20 Very Odd Musical Instruments You Can Play Online
American Public Media has produced a playable-online collection of Harry Partch musical instrument inventions for your extreme enjoyment!
Some of my favorite instruments (that you can play by clicking the links) include the ever so versatile “Spoils of War” and the bamboo hive that is “The Boo.” Play the instruments first, then read about who this eccentric fellow was…
Harry Partch was an American instrument inventor, innovator, and composer who is known for his valuable contributions to the advancement of music theory and his original thinking regarding the relationship between music and speech. “Partch invented and constructed instruments that could underscore the intoning voice.” Wikipedia
Harry was an obscure figure. During the Great Depression, Harry spent 10 homeless years wandering the country on trains and hitchhiking, often transcribing the overheard pitches of strangers’ conversations in music notation in his journal. Harry Partch’s musical instruments can be classified as aesthetically captivating sculptures, full-body workout machines, and versatile tool boxes for creating incredibly original sound. Besides designing more than 23 new musical instruments, Harry is known for writing music using the notes from his 43-tone-scale rather than the standard 12-tone-scale used in Western music.
Photos from the Harry Partch Information Center
Great post. It is amazing what tough times do to human creativity.
oh dear!
this is too much fun. i’m having to tear myself away the harry’s sounds.
i’m very into what the odd instruments people are up to. i am also organising a little trip down to the kent countryside to see the huge gramaphone audio installation.
thank you very much for making my life more interesting.
normal.
Yay! You’re back, cool finds you’ve got there, I especially love playing the “Spoils of War”!