments that you can find in the group of Musical Instruments. It uses about 2000 Steel Marbles. The Marble Machine is powered by a hand-crank and it works by raising steel marbles through the machine into multiple feeder tubes. These marbles are then released from a height using programmable release gates. They fall and strike a musical instrument below. The instruments include Vibraphone, Bass Guitar, Cymbal, Emulated Kick Drum, High Hat and Snare Drum. Music score is stored on two programmable wheels utilizing the Lego Technic Beams and Stud Connectors to trigger Armatures to release the Marbles. Wintergatan, a Swedish Folktronica Band from Gothenburg use different unconventi...
Hydraulophone
Hydraulophone is a Sensory Musical Instrument, specifically designed for Low Vision Musicians. It is one of the rarest Musical Instruments in the world and a type of Tonal Acoustic Musical Instrument. Hydraulophone is played by direct physical contact with water or sometimes other fluids. Sound is generated hydraulically by the hydraulic fluid in contact with the player’s fingers. It was named by William Stephen George Mann (Steve Mann) in 2005 and later patented in 2011. The player blocks the flow of the fluid (water) through a particular hole, generating a particular note, through a user interface. Hydraulophones use the water-flow mechanism to produce sound. Water must be blown into the Hydraulophone using a hand operated, wind operated, water powered or electric pump. Video Credi...