Aeolian Harp: The Wind-Played String Instrument Explained
An Aeolian harp produces music without fingers, a bow, hammers, or a mechanical player. Air moving...
Baryton: The Rare String Instrument Played in Haydn’s Time
The baryton is a bowed bass instrument from the viol family with an unusual second voice...
Clavioline: The Early Electronic Keyboard Before Synthesizers
FeatureClavioline detail Instrument familyMonophonic electronic keyboard, often classified as an early electronic electrophone and a predecessor...
Cristal Baschet: The French Glass Sound Sculpture
Cristal Baschet produces sound when wet fingers rub glass rods, transferring vibration through tuned metal parts...
Glass Armonica: Benjamin Franklin’s Dangerous Invention
Imagine a sound so pure, so unearthly, that listeners once believed it was the voice of...
Hang Drum(Handpan): A Modern Swiss Invention
Instrument Name Hang (often called Handpan or Pantam) Classification Idiophone (Struck directly) / Sound Sculpture Place...
Hardanger Fiddle: Norway’s Decorated Folk Violin
From across a room, a Hardanger fiddle can resemble an unusually ornate violin. Up close, the...
Hydraulis: The Ancient Greek Water Organ
Instrument Name Hydraulis (Water Organ) Inventor Ctesibius of Alexandria Date of Origin 3rd Century BC Classification...
Marxophone: The Forgotten American Zither Instrument
A compact reference for the Marxophone’s build, tuning, materials, and playing method. Feature What it means...
Mellotron: The Tape-Based Keyboard That Changed Rock Music
Feature Mellotron detail Instrument family Electro-mechanical tape-replay keyboard, often described as an early sample-playback instrument Commercial...
Nyckelharpa: The Swedish Keyed Fiddle
The Nyckelharpa is a Swedish bowed string instrument whose pitches are controlled through a wooden keybox...
Ondes Martenot: The Early French Electronic Instrument
This table gives the main build, sound, and history details of the Ondes Martenot in one...
Otamatone: The Modern Japanese Electronic Instrument Explained
The Otamatone is a Japanese electronic instrument played by pressing or sliding on its stem and...
Pikasso Guitar: The Multi-Neck Guitar Explained
The Pikasso Guitar looks as if a luthier took several acoustic guitars, a harp guitar, and...
Singing Bowl: What It Is and How It Produces Sound
This table gives the main musical, acoustic, and material traits of a singing bowl before the...
Stylophone: The Pocket Electronic Instrument from the 1960s
FeatureOriginal StylophoneModern S-1Instrument familyMonophonic electronic organ and pocket synthesizerCompact electronic instrument based on the classic stylus...
The Revival of Forgotten Instruments in Modern Music
Forgotten instruments can return to wider attention when performers, builders, composers, and producers place them in...
Theremin: The Early Electronic Instrument Played Without Touch
The theremin is an early electronic instrument played without touch, using hand proximity to control pitch...
Trautonium: The Early Electronic Instrument Behind Experimental Sound
FeatureTrautonium detailInstrument familyEarly electronic musical instrument with a touch-sensitive continuous-pitch manualInventorFriedrich Trautwein, developed in Berlin around...
Tromba Marina: The Medieval One-Stringed Instrument
This table outlines the main identity, build, playing method, sound, and historical setting of the tromba...
20 articles in Rare