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The rappers came up with using the scratching sound of dragging the needle across a vinyl record on a turntable as a rhythm device. The Beatles had a hit where one of the sounds was Ringo slapping a book of matches. On a cd I produced for Richard Dobson ("State of the Heart" on Brambus Records) we played drumsticks on a chair and "tinked" a water glass with a screwdriver.

How about it? Any unusual sounds by abnormal instruments?

All the Best,
Mike

Mike, I myself have not used any unusual device as an instument, but I remember once when I was a child someone used the skin resonator of a banjo for a drum. I can still remember how he pounded out the greatest dance beat on that simple banjo part. Frank V.

Hey Mike -
I've put off responding because I can't recall exactly WHAT was used to make the unusual percussion sound at the beginning of my song Savoring the Moment.
The song was just about done .. and one of the musicians said ... "this needs a little something to start it off." He came back in with 2 metal "things" from his car... I believe they were from a blacksmith's barn ... They were 2 metal rods that we banged together for a cool thump sound ... It worked!! Go figure ... Whatever works!
Joanne

yeah, in my early home recordings, I used two pencils tapping on a parchment bandolin head for my drum. I used that for years until a "real" drummer put his sticks thru the parchment. On one of the later records, I shoook my keychain at the very end of a song. I thought - nobody's gonna guess what that sound was. Then the next few people I played the recording to to get their reaction all said, "Why did you rattle your keys at the end???"

At Ensoniq, in the early days, one of the sound designers was working at home in his garage hammering something metal. A pipe maybe, and it had such a cool ring to it, that he recorded it. He brought the tape into work, processed it in the Mirage, and "the sound" became one of the internal sounds and was featured on some popular Janet Jackson song. My memory is failing me on which one, but it was pretty cool to hear about that.

I also remember plugging my vocal mike into an Electro Harmonix's Big Muff, making "woo" sounds following the melody, and creating what sounded like weird synth solos just with that.

My grandfather used to play the saw.

There is a group called Stomp that uses unusual things in unusual ways (like 55 gl drums held to their feet while they stomp about).

Considering I've heard people play tunes on armpits or by belching, I suppose almost anything that makes a sound could be used for an instrument. I'm not sure I would want to know some of the possibilities.

Just last night at an open mic someone brought in a shortened derivative of a Japanese shamisen (the 3-stringed banjo type instrument and main axe for any Geisha). Wish I could remember the name of it but I remember him saying it was a variation local to Okinawa.

Last time I caught the Bob Young show, his lovely young assistant (a.k.a. Tink) played a glass of water by blowing in it with a straw...

Chuck Crowe

Well my school students and I play Folger Coffee Drums. (We can't afford real ones.) I have wanted to have a Folgers drum line for the longest time.

Good to the last pop.

oh wait - that's the Maxwell house line of drums...

one of the most unusual instruments I've hear recently is Graham's voice. :-)

The classic STOMP-STOMP-BOOM sound opening "We Will Rock You" wasn't drums. It was actual stomping on a metal drum or piano platform or something like that.

For more almost-correct Queen trivia click here...

Linda

Oh , I use the maxwell drum for a clanging sound. It's made of tin and the Folgers is plastic.

gee thanks Tom.
My fans call it unique.
others state it to be like nothing on earth.
I hate it but love doing it.
Life gets complicated somethimes.
Bill Draper often stuns me with some of the stuff he finds down in his cellar to make a noise with.
plastic buckets, icecream containers and stuff.
Always fun to listen to.
I had a bit of fun for a while running instruments, including my own vox, through a mp3 morpher program and then mixing it into backings.
Came out with some pretty interesting stuff, but got bored with the pushing buttons thing very quickly and went back to doing the as it comes out style.
I rarely get excited hearing anything that can't be done by a group of people in a live situation.
Graham

Just for you Tom, I decided to do this:
http://www.songramp.com/mod/mps/viewtrack.php?trackid=54314
I hope you get as much fun out of listening to it as i did doing it.
took me all morning and half the afternoon, so hope it was worth it.
Graham

It is in Take two phase now.
Less production.
Longer.
Better?
I think so.
I knew all those years of singing Little Jimmy Brown would pay off one day.
Graham

WOW GRAHAM!! I'm honored!!! This is definitely worth it.

Thanks for doing this!!

It is me who should be saying thank you Tom as, I have been putting off doing that caper for years, and your comment got me off my butt and doing something I find hard to do, not having much faith in myself as a singer, and I am only learning my way around recording multitrack stuff, so was a pretty fresh approach and road for me, and that has to be a good thing.
So glad you enjoyed it Tom.
Graham