ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Amazing Experimental Musical Instruments

Updated on November 17, 2011
Blue Man Group Drumming
Blue Man Group Drumming | Source

This article is devoted to those music artists that think outside the box and have created very unusual or unique instruments and playing styles. Many of these artists are very well known because of their instrumentation, their creative gifts go beyond simply making music to creating whole new ways of making music.

These people I would consider modern pioneers of music and should be acknowledged as such. They've chosen to let their gifts shine and I for one am grateful for that.

Have a look below these artists may be a little strange but you'll be amazed, trust me.

Jon Gomm
Jon Gomm | Source

Jon Gomm

Although Mr. Gomm is not responsible for creating his own instruments but he has taken guitar playing to a whole new level. While playing guitar he uses his hands to create not just guitar sound but also drum, and bass sound and all simultaneously in the same song, all while singing. Besides creating sound from the guitar that it was never created to make he also adjusts the tuners of the guitar mid song to create ethereal sounding notes and often plays guitar strings only on the neck of the guitar. Simply amazing. Makes me wish I had took the time he did to become such a player.

John Gomm is the kind of virtuoso that needs to be seen to be believed. Beginning playing at the age of two he eventually graduated from the ukulele to the guitar and since has taken the world by storm Jon has released two solo albums and has been touring frequently since 2004. Check the video to the side of his song "passion flower" you will be amazed at what he can do with just a simple acoustic guitar.

Jack white
Jack white | Source

Jack White

Someone who needs little introduction he has spent more than the past decade climbing the hill of rock music along the way fusing it with many different genres and introducing the rock crowd to many other interesting forms of music. Never one to shy away from experimentation on stage and off White has set himself apart from the rock artists that spend all their time trying to conform to the scene of the current time.

His knowledge of the guitar has gone beyond what you and I perceive as just another instrument and into a realm where only a select few have journeyed. I have included a video below of Jack on a farm he creates an electric guitar out of a board, some wire, some nails and a coke bottle and then plugs into his amp and plays it. Check it out below!

That 1 Guy

That 1 guy born Mike Silverman knows what it means to be a one man band. Throughout the past several years he has used his ingenuity to create a musical electric saw, various unusual percussion instruments and the magic pipe. The magic pipe very central to his act is an amazing instrument constructed from a metal pipe a wide variety of electronics wired together into a mad science styled instrument. the magic pipe can be played like a guitar, a bow or as a percussion instrument.

Les and his Whamola
Les and his Whamola | Source

Les Claypool

Throughout the progress of his band Primus and his numerous side projects Les Claypool is another who has excelled at creating the unusual. From strange claymation videos to bass sounds that are out of this world. He has created some of the strangest music and videos in his career and in this case Claypool has succeeded in returning a very rare instrument to the public eye, the Whamola.

The Whamola is an electric version of an old style washtube instrument used in the south. In the Whamola's case it is electric and use create sound usually by striking it's one taught string with a drumstick. Sound is changed according to how you most the neck or where you strike it. Check the video below of the Whamola being used.

Blue Man Paint Drumming
Blue Man Paint Drumming | Source

The Blue Man Group

The Blue Man Group was created as a foundation to raise money for charity but balooned into a world famous act. The act always features three blue headed alien type guys and incorporates many types of art, videos, comedy and skits as well as music and very unusual instruments.

These instruments range from very bendable poles swung in the air to make whistling sounds, a large grand piano which is struck by a large mallet, an anvil that's drummed upon, large tubes used as percussion, drums that spray paint upon being struck. Their pipe suits also shoot large piles of streamers on the crowd at the end of the show.

Recently I was able to attend a show for the Blue Man Group in my home city and must say it was a full frontal assault on the senses combining so much creativity. I would say it is out of this world (which I guess is what they are going for). Check out the video to the side to see them in action with a song featuring the vocals of Gavin Rossdale of the band Bush.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)