The Oddstrument Collection

Thailand’s Elephant Orchestra

tyler — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:20:47 +0000

Speaking of animal musicians, The Thai Elephant Orchestra is just that. Composed of up to sixteen elephants, this wild group of musicians perform human-guided musical improvisations on enormous xylophones, harmonicas, drums, gongs and other instruments.

The animation below is a 4 minute music video featuring The Thai Elephant Orchestra’s music and paintings.

“Temple Music” from the The Thai Elephant Orchestra’s self-titled album:

“Little Elephant Saddle” from the The Thai Elephant Orchestra’s album Elephonic Rhapsodies:

The Thai Elephant orchestra is from Lampang, Thailand where Richard Lair (of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center) and composer Dave Soldier direct elephant music to help save the elephant musicians from poaching and the deforestation their natural forest habitats. The Thai Elephant Orchestra has released two CDs and have a third on the way! Half of the profits go to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center.

Elephants rank as one of the most intelligent creatures on Earth. Their problem solving skills are on par with that of the dolphin. They can perform complex tasks such as painting and playing music. Elephants perform death rituals and mourn over the loss of friends, family, and ancient ancestors. They possess advanced emotions such as a sense of humor, grief, and self-awareness. Wikipedia

Thailand’s elephant population is dramatically threatened by deforestation, poaching for ivory, illegal logging, and commercialization of the dwindling forest reserves. FAO.org

Help save these magnificent creatures while treating yourself to some elephant music!

Visit The Thai Elephant Orchestra.

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Scott Gustafson’s Animal Orchestra

tyler — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:35:32 +0000

Check out these whimsical illustrations from Scott Gustafson’s counting book Animal Orchestra.

Visit Scott Gustafson’s website here: scottgustafson.com

Source: mdolla

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Made-of-money multitasking musician!

tyler — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:18:10 +0000

I found picture of an artwork made with real paper currencies awhile back while browsing Make: Blog. Originally from mdolla.com:

Do any of you know who created this artwork? or guess at what currencies he or she used?

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Garden Instrument Contest Update

tyler — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:00:14 +0000

The Oddstrument has received its first entry for the Garden Instrument Contest! I think you will find it quite inventive and odd. So as to not intimidate anybody I will post all of the entries simultaneously on the date of the contest deadline (September 01, 2008). You will then be able to vote on your favorite garden instrument and the lucky winner(s?) will get a nice little musical care package.

Tell your friends!

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The Wyld Men - Musical Vegetable Theater

tyler — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:46:53 +0000

The art of cooking and the art of music merge into a new realm of expression thanks to vegetable musicians like the Wyld Men and the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra! Vegetables are, no doubt, a great, edible gift from the earth. But to fully appreciate this gift, one must indulge in everything the vegetable has to offer. One cannot fully appreciate the broccoli without first creating a broccoliophone. Try this and be warned: the next time you are at the grocery store, you will be happily surprised by your new perception of every single fruit and vegetable. Don’t feel self-conscious fondling all of the eggplants and gourds (your inquiries have a purpose).

The Wyld Men are a talented trio who are known for their wild theatrical performances (often involving mud) and their heart-warming vegetable music. The Wyld Men are Douglas Mumaw, Jonathan Crocker, and David Macejka.

Their most versatile vegetable instrument, the Slide Potato (pat.pend.), can be seen in their music video on their website.

Their website also has instructions on creating your own vegetable instrument at home. This could be a fun project or workshop for all you artistically inclined herbivores out there!

Source: Play Your Food!

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“Light harps” - playing with lasers

tyler — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:35:06 +0000

Light harps are interactive art installations that use laser beams to detect motion which, in turn, play corresponding musical tones. Jen Lewin, who created the instrument below, has been building light harps for the past 12 years. Her work has varied from indoor musical laser sculptures to on-stage performance pieces and outdoor installations.

This light harp uses sophisticated motion detection to accurately mimic the player’s movement with sound. From Jen’s website:

“My light harps are not simple “on/off” devices…. When a user breaks a beam, the harps are able to tell how fast the person is moving and the height of their hand. This information allows my software to create complex and soft sounds that swell, and grow over time.”

The musical sculpture above was built for Burning Man 2005. It has 60 strings and is meant for many users to play simultaneously. It is waterproof and weatherproof with the purpose of being played by the general public in outdoor spaces.

The light harp below was also invented by Jen Lewin and is called the Long Harp. This made-to-order harp is 10′ tall x 32′ long and has 60 lasers.

I would like to hear a light harp in the rain. Pretty please

Source: Jen Lewin at blueink.com

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The “Tonal Plexus” - an 844 button keyboard

tyler — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:28:28 +0000

These incredible microtonal MIDI keyboards have 211 keys per octave (normal pianos have 12 keys per octave) and each key can be custom tuned! From H-Pi Instruments:

The cool think about these keyboards is that the buttons are very sensitive and can be played with a delicate and light fingering technique.

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Cheesy Laser Beams Video

tyler — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:03:41 +0000

I apologize for neglecting to post lately - I just simply have not been able to make the free time. Anyway, many different laser beam music systems exist. The concept is simple: Break the beam and the beam’s corresponding sound is played. Musical laser systems can vary widely from performance-grade monstrosities to cheesy, plastic, consumer models like this one from The Sharper Image. Watch the video, point and laugh:

I just don’t know if this is a viable musical instrument. The guy rocking out with the sunglasses isn’t even playing to the beat, yet the music comes out perfectly. It seems to me that no matter how you play the instrument, you will always be in perfect time because each beam’s recording is always in sync with the rest. Not very creative.

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Windchimes: by Music of the Spheres

tyler — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:55:11 +0000

Music of the Spheres, Inc. is the “Stradivarius of wind chimes.” Handmade out of powder-coated, aluminum alloy tubing, the chimes range in size from the average garden chime to the extraordinary 14-footer. Their chimes can be ordered in a surprisingly large variety of familiar or “exotic” tunings and you can even create your own custom tuning. The chimes’ activity threshold (the amount of wind energy required to make things work) can be set at will for quieter settings or stormy weather.

The 14 foot, 200 pound, Bass Profundo Chime will cost you $2,950 but it’s completely worth it in my opinion. Listen to the Bass Profundo in “expanded quartal” tuning below:

Here are some more sound clips for your listening pleasure ;):

Pentatonic Bass

Chinese Bass

Aquarian Bass

Balinese Bass

Japanese Bass

Hear more wind chimes and buy and buy one at the Music of the Spheres’ website: http://www.musicofspheres.com/

“World Peace - One Backyard at a Time” -Larry Roark, Founder

Good idea Larry, thank you!

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Native American flute diagram

tyler — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:53:47 +0000

For those of you who enjoy diagrams, here is a great diagram off the systems in a traditional Native American flute.

From the diagram:

“From the mouth, the airflow is slowed down in the SAC (slow air chamber), passes the exit hole, then the little channel of the flue, to hit the cutting edge. Then the airflow oscillates, producing the sound… Using your fingers, you lengthen or shorten the sound chamber, creating the different notes.”

Thank you Dale at Fallen Branch Flutes and Crafts.

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