Exotic Musical Instruments (and Tools)

Unusual Guitars of the Stars

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 20:55:53 +0000

Look up this link online. It offers an examination of some unique guitars that were employed by musicians on their recordings and their stage work. Eddie Van Halen, John Lennon, Lou Reed, Kurt Cobain and Jimmy Page were among the stalwarts who sought out different sounds and functions in their guitars and their stories are briefly discussed here, at the link below:

Obscure Guitars

New Ingredients Added To The Guitar Playing Menu

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 15:11:24 +0000

See the link below for an interesting discussion of artist Bentley Anderson and his exploration of new ways in which to manipulate sound and texture from his guitar. The introduction of metallic objects such as saw blades and other scraps have yielded startling sonic results for Anderson.

Prepared Guitar

Color Organ Visualized. Modern Practices. An excerpt.

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Sun, 31 May 2026 20:17:47 +0000

The 21st Century

The 21st century Virtual Color Organ is a computational system for

translating musical compositions into visual performance

We See Further!

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 02:23:00 +0000

This video post is described as representing: "The James Webb Space Telescope's Near-Infrared and Mid-Infrared instruments (NIRCam & MIRI) have delivered imagery of interacting galaxies IC 1623, located 270 million light-years from Earth."

I say this is a wonderfully short video piece with a marvelous, synthesized soundtrack.

Click the link below. Watch, listen, enjoy!

We See Further

Sounds of the Planets

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 06:11:00 +0000

I have found this practice of capturing electromagnetic vibrations from celestial objects in space and then converting them into sounds perceptible to human hearing very rewarding. I paraphrase the means of getting the raw audio source material:

"Devices like plasma wave antennas on Voyager and Hawk-Eye probes capture radio waves, which are then processed into sound frequencies we can hear."

Years back, there was a CD collection of NASA recordings of some of the planets in our Solar System. It was a wonderful collection of audio thumbprints from some of our neighbors in space.

Click on the link below to enjoy some of these fascinating sounds!

https://youtu.be/uhGKMh2Bhns

Stylish and Influential Guitarists

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 03:32:00 +0000

I reshare this entertaining post regarding guitar players who have introduced their own style and mastery of the guitar. Informative blurbs explain the unique playing styles of Robert Fripp, Ry Cooder, Adrian Belew, Derek Bailey, St. Vincent, Glen Branca, Tom Morello, Kurt Cobain, etc.

Very informative and fun post!

Six string boundary-breakers who redefined how we play guitar

It is Not Enough That They are Brilliant. They have also Created Their Own Instruments!

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 04:57:00 +0000

We already know these musicians as being supremely gifted performers and composers but it really blows my mind when I see an article like this that discusses artists like these who also develop their own instruments! Amazing! Take a look through the attached link to get the scoop on some of the incredible rigs the likes of Laurie Anderson, Stevie Wonder, Pat Metheney, Leon Theremin, and others have created to accentuate their music. Wonderous Stories, indeed!

8 musicians who invented their own instruments and gadgets

Two Views Of Electronic Music and Synthesizers

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:53:00 +0000

These are two well composed documentaries regarding the time scale of which electronic music appeared and who the musical artists were who used synthesizers and composed with them. "The Evolution of Electronic Music (1929-2019)" sketches out very early applications considered electronic music and plays a small sampling of the works being represented. Although popular recordings which dabbled with synthesized tones in this documentary are skipped over in this work (No Beatles, Monkees, Byrds, Beach Boys mentions!).

Our second documentary clearly focuses on this pop music synth implementation:

The First Bands To Use Synths

The surprise is that The Beatles were far from the first popular band to use a synthesizer in their arrangements. Our host travels back quite a bit further in the past to find his answer. Amazing!

The Big One

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 19:12:00 +0000

World's Largest Pipe Organ

"Andy Warhol - Exploding Plastic Inevitable" (1966?)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 21:37:00 +0000

World renowned Pop Art maven, Andy Warhol, was very busy pursuing all forms of artistic expression in the 1960's. He was in charge of a creative space called the Factory where he dabbled in painting, filmmaking, and the expressive possibilities of music. Warhol decided to invite the New York based art rock group, The Velvet Underground to engage in providing the soundtrack for a mixed media spectacle called The Exploding Plastic Inevitable. As seen in the accompanying video, films and a light show are projected off the hosting theatre's walls and the gyrating participants to produce a rather psychedelic tapestry. You see a lot of Warhol's fellow participating "players" who appeared in his movies and other various happenings in action but scant views of The Velvets themselves. The audio is very clipped and overdriven. Too bad. It would have been a rare, treasured document indeed if the seminal underground group had been adequately recorded. That being said, The Velvets were more than capable of feeding back and serenading an attendant audience with their innovative noise baths. This is just a bit too much!

The Lost and Found and Lost Chord

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 20:17:00 +0000

In a moment of fleeting but desperately sought inspiration, the composer uncovered the musical passage he sought, propelled by his administration of the lost chord. The moment of bliss was short lived, however, as no matter how he tried to relive his initial breakthrough, he could not adequately replay, thus, relive, that rare sensation of discovery and joy. The lost chord remained fleeting.

Sound Experiments 7 (2020)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Mon, 06 May 2024 21:51:00 +0000

More sound and light twiddling crumbs.

Mike Pinder and The Mellotron

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:01:00 +0000

Mike Pinder was a founding member, and once the keyboardist, of the band The Moody Blues. Pinder passed recently. Mr. Pinder was an acolyte of the weird instrument, The Mellotron.

What was The Mellotron? I asked ChatGPT to provide some illumination. Here is what they said:

A Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in the early 1960s. It works by triggering prerecorded sounds stored on magnetic tape when a musician presses the keys on its keyboard. Each key on the Mellotron is connected to a tape playing a recording of an instrument, such as strings, flutes, or choirs, allowing musicians to produce orchestral sounds and effects that were difficult or impossible to recreate in live performances at the time. The Mellotron became famous for its distinctive sound and was prominently used by bands like The Beatles, The Moody Blues, and King Crimson, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, adding a unique, ethereal quality to rock and progressive music.

Mike Pinder adopted the instrument to create some unique and memorable passages for the Mellotron. Witness his use of the instrument on "Nights in White Satin", "Tuesday Afternoon", and "Legend of a Mind". Symphonic, atmospheric, haunting. Awesome work! RIP, Mr. Pinder.

View the very interesting documentary on The Mellotron by clicking on the link below.

A Brief History of The Mellotron

Swirl

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 19:10:00 +0000

A youthful remembrance....

Music played in the background at the party. A soundtrack playing half noticed and casually acknowledged with the occasional lyric sung and some part danced to by some of those gathered at the event. The music creates an atmosphere that is familiar and welcoming to the group gathered. Sounds become louder or dampened depending on one’s proximity to the sound source.

I remember a party that we tagged along to once. My friend knew some people who were having the get together at a house and we were allowed to attend. The major attraction was that there would be live music from a rock band.

The band members didn’t all show up so the band never played. There was a novice guitar playing kid who played “Ain’t Talking Bout Love” by Van Halen on an electric guitar as the organizers tried to decide how to salvage the evening. The kid was learning the part so he started and stopped often and would start repeating the opening riff again.

My buddy and I looked at each other.

“Why does he keep playing that riff?”

“Probably doesn’t know anything else.”

We had gotten semi wasted before entering the place and decided we would go back out to the car we arrived in a sip on our beers. We were a little tired, bored and drunk. We went to a safe haven away from the strangers, our car.

The party people started playing CDs to fill the silence which appeared after the kid with the guitar stopped his noodling. The music swirled skyward.

We only stayed about another hour but the memory stuck with me over the years as it was another adventure during my teenage life.

We would never visit that particular place in time again.

"Can...can...can....you...you...you....hear...hear...hear....me...me...me...me?????

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 23:10:00 +0000

I went to a stand up comedy event held at the SAP Center in San Jose, California recently. There was an immediate problem with the show that persisted for over an hour. The various performers using a handheld microphone were unintelligible to the audience due to an uncommon amount of slapback echo. Now, I know there should be rehearsal time and the setting of audio levels and testing that take place well before the public fills their seats. Maybe this happened. Maybe it didn't. Another possible reason for the bad audio was that the SAP Center audio crew was filling in for the usual stand up tour's audio team. I think I heard that excuse but I am not sure because the audio was all a difficult to understand wash of noise.

This is a VideoGPT video loosely based on that event. lol.

A Symphony Of Wind (Desert Suite)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 21:38:00 +0000

The sound of the howling of wind can carry with it many sensations. Consider the emotional response to the forlorn, singular wail that accompanies its passage. There may manifest in a mind loneliness, fear, apprehension. The usage of these wails as a sound effect to support tales of the supernatural or lonely, empty environments in movies is a favored device. I think of the giant crawly creature movie "Them" and its barren desert landscape perpetually being scathed by the strong winds. "Gargoyles" which has remote desert regions being engulfed in raging canyon winds. The Three Stooges' comedic short "Spooks" and the buffeting of a haunted castle by an incessant, pounding whoosh of stormy breezes. Whatever its many manifestations, wind as a sound and presence can carry a heavy emotional impact.

So enjoy this trifle I dreamed up and which resonates in my mind of the lonely wind coursing through a desert landscape.

Sound Experiments 6 (2020)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 18:25:00 +0000

For this segment of the series, iphone apps are used to generate some noise. The apps used were bent.fm, Moog Filtatron, Moog Model D and Synthmaster One. The Magic program was used to generate some audio activated effects. Listen up.

. Also used the Magic program to get some sound activated graphic response.

Orbital Drum???

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 23:01:00 +0000

I just watched an old episode of "Nasa's Unexplained Files". There was a story about an astronaut orbiting Earth solo in his space capsule. Out of a relative calm, the astronaut heard loud banging on his vehicle! The striking of the capsule's metallic surface from some unknown source went on for a small amount of time and severely frightened the astronaut who called out for a reply to whatever was responsible for this racket. Seems pretty incredible but the astronaut was convinced that he had some manner of lifeform shadowing his mission and as a consequence, messing with his head, Big Time! Eventually, the outer hull racket abated and no answers were to be had of who this potential intruder was, but, HOW CREEPY!!!! Was the space capsule being used as an Experimental Musical Instrument? An Orbital Drum, if you will? We can only speculate....

Here is a VideoGPT AI retelling of the situation in its own analysis! Enjoy.

Underground Dwelling Lute Lizards

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 22:37:00 +0000

I was in a weird frame of mind recently and wanted to try out the VideoGPT app to see what outlandish results I could get from using a text to video generating application. What better topic than the conspiracy theory regarding a hidden race of cave dwelling lizards? People have been reporting disturbing sightings of bipedal lizards, equal in size or taller than the average man's height. There also is speculation that these odd beasts inhabit remote caves and otherwise lightly travelled areas.

Going with this knowledge in hand, I hallucinated a scenario where a cave explorer happens upon a race of underground cavern dwelling lizard men that embody a lute playing orchestra. Very random story kernel, I know, but watch the results and see. The thing is that these appear to be lizards that are more in favor of strumming mandolins and guitars. Go figure....AI!

Aquatic Firecracker!

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 00:57:00 +0000

Check out this craziness. According to recent Internet story, a half inch long fish can generate some amazingly loud racket.

Quoting here a few lines from the story:

"Danionella cerebrum, a species of fish discovered only about three years ago, are tiny translucent fish that live in shallow streams in Myanmar. They are no more than 12 millimeters long and have a "unique sound-generating" organ that can make noises of more than 140 decibels, an international research team said in a news release Tuesday.

"To make noise, the fish hits the drumming cartilage against its swim bladder, a gas-filled cavity or organ that is predominantly used to control buoyancy, the study says. The movement produces a rapid pulse in high and low frequencies.

"This apparatus accelerates the drumming cartilage with a force of over 2,000g and shoots it against the swim bladder to produce a rapid, loud pulse," Britz said. "These pulses are strung together to produce calls with either bilaterally alternating or unilateral muscle contractions.

“We assume that the competition between the males in this visually restrictive environment contributed to the development of the special mechanism for acoustic communication,” Britz said."

Wow! That is crazy. The incredible things that Science is discovering on a daily basis. Amazing.

Get a sample of the noisy fish at the link below.

Loud, little sucker

Sounds Of Our Celestial Cousins

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:58:00 +0000

Planets in our immediate celestial neighborhood generate sound. How? According to my research, and, I quote this Internet search result:

The planetary sounds we hear, are wavelike vibrations of air molecules occurring within the range of frequencies to which our ears are sensitive, according to the BBC. However, it's possible to process any other kind of wave or oscillation electronically, scaling it to audible frequencies and then converting it into a sound wave.

So, venture to the link below to access these "other worldly" sounds, now!

Sounds of Our Solar system

Sound Experiments 5 (2019)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Sat, 19 Jun 2021 22:01:00 +0000

Exploring effects pedals and older instruments I own. The journey continues. The Lost Chord is no where in sight. Onward in pursuit. I play the Alesis Air Synth and the Humtap music app among other instruments. The Alesis Air Synth played like a Theremin. There were a lot of presets to choose from to reproduce synthesizer like effects or to be able to manipulate various sound effects. A very cool instrument.

SOUND EXPERIMENTS 10 (2021)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 00:23:00 +0000

It has been a couple of years of neglect toward this blog again but I will try to resume some semblance of normal activity. I am sharing the 10th version of "Sound Experiments". The 6, 7, 8 and 9 will be uploaded soon.

In this episode, I look at and play some of my musical devices including Bleep Labs' Pico Paso pocket noise synth, the Realistic Electronic Reverb unit made way back in the day, the PAIA Gnome Analog Synth box, and the Yamaha RY9 "Big Jam" and its guitar synthesizer emulation. The Electronic Reverb and the Big Jam were recently sold through ebay. I hope that these effects are heavily utilized and get a proper second life!

Thanks!

Gil Melle Soundtrack - "A Cold Night's Death", 1973

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 17:16:00 +0000

Gil Melle was an interesting musician. I am familiar with him primarily through his soundtrack work which utilized electronic compositions. Melle scored the soundtrack for the science fiction film, "The Andromeda Strain " (1971). This is a very curious composition. In order to achieve what eventually appeared on screen, Melle created and built many of the synthesizer devices. Wow.
"A Cold Night's Death"follows along this path but the structure and feel of the music is more in alignment with the characters' disjointed and fractured mental states. Whereas the "Andromeda Strain" score followed a more structured course, this score is discordant and harrowing. Checkout "World War III" (1982) and "Kolchak: The Night Stalker"(1974) TV series theme music for more of Melles' electronic compositional treats.

Melles was also very active in the world of jazz composition and recordings. Look for him on Spotify.

Color Organ (2019)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Swartz) — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 17:13:00 +0000

An attempt to approximate a color organ: visuals/lights are activated/animated by an audio source.