I just pulled my friend for Secret Santa, I was thinking maybe a really weird and Large instrument. We are trying to spend less than $30 is the only problem. I saw theres something called a didgeridoo, but i was wondering if there was something else? Not trying to offend anyone here, but maybe a super useless instrument?

Microphone to amplifier to FM transmitter to boombox speaker. Oddly if I move the mic any further away the pitch seems to change randomly based on distance, I think it might have to do with the acoustics of the room or something.

A khlui piang-aao in the key of ~Bb (approximate)

A bass straw oboe tuned in 7-TET (equidistant heptatonic).

How i made it (summarized):

1. Get 3 straws, scissors, a spoon and a metal chopstick (or anything cylinder-like like a straw)

2. Get the first straw (this is gonna be the reed)

3. Get the spoon and then, use something to heat the spoon (a lighter or anything else that creates fire)

*Important: only heat the spoon for about ~8-10 seconds, otherwise it's gonna melt the straw)

1. Put pressure on the tip of the straw with the flat part of the spoon (it needs to be a tablespoon), basically just flattening the tip (not too deep into the straw) for a bit, then release the pressure to see if its flat, if not then do more. do this until it looks flat enough.

2. Cut the flat part of the reed. (Recommend cutting about 3.5 cm from the tip)

3. Get the 2 other straws and then join them together (the straws MUST fit, otherwise it is not gonna work), this is gonna be the body. Important: you need to cut the tip of both straws so they can fit, especially the one on top so you could put the reed in

4. Get the metal chopstick/straw, heat the tip for about 15-20 seconds, then gently jab it around the side of the straw on the bottom (you need a bit of distance from the bottom of the straw, as so to keep it in tune), do this until you have 6-7 holes (you can choose how many.)

Note: as you make more holes, they need to get closer and closer together 8. Insert the reed in, and play!

(If i have more time, I'll showcase how to make it)

I came across this performance from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran (Strait of Hormuz), and the blend of unusual acoustic instruments and shared cross-cultural history is remarkable.

Except for the Tar—a plucked, double-bowl lute deeply embedded in Persian, Kurdish, and Azerbaijani classical traditions—the rest of the ensemble is entirely in the Afro-Iranian musical heritage that is shared along the coastal cultures of the Persian Gulf (mostly people of African descent in Saudi, Qatar, Oman ...).

The centerpiece here is the massive bowl-lyre: the Tanbūra (also known as tambira). It likely originates from Nuba (Sudan/Egypt) and it is in Egypt, Sudan and Somalia (called Shareero), with differences.

It is often accompanied by heavy syncopated polyrhythms from cylindrical drums like the Dohol and Kasr, and traditionally paired with the Manjur—a shaken rattle belt made from hundreds of dried sheep/goat hooves.

The song is a religious/sufi type song (praise of Prophet Mohamed). Madih (praise) music is found across the Muslim from Mali to Indonesia.

I am a student looking to buy this xylophone. Is it out of tune?

If you play an unusual instrument of a different nature and you're happy with the idea of sharing music together as a friend, creating interesting and diverse musical combinations, write to me.I'd be curious to know what instruments you play. The group will be created on Telegram.

Gamelan Monggang seems to be one of the oldest surviving forms of Gamelan. The instrumentation is tuned to a three note scale. Some of the instruments are unusually large and low tuned (bonang, kenong). Gamelan Monggang (also written "Munggang") includes cymbals. While cymbals are common/integral in Balinese Gamelan I've never seen them in a central-Javanese Gamelan.
The set in this video is called K.K. Udan Arum ("fragrant rain") and was created in the 13th century (so about three times the age of the USA). Currently it is the Monggang set of the palace in Surakarta and publicly it is only used in ceremonial context. Only one piece is played with it: Gendhing Monggang.

Note how you barely can hear the large gongs in the recording. That's because a cellphone of course does not suffice to record them. Something that is always true but even more so in this case: The recording is only a faint echo of how this piece actually sounds on this set.

More information about Gamelan Monggang in general and K.K. Gunturlaut ("thundering sea"), the sibling set of K.K. Udan Arum, can be found here:
https://vetter.sites.grinnell.edu/gamelan/kraton-yogyakarta-gamelans/k-k-gunturlaut/

Source: kinfolkceramics on IG

What are these two bells around 22 sec? The music is a cover of some videogame music and the song is in Finnish, if that matters.

Trying to see if something like this exists already... What if we make basically an instrument like a banjo/canjo, with a very thin metal top...

Instead of mounting a pickup under the strings, Mount the pickup underneath the actual metal top?

Would the vibration of the metal top be picked up by the pickup?

instrument I made from a guitar neck, an infrared sensor, and cord.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DeosvvZo5H0/

Lithophones might be some of the oldest musical instruments. There are traces from the Upper Palaeolithic (Solutrean period, approx. 22,000–17,000 years ago*) that suggest the musical use of rocks. The video posted here includes a boulder with a remarkable bell-like sound.

Here is footage of another example from Sudan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kr1D5-GW44
This is a snippet from "Lost Kingdoms of Africa: Nubia"

*Referring to the Nerja cave:
"The cave of Nerja contains at least 19 paintings so far reported, and has excellent acoustics, such that it is now sometimes used as a venue for concerts and dance in the summer months. It also contains a feature known as “the organ”, which consists of an area in an alcove where the calcareous deposits have formed into a fluted, concertina-like feature. [...] the style of the ibex and hind illustrated suggest a Solutrean (c.22-17 Kya) age for the illustrations [...]"
https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dcrr002.pdf -> Page 70 (page 82 in the PDF)

At this point I also can't help but remember the Great Stalacpipe Organ:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stalacpipe_Organ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm1_aCjrC5o

I have more on instagram

From Somali nomadic culture. Here, the woman uses the mooye (a heavy wooden mortar) and tib (pestle) not just to crush grain, but to drive the rhythm of a traditional work song (hees-mooye).

In this piece, she recites traditional women's oral verse, chanting rhythmic life advice to a young bride about the qualities of a good husband and the red flags to avoid, perfectly timed to the thud of the pestle.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DdtewEWsmD_/

My mom ordered an indian(or should i say hindu idk i'm sorry) drum for me, called mridangam/mridanga

I never played musical instruments profesionally in my life, only touched one cheap flute in the childhood and it sounded awful lol, so u can imagine how unexpirienced i am right now

I want to learn how to play mridangam anyways, bcs i'm converting to sanatana dharma and currently exploring the culture of India, if u have some advices or recommendations for me about playing this drum please tell me🙏

Thankfully i know english besides my native language, so if there are english tutorials for playing mridanga i will be able to watch it