The earrie, creepy and ghostly sound effects frequently heard in the soundtracks of horror movies employ the use of a waterphone.
Here in the video below we are entertained by cellist Alexis Saveliefwith Richard Waters' Waterphone MegaBass musical instrument invention, playing a basic experimental / discovery session rather than an actual piece of music.
"For this video I played without water inside the Waterphone (no water wa-wa effect) to show how great sounding the instrument is even when played "dry!" It is best to use a bass bow, but since I am a cellist, I play better with a cello bow. In the video I tried to show that depending on bow pressure and speed, different notes can be played on just one rod!"
Click here to view more information and videos of the MegaBass Waterphone.
In Kyrgyzstan ethnic culture the Jaws or Jews Harp is known as the Temir komuz which literally means "Iron Jaw harp". Shaped in the form of a broken, stretched circle with two prongs, and attached to the center is a steel plate. The shape and size of the instrument provides the fundamental note that the reed produces.
In the video below we experience two master musicians from Kyrgyzstan, Kambar Kalendarov and Kutman Sultanbekov, playing their Kyrgyz jaw harps, performing a piece entitled "Janglyk", or "Novelty", which is available on their debut album, JAW, from Cantaloupe Music.
Reminiscent of the mesmerizing entrancing Tuvan throat singing, Kambar & Kutman entertain us with their Kyrgyz Jaws Harps expelling ringing exotic tones of canorous harmonies creating an eerie psychedelic density that is undeniably spooky, but cool.
Musical instrument maker Luke Jones has invented a curious double length guitar which is an adaptation of ideas taken from Glenn Branca, Bart Hopkin and Fred Frith.
Glenn Branca a highly influential avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series, at one point in his career, created a double body guitar (seen here).
The double length neck guitar is able to produce either singular or double sounding harmonics in that the string length beyond the slide of the first neck only produces harmonics (which are then amplified by the pickups at that end of the guitar). In the following video Luke demonstrates his sweet sounding Harmonic Guitar.
is rooted within their interaction with their environment. The sounds and soundings within it have inspired them to create a style of singing in which two or more pitches sound simultaneously over a fundamental pitch.
Tuva a tiny republic of southern Siberia, reverberates in long eerie wind swept cadences, together with whistling birds, bubbling streams, howling wolves and brutishly cold wide open country of icy lakes, fields and the occasional mountain range.
Truly interactive with nature geographically situates Tuvan's oral tradition within what we understand as onomatopoeia or the word that describes words which "sound like they are".
The actual lyrics that the ethnic Tuvan lads, are singing in this first video, are
So in case your wondering how it maybe possible to sing like the Tuvan's, Vocatrix, demonstrates, in this next video his interpretive assessment of low throat oscillation singing, where he likens it to the sound of the Didgeridoo. Nevertheless I'm really taken aback by Vocatrix's ability to create on the fly beatboxrhythm with low throat singing, towards the end of his tutorial.
Read and listen to the many variants and styles of Tuvan throat singing, here or equally fascinating are their guitar like instruments.
Playing cello is usually confined to gaining a seat in one of the world's leading orchestras, not so for Adam Hurst. He represents a very good example of how possibilities can be achieved if one remains focused on one''s true purpose and pursue one's own true passion.
Adam plays on his own hand made version of an electric "gypsy cello", possibly, originally a cello made for and by gypsies, likely accounting for the smaller body, making it easier to transport. Most notable among other features of this cello and clearly heard in Dusk is a drone string that continuously resonates.
No less sustaining then the design and function of his unique musical instrument are the sources of his style of composition gleaned from blending his influences of different melodic elements of Middle Eastern, Indian Raga and various European traditions. (read more)
Dusk is a haunting and evocative original composition that resonates with somber ethereal tones made no less moody by his dress code!
So if Adam Hurst's composition inspires you, then go visit his cool website, and or go listen to some more of his entertaining music here.
Balloon artist Sean Rooneydevised the principle of the balloon resonator in 1992 and invented an instrument he called the balloon guitar.
Since then, compatriot balloon artist Addi Somek applied some tweaks to it and has come up with what must be the cheapest bass guitar on the planet, and it sounds amazingly like the real thing. Here, in this video, Addi duos with a drummer friend playing a wooden box.
Addi has recently released his debut album Air, Rubber and Soul, now available here as a free download, but don't forget to drop by Addi Somekh's website to learn more about how you can make this unbelievably easy and cheap balloon bass.
This is wild news, bluetooth technology has recently been upgraded to meet normal wireless transmission speeds and distances. Kyle Evans timing could not have been better. The video documents a live performance in the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, wherein the competitors were given five minutes to describe and perform their instrument.
He created the instrument by experimenting with combining the organic sound qualities of a didgeridoo with the advanced signal processing capabilities of modern computer programming and sound synthesis.
More than just a musical instrument and a computer interface, but an entirely new class of instrument. Hey it might seem like playing a wii game except once you start using it your simultaneously Composer and Performer all at once. Heck this must make practice like a rehearsal, every time ?
Nevertheless is a showcase of ideas, inventions and creative inventiveness of individuals, groups and companies, concerns for things green that can help change a polluted and climate disrupted world. Also of interest is the harm that human penetration and exploitation is doing to the world around us especially habitat destruction and species extinction.
