Flowerpots are Instruments too!
by beewack
Learning about Wagner’s commissioning of new instruments in order to fill his orchestra got me thinking about other strange instruments in orchestration. As we learned in class Wagner was very full of himself and believed that the sound wasn’t complete enough without the “Wagner Tuba” or the bass trumpet. Using this queue I decided to do some research on other composers that use strange instruments in their compositions.
One of the earliest forms of encompassing strange instrumentation into the orchestra is done by Beethoven in his ninth symphony. As we visited earlier in the class the rise of Janissary music changed the style of western music all together. These janissaries played military music that was unlike the music that was typically heard at the time. The end of Beethoven’s ninth symphony, Ode to Joy, features the instrumentation of a janissary band complete with triangles and cymbals, which were not typical of western music at the time. At about 6 minutes you can see the cymbal player.
As my search continued I came across the composer Lou Harrison who was known for incorporating the music of non-Western cultures into his work. While his early works feature experiments with different instrumentation his later works are more experimental with musical style. For percussion Harrison often used “junk” like trash cans and brake drums to get unique sounds.
There’s a guy that plays the aluminum foil and big stove pot in this check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvXw1Umvm80
This one has flowerpots and coffee cans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1chsAeO_cE
Last year Oscar Bettison’s chamber concerto “Livre des Sauvages” was performed as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella music series. As stated on his biography Bettison likes using, “Cinderella instruments (i.e. instruments that, for one reason or another are ‘off-the-beaten-path’), either by making percussion instruments, by re-imagining unconventional instruments and by writing for less-than-standard ensembles such as six pianos or four drum kits”.
The piece below features two tenor saxes, a trombone, electric guitar, piano, and percussionist playing a variety of instruments. Some percussion instruments include a brake drum, a ship’s bell, three metal mixing bowls, “hard sounding metal container struck with foot pedal”, a “Wrenchophone” (12 differently sized Metal Wrenches arranged like a keyboard), a hammer, three terracotta flower pots, a pillow, three cardboard boxes, four anvils, and a large ratchet.
Check out this expert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RveSpG43So8
Thanks for sharing! It’s so cool to see what talented people can do with “junk.” Reminds me of seeing street musicians playing on cans and such – so neat!
As a former percussionist, I really enjoyed reading this post! My drum teacher used to make percussion instruments out of all different things and always encouraged me to do the same. Never tried a flower pot or a coffee can though!
I love this post. It’s just a reminder that music can come from just about anything. Even everyday objects could potentially be vessels for music.
Love the flower pot and coffee can one! So cool! I’m not sure if anyone has seen the Blue Man Group, but this post definitely reminded me of some of their acts. If you aren’t familiar with them, the Blue Man Group is a group of, you guessed it, men covered in blue paint. They don’t talk throughout the entire show but instead do crazy things with crazy “instruments.” The following link shows the blue men playing on the “drum bone,” a PVC pipe turned instrument. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOLBn8GKBlA
This is them “paint drumming” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP0eK7Tg1OQ
This is very interesting I think it shows us how music can come from anything. It also shows us that music is everywhere, even in places we haven’t discovered yet.
Anything can be turned into an instrument. Music can come from everywhere. Thanks for sharing this post, it was really interesting. My only issue is that it sounds like sometimes the music produced by these unique instruments get mixed up and don’t produce the best music it can. However, as long as these extraordinary instruments are used to produce thoughtful and clever pieces of music, i am a fan.
I think this is absolutely wonderful. A couple weeks ago, I saw an interview with Hans Zimmer and he was commenting on composing the music for Man of Steel. He talked about how wanted to combine the traditional folk instruments like banjo, fiddle, and guitar and synthesize a new instrument to create an evolved and strange-sounding instrument. I think it was absolutely wonderful, and I think this works just as well!