9 Of The Weirdest Musical Instruments You’ve Ever Seen

Imagine a world where the sea plays an organ and your guitar is only a few millionths of a millimeter long. This week, we’re taking a look at some of the strangest musical instruments to see the light of day—from AK-47 guitars to musical houses. Sure, you’ll rarely see your favorite music icon rocking out with one of these oddball contraptions, but that doesn’t make them any less fascinating, if only for the novelty factor. Budding inventors can take heart knowing that however wacky or extreme their idea might be, there’s probably someone who’s invented something far more ridiculous already—and probably stuck a ukulele on it, too, for good measure.

The Great Stalacpipe Organ

In subterranean Virginia, near the Shenandoah National Park, you’ll find the famed Luray Caverns—home to a bustling tourist industry… and an organ made from hardened mineral drippings. Known as a lithophone—a musical instrument made from rock—musical notes are produced from the structure by using a keyboard console to hit the antiquated stalactites with “solenoid-actuated rubber mallets”. You know, standard stuff. It was the brainchild of Leland W. Sprinkle, who built the organ in 1956, shaving some of the stalactites of the 3.5 acre instrument to sound different notes.

Musical Tesla Coils

This is as much about showmanship as it is about the sound, as alternating current on one of these alien-looking mushrooms turns you into a futuristic thunder god. And the good thing about such an impressive instrument is that when you’ve got bolts of electricity flying out of your face and hands like some kind of human lightning rod, you could play Rebecca Black’s entire album and everyone would still applaud.

Escopetarra (aka AK-47 guitar)

A symbol of peace, these guitar/gun hyrbids are the creation of Columbian César López. Seeing the destruction the AK-47 had wrought on Columbian communities by the warring drug lords, he made one into a guitar. The name is derived from the Spanish escopeta (shotgun) and guitarra (guitar). It looks pretty cool, but not the sort of instrument you want to be carrying around if you’re a street performer. Not unless you want to get shot or arrested, anyway.

Ensemble

The Sea Organ

Sitting on the shores of Zadar, Croatia, this step-like instrument laps up the incoming tides from the Adriatic Sea. Its white stone steps stretch for 70 metres with 35 organ pipes sitting underneath so that sea and wind movement create a harmonious sound for people strolling by. It could also be used to summon mythical sea monsters, or so we hear.

Symphonic House

For some people it’s not enough to just play an instrument alone in their room. No, instead they have to turn their whole abode into an orchestra of string instruments. Made by architect David Hanawalt and sound artist Bill Close, this house features a 12ft x 12ft wall of strings, musical beams, a stringed stairwell that rises in pitch as you ascend, and external wind harps.

Reactable

You’ve probably seen this one before, this table top musical interface is a favorite toy of Bjork and looks like it’s come to us from an alternate reality where the 1990s rave look is the zenith for cutting edge design. Using the blocks—called tangibles—you interact with the the display controlling nine synth modules. There’s also an iPad version for multi-touch sequencing.

Nano Guitar

The world’s smallest instrument is made from crystalline silicon and comes in at 10 microns long, which equates to the size of a single cell. The silicon strings could cause potential strumming problems being that they’re only 100 atoms wide (but at least it won’t be hard to trash post-performance). So forget a plectrum, it’s all about playing guitar with a lazer beam. Built in 1997 for no other reason than to prove that it could be done, the above version is the newer model from 2003.

Uberorgan

This creation from artist Tim Hawkinson, commissioned by MassMOCA, features biomorphic balloons and inflatable ducts that together produce a foghorn type noise. It’s 300ft long and has a musical scroll that’s 250ft long, so, you know, it’s pretty big. And looks a bit like the withered remains of Cthulhu’s digestive tract strung about the place like Christmas decorations. Team it with the nano guitar for ultimate sideshow appeal.