"As the sun rose the ""Sunlight Symphony"" played in the reverberant space of the Roland Levinsky Building's open plan foyer. For her 2011 album Biophilia, Icelandic artist Björk developed an instrument based on a Tesla Coil and a second instrument described as a cross between a Gamelan and a Celesta, dubbed the ""Gameleste."" In 2013, a research team of McGill University came up with digital musical instruments made in the form of Musical Prostheses. In 2014, Andrei Remyannikov of Russia developed the RAV vast drum. Logos Foundation, STEIM, Sonoscopia (Porto) and iii (The Hague) are organisations that focus on the"
"Ratchet (instrument) A ratchet, also called a noisemaker or Knarre (German) (or, when used in Judaism, a gragger or grogger (etymologically from ), raganella or ra'ashan ()), is an orchestral musical instrument played by percussionists. Operating on the principle of the ratchet device, a gearwheel and a stiff board are mounted on a handle, which rotates freely. The player holds the handle and swings the whole mechanism around. The momentum makes the board click against the gearwheel, producing a clicking and rattling noise. A popular design consists of a thick wooden cog wheel attached to a handle and two wooden"
"Wheelharp The wheelharp is a musical instrument with bowed strings controlled by a keyboard and foot-controlled motor, similar to Leonardo da Vinci's Viola organista, a keyboard-operated string instrument for continuously sounding strings by rubbing the strings with spinning wheels, powered by a treadle controlled by one foot of the musician. Created by Jon Jones and Mitchell Manger, the wheelharp debuted at the 2013 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. According to the Wall Street Journal, it ""looks and works like a cross between a harpsichord and a hurdy-gurdy: a motor driven wheel spins, rubbing against strings when the player depresses a"
"known as reinlender, polka and waltz are other common dance rhythms. In addition there are many other more uncommon dance rhythms (e.g. the anglais), despite a small number of surviving tunes. The most typical instrument is the fiddle. In most cases normal violins are used, but there are exceptions such as the hardingfele, used in parts of Norway, which has a set of sympathetic strings in addition to the normal four strings. Another unique instrument, the nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle), probably once existed in a large part of Europe, but survived until modern times only in Sweden. Other instruments that were"
"and pull-offs (generally executed using just the fingers of the fretting hand but can use both hands). Trill keys are used to rapidly alternate between a note and an adjacent note often in another register on woodwind instruments. On the bowed instruments, the violin and the viola in particular, the trill is relatively easy to execute, with a straightforward bowing and the trill involving the oscillation of just one finger against the main note which is stopped by the finger behind, or more rarely, the open string. Trills may be performed on valveless brass instruments by rapidly slurring between two"
"Calabrian lira The Calabrian lira () is a traditional musical instrument characteristic of some areas of Calabria, region in southern Italy. The lira of Calabria is a bowed string instrument with three strings. Like most bowed liras, it is played upright, usually supported on the knee, held with the left hand touching the strings with the nails laterally while the right hand moves the bow. The repertory of the lira includes accompaniment songs (e.g. serenades and songs of anger) and songs suitable for dancing (tarantellas). The repertory of this traditional instrument is known only through records of older players, or"
"Barrel piano A barrel piano (also known as a ""roller piano"") is a forerunner of the modern player piano. Unlike the pneumatic player piano, a barrel piano is usually powered by turning a hand crank, though coin-operated models powered by clockwork were used to provide music in establishments such as pubs and cafés. Barrel pianos were popular with street musicians, who sought novel instruments that were also highly portable. They are frequently confused with barrel organs, but are quite different instruments. The central element of the barrel piano is a wooden barrel covered in strategically placed pins that play the"
"the TV series ""Lilyhammer"". In the Japanese animated movie ""Tales from Earthsea"" it is played by Rio Yamase. The Hardanger fiddle is featured in the soundtrack of the 2017 film ""Dunkirk"". Hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle (or in ) is a traditional stringed instrument used originally to play the music of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard violin) and thinner wood. Four of the strings are strung and played like a violin, while the rest, aptly named understrings or"
"Wobble board The wobble board is a musical instrument invented and popularized by the Australian musician and artist Rolf Harris, and is featured in his best-known song ""Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport"". A wobble board, like some other musical instruments, can be ornately decorated because its large surface area can act as a canvas without detracting from its musical capability. The instrument is played by holding the board lengthwise with the hands holding the edges and flicking the board outward, thereby making a characteristic ""whoop-whoop"" noise. The angle at which the board is held, and the way the board is"
"viola with five strings, one of which was a drone, popular amongst the jongleurs to accompany their singing and recitations; Organistrum, a three-stringed instrument similar to the vielle but played by the turning of a crank, with strings ‘stopped by a set rods instead of the player’s fingers); and Psaltery, a type of zither played by plucking or ‘striking’ the strings, which frequently appears in medieval art. The most common wind instruments included both recorder and transverse style flutes; the reeded Shawms, a precursor to the oboe; trumpets and Bagpipes. Drums, harps, recorders, and bagpipes were the instruments of choice"
"instrument. Some players may use a violin bracket to keep the nyckelharpa away from the body so that it can swing freely, causing it to sound more ""open"" as its resonance is not dampened. There are four common variants of the nyckelharpa still played today, differing in the number and arrangement of keys, number and arrangement of strings, and general body shape. The predominant type is the three-row so-called ""chromatic nyckelharpa"", with the melody strings tuned A1 - C1 - G, a drone C (from the highest to the lowest string) that is only touched occasionally, and 12 resonance strings"
"Vibraslap The vibraslap is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire (bent into a U-shape) connecting a wood ball to a hollow box of wood with metal “teeth” inside. The percussionist holds the metal wire in one hand and strikes the ball (usually against the palm of their other hand). The box acts as a resonating body for a metal mechanism placed inside with a number of loosely fastened pins or rivets that vibrate and rattle against the box. The instrument is a modern version of the jawbone. The vibraslap was the first patent granted to the"
"neck above the tuning pegs, and both instruments are known as the horsehead fiddle. The igil is held nearly upright when played, with the sound box of the instrument in the performer's lap, or braced against the top of the performer's boot. Playing technique involves touching the strings with the nails or fingertips, but without pressing them to the neck. The igil has no frets. The bow is held with an underhand grip. The igil formerly had an entire genre dedicated to it, with a repertoire of songs meant to be performed only on the igil. During the communist period"
"Verdi, and Wagner for example. Commonly pairs of anvils tuned a third apart are used. In practice modern orchestras commonly substitute a steel bar or other suitable steel structure that is easier to tune than an actual anvil, although a visibly convincing anvil-shaped prop may be shown as desired. In ""Das Rheingold"" Wagner scored for nine little, six mid-sized, and three large anvils, but orchestras seldom can afford instrumentation on such a scale. Anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another"
"Barrel organ A barrel organ (or roller organ) is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic principle is the same as a traditional pipe organ, but rather than being played by an organist, the barrel organ is activated either by a person turning a crank, or by clockwork driven by weights or springs. The pieces of music are encoded onto wooden barrels (or cylinders), which are analogous to the keyboard of the traditional pipe organ. A person (or in some"
"beaten with sticks; the most traditional ensembles also use accordions, ""chacha"" (a rattle) and the ""bel-air"", a bass version of the ""tanbour"". In French Caribbean culture, especially of the Lesser Antilles, the term kwadril is a Creole term referring to a folk dance derived from the ""quadrille"". kwadril dances are in sets consisting of proper quadrilles, plus creolized versions of 19th-century couple dances: biguines, mazouks and valses Créoles. Instrumentation consists of variable combinations of accordion, guitar, violin, tanbou dibas, chacha (either a single metal cylinder as in Martinique, or calabash without a handle, held in both hands), malakach (maracas), triangle,"
"instrument ensemble called a ""jing ping"" band. Balakadri (called balkadri or kadri) is a traditional quadrille music that was performed for balls on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Kwadril dances are in sets consisting of proper quadrilles, plus creolized versions of 19th-century couple dances: biguines, mazouks and valses Créoles. Instrumentation consists of variable combinations of accordion, guitar, violin, tanbou dibas, chacha (either a single metal cylinder as in Martinique, or a spherical calabash without a handle, held in both hands), malakach (maracas), triangle, bwa (tibwa) and syak, a bamboo rasp one metre long, grooved on both top and bottom, held"
"Cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note (see: crotales). Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from the orchestra, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands, and marching groups. Drum kits usually incorporate at least a crash, ride, or crash/ride, and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. A player of cymbals is known as a cymbalist. The word cymbal is derived from the Latin ""cymbalum"", which"
"Ripsaw music Ripsaw is a musical genre which originated in the Turks and Caicos Islands, specifically in the Middle and North Caicos. A very closely related variant, rake-and-scrape, is played in the Bahamas. Its most distinctive characteristic is the use of the common handsaw as the primary instrument, along with various kinds of drums, box guitar, concertina, triangle and accordion. The saw is played by scraping an object, usually an old knife blade, along the saw's teeth. The sound is similar to a paper being ripped, and is believed to be the origin of the term ""ripsaw"". ""Rake-and-scrape"" derives from"
"Marimba The marimba () is a percussion instrument consisting of a set of wooden bars struck with yarn or rubber mallets to produce musical tones. Resonators or pipes suspended underneath the bars amplify their sound. The bars of a chromatic marimba are arranged like the keys of a piano, with the groups of two and three accidentals raised vertically, overlapping the natural bars to aid the performer both visually and physically. This instrument is a type of idiophone, but with a more resonant and lower-pitched tessitura than the xylophone. A person who plays the marimba is called a ""marimbist"" or"
"Bowhammer In music, a bowhammer is a device used when playing a cymbalum to strike, pull across or pick the strings in order to make them vibrate and emit sound. It was devised to replace the mallets that were traditionally used to play the cymbalum. Unlike mallets, which almost exclusively are used for striking, the bowhammer allows for greater versatility, ""expanding the sonic and expressive scope of an ancient instrument."" It consists of a ring, which holds the bowhammer on the finger, a shaped handle attached to the ring, and a 3 inch section of violin bow at the end."
"Vibraphone The vibraphone (also known as the vibraharp or simply the vibes) is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family. It consists of tuned metal bars, and is usually played by holding two or four soft mallets and striking the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ""vibraphonist"" or ""vibraharpist"". The vibraphone resembles the xylophone, marimba, and glockenspiel, one of the main differences between it and these instruments being that each bar is paired with a resonator tube that has a motor-driven butterfly valve at its upper end. The valves are mounted"
"""party pieces"". Cèilidh music may be provided by an assortment of instruments including fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhrán, hammered dulcimer and in more recent times also drums, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki and electric bass guitar. The music is cheerful and lively, consisting in Ireland mainly of jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, slip-jigs and waltzes, with Scotland adding strathspeys, and England adding regional forms such as the northeastern rant. The basic steps can be learned easily; a short instructional session is often provided for new dancers before the start of the dance itself. In Ireland the first cèilidh band was put together"
"Parsifal bell A Parsifal bell (German: ""Parsifal Klavier Instrument"") is a stringed musical instrument designed as a substitute for the church bells that are called for in the score of Richard Wagner's opera ""Parsifal"". The instrument was designed by Felix Mottl, a conductor of Wagner's works, and constructed by Schweisgut, of Karlsruhe, Germany. It is constructed on the principle of the grand piano. A massive frame is shaped like a snooker table. The instrument has five notes; each note has six strings (three are tuned to the fundamental pitch, and three an octave higher). The strings are struck by large"
"it lies on the far side of the drone and out of reach of the hand hole. The second note is the a string played open. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth notes of the scale are played with the backs of the four fingers, stopping the a string. Whilst it is possible to play higher notes by moving the hand further up the string all the traditional melodies are within a compass of six notes, the first six notes of either a major or minor scale. Modern instruments are made with horsehair, nylon, gut or even metal viola strings"
"playing the piccolo and basler drum. A Clique usually consists of a ""Vortrab"" (vanguard), the ""Pfeifer"" (pipers), the ""Tambourmajor"" (drum major) and the ""Tambouren"" (drummers). Except on Cortège, the Cliques do not follow fixed routes, and it is thus very common for different Cliques to cross paths. In that case, one Clique will stop and let the other Clique pass. Spectators, on the other hand, will be politely guided off the route by the ""Vortrab"". Marching brass bands playing Guggenmusik are another formation present during Carnival. Although the ""Guggemusik"" groups do not participate on Morgestreich, they march and play throughout"
"vibrato from irregular flexing of the jaw and working of the tongue. ""Suling"" have retained the complete septatonic tuning of court gamelan and can access tones in the pitch gaps of keyed instruments for effect. The ""rebab"" is a spike fiddle played with a bow. It is only sometimes used in ""kebyar"" as it is often drowned out by the metallophones. Its melodic line is similar to the ""suling"", sometimes reaching pitches on a septatonic scale. It has only two strings tuned a Western fourth apart which never touch the unfretted fingerboard. This allows the player to change notes by"
"Igil An igil (Tuvan- игил) is a two-stringed Tuvan musical instrument, played by bowing the strings. (It is called ""ikili"" in Western Mongolia.) The neck and lute-shaped sound box are usually made of a solid piece of pine or larch. The top of the sound box may be covered with skin or a thin wooden plate. The strings, and those of the bow, are traditionally made of hair from a horse's tail (strung parallel), but may also be made of nylon. Like the morin khuur of Mongolia, the igil typically features a carved horse's head at the top of the"
"snare drum, marimba and timpani sticks, triangle, ride cymbal. They use coins, keys, fingers and nails for playing on the strings and the body of the grand piano. The instrument sounds like a harpsichord, drums and occasionally as a synthesizer or electronic sounds generator. Music of ""IYOV"" combines minimalism and the avant-garde, neoclassicism and rock. Polyphonic choral episodes and instrumental interludes alternate with the parts that use a full range of the human voice: from classical, jazz and folk singing to breathing, screaming, whispering and overtone singing. The dramaturgy of music performance is based on the contrasting compilation of recitatives"
"and Scrape festival. Ripsaw music Ripsaw is a musical genre which originated in the Turks and Caicos Islands, specifically in the Middle and North Caicos. A very closely related variant, rake-and-scrape, is played in the Bahamas. Its most distinctive characteristic is the use of the common handsaw as the primary instrument, along with various kinds of drums, box guitar, concertina, triangle and accordion. The saw is played by scraping an object, usually an old knife blade, along the saw's teeth. The sound is similar to a paper being ripped, and is believed to be the origin of the term ""ripsaw""."
"Nevel (instrument) The nevel or nebel ( ""nêḇel"") was a stringed instrument used by the ancient Hebrew people. The Greeks translated the name as ""nabla"" (νάβλα, “Phoenician harp”). A number of possibilities have been proposed for what kind of instrument the ""nevel"" was; these include the psaltery, and the kithara, both of which are strummed instruments like the kinnor, with strings running across the sound box, like the modern guitar and zither. Most scholars believe the ""nevel"" was a frame harp, a plucked instrument with strings rising up from its sound box. The King James Version renders the word into"
"include the marimba and others common across Central America. The marimba of Nicaragua is played by a sitting performer holding the instrument on his knees. He is usually accompanied by a bass fiddle, guitar and guitarrilla (a small guitar like a mandolin). This music is played at social functions as a sort of background music. The marimba is made with hardwood plates placed over bamboo or metal tubes of varying lengths. It is played with two or four hammers. The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua is known for a lively, sensual form of dance music called ""Palo de Mayo"" which is"
"instruments,<br> Faisons la nique a Satan. L’homme et Dieu sont plus d’accord,<br> Que la flûte et le tambour;<br> Au son de ces instruments,<br> Turelurelu, patapatapan,<br> Au son de ces instruments,<br> Chantons, dansons, sautons en! Willie, bring your little drum, Robin take your flute and come! <br> When we hear the music bright we will sing Noel this night, <br> When we hear the fife and drum, Christmas should be frolicsome.<br> <br> Thus the men of olden days for the King of Kings to praise, <br> When they heard the fife and drum, ture-lure-lu, pata-pata-pan, <br> When they hear the fife"