10 Beautiful Instruments You Never Knew Existed
There are always the violins, the pianos, the flutes and the voices. And this isn't to put those down. But there are so many instruments out there that maybe you don't know about. Some movie soundtrack writers have recently begun to capitalize on some of these gorgeous-but-exotic instruments. So, Ten Beautiful Instruments You Never Knew Existed:
1. The duduk
Probably the biggest deal of this gorgeous Armenian flute is that recently, it was used in a movie. In "The Chronicles of Narnia," the faun Mr. Tumnus plays a flute to put Lucy to sleep. The composer of the movie music looked far and wide for a beautiful, exotic flute and finally settled on the duduk. It has a deep, rich, very woody sound. Honestly, the most beautiful instrument in the world, according to me.
2. The kantele
I think of the this as the Finns' version of a cross between a harp and a zither. And I know those are already ridiculously similar instruments. But, this harp has a echoey, kind of bell sound that makes it very different from both. It's a haunting beauty.
3. The baglama
This Turkish lute-like instrument doesn't really sound anything like a lute. But, it has a tinny kind of undertone that I really like. And it's kind of so "Turkish" in its sound. You've probably heard it. But you probably didn't know what it was.
4. The dilruba
This one is another one that you have probably heard, but never knew what it was. This is an Indian instrument, kind of like a sitar, but not quite. It's more orchestral-string sounding than a sitar. So, kind of a cross between a sitar and a cello.
5. The tar
This is an Iranian instrument kind of like the dilruba, but not quite. It kind of has some muted qualities to it as well. I also think this one looks cool.
6. The hurdy-gurdy
I feel like the hurdy-gurdy is an instrument that everyone read about in their little "Experience Music" books in elementary school, but is very misunderstood. Most people don't even know what it really is, except that they played them in the Medieval era. What's wrong with playing old instruments? Most cultures do it, so why don't we as Western Europeans? It's technically a percussion instrument. I admit, I'm not sure why, because it looks much more complicated than that, to me. But it's a fun, funky sound.
7. The bodhran
As a Celtic music lover, you didn't really think I would leave out the beautiful Celtic instruments. The bodhran is very under-understood. This is not your grandfather's drum. So, people think that it's just a drum. And it is, kind of. But, you can change its pitch. One hand plays the drum, but your other hand is in the back of the drum, changing the tension of the drum to change its pitch. This makes it really hard to master, but extremely versatile--for a drum. So, I think that this one is more amazement at what people managed to get out of a drum. But, like my defense for haggis: Nothing grows in the Scotland and Ireland. You have to make due with the resources you've got. Which are not a lot. (Disclaimer: I still find haggis disgusting)
8. The ney flute
Another instrument recently capitalized upon by movie soundtrack writers, the ney flute, and its cousin the rhaita, were both used by Howard Shore in the Lord of the Rings soundtrack (though he just referred to them as "Berber Instruments" in the score). These Middle-Eastern instruments, played mostly in Morocco are a breathy-sounding flute that always make me think of a computer game that I played growing up called Pharoah. It was like Sim City, but you were building Ancient Egypt. Anyways, they are very exotically beautiful, which is the point of this list.
9. Jew's harp
I know, I know. You're probably thinking, that is not a beautiful instrument. But it really is. Beauty comes in many shapes and sizes. And this is just a very different beauty, that's all. You have probably heard it, but you might think of it as the "hillbilly boingy." That's what I thought it was for a long time. When I was about 14 or so, I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the first time. Miss Stephanie is explaining to Scout and Jem that there are probably a lot of things that they don't know about Atticus. They ask for examples, and one of the ones she says is, "Did you know he could play the Jew's harp?" I didn't know what a Jew's harp was, so I looked it up in the encyclopedia, and there was a picture. But for a long time, I imagined it to sound very different. But I think it is beautiful in a kind of pathetic way.
10. The uilleann pipes
People say that Irish and Scottish music is the same. It is similar, but it is different, and both the Scottish and the Irish treasure those differences. I was going to say "we," but I didn't know which side I would fall under, because I'm ethnically Scottish, but was an Irish dancer, and spent a lot more time with Irish culture. Anyways, one of the things that sets them apart is the Irish don't use bagpipes. You're going to say, "But they do," but you'd be wrong. The bagpipes are all good and well. They're a fun instrument. But they're loud and brassy. The Irish alternative is the uilleann pipe which is quieter, softer and more mellow. They are different and, I think, more beautiful.
1. The duduk
Probably the biggest deal of this gorgeous Armenian flute is that recently, it was used in a movie. In "The Chronicles of Narnia," the faun Mr. Tumnus plays a flute to put Lucy to sleep. The composer of the movie music looked far and wide for a beautiful, exotic flute and finally settled on the duduk. It has a deep, rich, very woody sound. Honestly, the most beautiful instrument in the world, according to me.
2. The kantele
I think of the this as the Finns' version of a cross between a harp and a zither. And I know those are already ridiculously similar instruments. But, this harp has a echoey, kind of bell sound that makes it very different from both. It's a haunting beauty.
3. The baglama
This Turkish lute-like instrument doesn't really sound anything like a lute. But, it has a tinny kind of undertone that I really like. And it's kind of so "Turkish" in its sound. You've probably heard it. But you probably didn't know what it was.
4. The dilruba
This one is another one that you have probably heard, but never knew what it was. This is an Indian instrument, kind of like a sitar, but not quite. It's more orchestral-string sounding than a sitar. So, kind of a cross between a sitar and a cello.
5. The tar
This is an Iranian instrument kind of like the dilruba, but not quite. It kind of has some muted qualities to it as well. I also think this one looks cool.
6. The hurdy-gurdy
I feel like the hurdy-gurdy is an instrument that everyone read about in their little "Experience Music" books in elementary school, but is very misunderstood. Most people don't even know what it really is, except that they played them in the Medieval era. What's wrong with playing old instruments? Most cultures do it, so why don't we as Western Europeans? It's technically a percussion instrument. I admit, I'm not sure why, because it looks much more complicated than that, to me. But it's a fun, funky sound.
7. The bodhran
As a Celtic music lover, you didn't really think I would leave out the beautiful Celtic instruments. The bodhran is very under-understood. This is not your grandfather's drum. So, people think that it's just a drum. And it is, kind of. But, you can change its pitch. One hand plays the drum, but your other hand is in the back of the drum, changing the tension of the drum to change its pitch. This makes it really hard to master, but extremely versatile--for a drum. So, I think that this one is more amazement at what people managed to get out of a drum. But, like my defense for haggis: Nothing grows in the Scotland and Ireland. You have to make due with the resources you've got. Which are not a lot. (Disclaimer: I still find haggis disgusting)
8. The ney flute
Another instrument recently capitalized upon by movie soundtrack writers, the ney flute, and its cousin the rhaita, were both used by Howard Shore in the Lord of the Rings soundtrack (though he just referred to them as "Berber Instruments" in the score). These Middle-Eastern instruments, played mostly in Morocco are a breathy-sounding flute that always make me think of a computer game that I played growing up called Pharoah. It was like Sim City, but you were building Ancient Egypt. Anyways, they are very exotically beautiful, which is the point of this list.
9. Jew's harp
I know, I know. You're probably thinking, that is not a beautiful instrument. But it really is. Beauty comes in many shapes and sizes. And this is just a very different beauty, that's all. You have probably heard it, but you might think of it as the "hillbilly boingy." That's what I thought it was for a long time. When I was about 14 or so, I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the first time. Miss Stephanie is explaining to Scout and Jem that there are probably a lot of things that they don't know about Atticus. They ask for examples, and one of the ones she says is, "Did you know he could play the Jew's harp?" I didn't know what a Jew's harp was, so I looked it up in the encyclopedia, and there was a picture. But for a long time, I imagined it to sound very different. But I think it is beautiful in a kind of pathetic way.
10. The uilleann pipes
People say that Irish and Scottish music is the same. It is similar, but it is different, and both the Scottish and the Irish treasure those differences. I was going to say "we," but I didn't know which side I would fall under, because I'm ethnically Scottish, but was an Irish dancer, and spent a lot more time with Irish culture. Anyways, one of the things that sets them apart is the Irish don't use bagpipes. You're going to say, "But they do," but you'd be wrong. The bagpipes are all good and well. They're a fun instrument. But they're loud and brassy. The Irish alternative is the uilleann pipe which is quieter, softer and more mellow. They are different and, I think, more beautiful.
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