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Washboard, Teabox and other unusual instruments
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Hey Jurgen, et all.
On the topic of unusual instruments, check out this amazing instrument. I’m trying to envision what an entire orchestra would sound like. 😂
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My otorhinolaryngologist would like that, Jung. 😄
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The accuracy with which she plays the nose harp, and the seriousness of the orchestra as they play along is just as funny.
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Jurgen, Rick Neilsen from the band Cheap Trick has over 400 guitars in his collection. One of his most unusual ones is an orange 5 neck guitar he used while touring in the 80’s. This one is retired and he has one with his signature checker board finish that he still uses on occasion. He is a cool dude that still lives in his hometown of Rockford Illinois. Here’s a video of him playing his orange 5 neck guitar in the Houston Astrodome in 1989.
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Here’s a cool video if you have an hour to spare. Rick Neilsen’s guitar collection is absolutely massive and includes a lot of guitar history and info. You can just watch the first 15 minutes but if you do you will probably watch the whole thing.
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Hi Tim,
thanks for the video. I’m always amazed at how someone can hang such a monster around his neck and then still play on it. The top neck has 12 strings. Are the other necks tuned differently or strung with different strings? Or does it just look cool? Unfortunately, I’m not much of a guitar expert. His guitar collection is impressive, each guitar tells its own little story, a single piece of the mosaic in his musical life. The band itself is unknown to me.
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Jurgen, I’m not a guitar guy either. I do know the top neck of this guitar is indeed a 12 string and I believe all the others have different tones and he uses them all. I remember in an interview he said he originally wanted a guitar that had 6 necks that he could spin around like a roulette wheel but then he thought that would be silly, like a 5 neck guitar isn’t silly. Rick and his band Cheap Trick are from Rockford, Illinois and were really big in the late 70’s and 80’s. They had hits called Surrender, Dream Police, The Flame and many others including covers of Don’t Be Cruel and Ain’t That A Shame. Ironically they became hugely popular in Japan before even becoming noticed in the U.S. and their breakthrough album was a live concert recorded in Japan called Live at Budokan. They were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and are still listed as active.
On a side note, there is a guitar shop in my neighboring town of Tomah, Wisconsin that is owned by a guy named Barry Clark. Barry is a good friend of Rick Neilson and has showed me pictures of him and Rick jamming at Rick’s house in Rockford. Barry has worked on many of Rick’s guitars. Here’s a great power ballad from Cheap Trick called The Flame. The singer Robin Zander, I think, has one of the best voices in rock, especially for these ballads.
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Tim, thanks for the information. You’re right, Cheap Trick’s ballad is very nice. The band is not that well known here. But I think I’ve heard The Flame and Surrender before, but I couldn’t assign these songs to any band.
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Hi Tim
That was a fun watch of Rick Nielson’s amazing guitar collection. Ended up watching the entire thing. I could get into his mindset of collecting so many guitars he treasures, for the craftsmanship and the memories and stories each one evokes. Collecting nice pens, I feel the same way, each one brings a special memory and unique quality and value. I didn’t know John Lennon was such a big advocate for Cheap Trick helping them get picked up by a record producer. Thanks.
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Jung, I could listen to him talk about guitars for hours. I like his attitude toward collecting too. He doesn’t necessarily go after the most valuable but often just the opposite. Especially in his early years price was a main concern and he bought guitars that were interesting. It seems he got a lot of vintage guitars before they were actually vintage. Interesting too about the time he had with John and Yoko on recording Double Fantasy. There is a bowling alley in Waukesha WI (near Milwaukee) that has a connection to Jack Douglas, Les Paul, Steve Miller, Rick Nielson and others. I’m not sure why but many people with connections in the music industry hung out there. In this interview Rick says that Cheap Trick’s drummer Bun E. Carlos had already been hired by Jack Douglas to work on Double Fantasy. I remember Carlos one time saying he used to go to the bowling alley in Waukesha and I bet it’s where Jack Douglas knew him from. Interesting stuff and that’s what I like is the stories and history behind these guitars.
Do you collect vintage type pens also? Do you go looking for vintage pens? I got into collecting “Hot Wheels” cars just a couple years ago and now have around 2,000. It’s fun and quite inexpensive. I have a few vintage ones but generally go after ones that I just like. I like finding new ones in stores and used ones at Goodwill and a few second hand shops. I have even restored quite a few. I like taking race cars and repainting and detailing them to look like local stock cars. It’s a fun hobby and keeps me off the streets, Lol.
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Hi Tim
2000 Hot Wheel cars, that is impressive! I used to have a small collection, and a little Mattel Hot Wheels suit case that held a dozen cars. Loved the set. Later I got into Sizzlers, do you remember those, they came with a charger that looked like a gas pump, and the cars were about the size of Hot Wheels but with an electric motor, kind of like Tesla’s 😁. I had a cool blue Camaro, but my brothers red Ferrari always beat it around the track. Do you have many Mustangs in your collection of Hot Wheels? My fave car.
I have a few vintage Cross and Parker fountain pens and ball points that span from the 50s to the 80s. I have 1917 vintage Waterman 52 flex fountain pen with an amazing calligraphy flex nib that is my vintage prize pen. I also have a couple of vintage pocket watches from 1905 and 1909 that run and keep time. The 1905 one is solid sterling silver, and gains a couple minutes a day, but is amazing. I really love the craftsmanship of nice pens and watches. I am fascinated with both my 1917 fountain pen and 1905/09 watches, and always makes me wonder about the lives of people that use to own them and held them like I am. As I mentioned earlier, all my pens I’ve acquired over the years and hang onto have special memories now associated with them, some are pricelessly sentimental like my mom’s old Sheaffer fountain pen.
I think MLTs “Junk” captures the essence of the fascination of items from the past that held special meaning to people. Another example of a wonderful gem I never would have experienced if it weren’t for Mona and Lisa. Their version is so beautiful and elegant. The singing is magical.
And speaking of special instruments, the McCartney Hofner Bass and Gretsch Country Gentleman Mona and Lisa used in the video are quite beautiful and impressive.
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Jung
Collecting is fun no matter what it is you collect and we all have prize possessions no matter what their monetary worth. I collect a lot of the cars I’ve always liked, Mustangs, Corvettes, Camaros, 50’s and 60’s models of all makes. I would guess I have around 30 Mustangs but mostly 60’s and 70’s models. I say Hot Wheels but I really mean 1/64 scale diecasts. I remember the Sizzlers but I don’t have one, hmmm, (Ebay). I do have a couple 1/64 scale r/c cars called Pocket Racers. I have bought a lot of cars on Ebay but generally go after “loose lots” of cars where you can get many cars for a minimal price and you end up getting various models and conditions of vehicles. I’ve gotten a lot of interesting cars that way. But, there is still something fun about finding a cool one in the local Walmart or Dollar Tree. In fact yesterday I found a 1964 Lincoln Continental amongst the many “junkie” ones at Walmart. The ones I like the most besides the ones I mentioned are many of the Nascar (stock cars) I have and NHRA drag racers. I have a few vintage ones made in 1968 including “Snake” and “Mongoose” NHRA Funny cars which not only made Hot Wheels a household brand it also promoted drag racing as nothing had done before. I have a few oddball ones like Wisconsin State Patrol car, Packers, Playboy, KISS and a Beatles Mini Cooper. I like the famous cars from movies and TV shows too. I have a few Batmobiles, Lol. I do give a lot of them away to the kids in my family but still have way too many.
I don’t know much about pens but it sounds like you have a very nice collection. I’m glad you hold dear the ones that have sentimental value and hold memories of your loved ones. Some of my cars are replicas of ones my brothers or sisters have owned that hold fond memories. It’s funny how we hold memories of things like cars and pens. I like what you stated about what someone was doing a hundred years ago when they had the same pen in their hand. That’s what I find interesting about vintage things too. I have a 1929 $10 bill from the federal reserve bank in Chicago and sometimes I wonder if Al Capone or John Dillinger ever had it in their pocket.
A few years ago I did some light research on my ancestors first living in New England and coming to Wisconsin via Pennsylvania and Ohio. What interested me more than the names of actual relatives were the dates and times and what was happening in the nation at that time. I had relatives in Connecticut in 1773, 3 years before the revolution. My Great Grandfather on my Mother’s side had served in the Civil War at the onset of the war and my Dad’s Great Grandfather was discharged at the end of the war. These are the things I find fascinating. I wish I had paid more attention in History class when I was in school. I really enjoy reading articles and watching documentaries about American history, especially pioneering days and particularly the history of my area in the Midwest.
I love the song you posted but especially by the Twins. It always amazes me how Paul and John too, could put that much music into a song less than 3 minutes and in this case less than 2 minutes. Mona and Lisa have really continued that with their songwriting also, always combining clever lyrics, vocals, and harmonies with innovative arrangements and always room for a cool guitar solo. I listen to songs like Songbird or Make Show and think there is so much going in that song and then look at the time and think, there is no way that is right. I don’t know how they can put that much music into that short amount of time, but they can.
I love adding music videos to my comments and especially MLT videos. Here’s one that illustrates my statement. This one is a little longer coming in at a little under 4 minutes but there is so much going on with the lyrics, vocals, harmonies and a smokin’ hot guitar solo. I had listened to this song many times but just this fall I was listening with headphones and really noticed the “wah, wah, wahs” at around 0:25, 1:20 and 2:45. I couldn’t believe how cool it was and how much just that little vocal fill added to this already great song. Always learning and hearing new things in these girls songs, very cool.
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Jurgen, have you ever heard of the instrument called the Hurdy Gurdy? Up until I seen this video I never knew what a hurdy gurdy was or that it was even an instrument. It’s a string instrument originally from France that’s played by turning a cylinder and pushing keys to play the notes. To me, the sound is a mixture of violin and bagpipes. I remember the 60’s song by Donovan called the Hurdy Gurdy Man. Thanks to this video, I finally know what he was singing about. Guess you’re never to old to learn.
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I thought I would add a video of Donovan playing Hurdy Gurdy Man. Very interesting page on Wikipedia about the song and especially the recording of it. It may or may not have included three musicians, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and John Bonham pre Led Zeppelin. Apparently, no one is exactly sure as to who’s recording tracks were used on the final mix but all three of the Led Zep musicians are credited by Donovan. He originally wanted Jimi Hendrix to record it but he was unavailable. I really would have loved to hear Jimi Hendrix do the guitar solo at least.
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Good Find Tim,
I know the instrument, but I don’t know Donovan’s song (now I do😀). Thanks for the music video and also for the short documentary about the Hurdy Gurdy. Very informative and interesting. I’m always amazed at what instruments people have developed over time (and how many of them have unfortunately been forgotten). In our country the instrument is called “Drehleier” and is often used for medieval folk music. Bands that love similar music to “Blackmores’s Night”. Patty Gurdy is the stage name of a young musician who lives not far from here and who ultimately dedicated herself to playing the hurdy-gurdy.
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Thanks Jurgen, I think that is really cool that Patty Gurdy is using an ancient instrument to play modern music. I never heard of her before but she is very good at playing it. I watched a few of her videos now and she is very talented. That’s one of the many good things about this MLT Club is sharing music and learning about new artists, instruments etc.
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Jurgen, Tim
The Hurdy Gurdy is an amazing instrument. I have this little music box and as you turn the little lever the barrel activates these mini tuning forks like a piano roll and plays Fur Elise, the hurdy gurdy looks like it, but is much bigger and more complex and and plays a ton of tunes! Patty Gurdy is wonderful with the instrument. Is her last name really Gurdy?
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Hi Jung,
I once received a mini barrel organ like the one you have as a gift. I think it also played “Für Elise”. Back then I was totally fascinated that you could create such a beautiful melody with such simple means. Unfortunately, this barrel organ has been lost over time. Chris newsletter brought the Sharpsichord to my attention. It is a „little“ bigger than our mini barrel organ, but the same principle. The small barrel organ sounds much smoother and more harmonious.
P.S.: no, Patty’s last name is Büchler. Doesn’t sound quite as interesting as Gurdy.
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Hi Jurgen
That music box is simply amazing, and made to play God Only Knows, wow. At one point seeing all those mechanical levers moving to the music was something else. I think Brian Wilson would be quite impressed, and would probably want one if he knew.
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Patty Gurdy (alias Patricia Büchler) has also made guest appearances with various other bands. Here, for example, together with the Israeli progressive metal band Scardust.
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Jurgen, thanks for that video, That is a really good band I never heard of before. I like the 7 string guitar and 5 string bass. Very good musicians and a great sound. Patty Gurdy really adds a lot to it with her fantastic singing and playing. I found another video of Patty playing with the German band called D’artagnan. I think it is so cool when they are using the hurdy gurdy, bagpipes, and violin to play some modern music. I guess you call it prog rock but I think it is good when you can’t exactly put a name on it, I just enjoy it.
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You’re right Tim, ultimately what the music sounds like is much more important than a specific genre. We humans are tempted to give all sorts of things a name. As if we would then understand it better. Thanks for the video of D’Artagnan and Patty Gurdy. A beautiful live performance. I also like this kind of music very much. You might also like the music of Faun. One of the best known representatives of this type of music. They call it Pagan-Folk, well….🙄
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In this piece of music, one of the band members plays another very old and interesting instrument from the Middle Ages: the Nyckelharpa. Maybe you already know it.
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Jurgen, I really like the two videos of Faun, even though I don’t understand the language it doesn’t matter. The music is beautiful and the videos are very well done. The second video is extremely beautiful.
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Tim, I think there are songs where it’s not important to understand the lyrics at all. The singer’s voice simply becomes another instrument and it’s fun just to follow the melody. At least that’s how it is for me.
The first song is about the desire to be free, like birds, and to be carried over the wide land with outstretched wings.
The second song is about Walpurgis Night. The roots of the Walpurgis celebration lie far back in pre-Christian times and go back to Germanic origins. The festival reflects the joy at the end of winter. Sometimes large fires were lit to drive away the evil spirits. For the same purpose, masks and disguises were also worn to frighten the evil spirits. The very brave would jump over the fire. This was supposed to testify to their courage and bring good luck. Perhaps also to purify their souls. It is the springtime counterpart to the autumnal Halloween (which is not traditionally celebrated here). The custom has made it to the present day. We call it dancing into May. On April 30, so-called maypoles are set up. Large wooden poles from which long ribbons hang and around which people dance, as in the music video. The nice thing is that May 1st is an official holiday and you can therefore party into the night.
PS: Witches on broomsticks are said to have been spotted flying through the air on Walpurgis Night. But I think this is just an unconfirmed legend… . Perhaps these were the first UFOs spotted 😄
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Jurgen, I have never heard of Walpurgis night. I have heard of Maypoles and I remember older people speaking of May Day. Many of the pioneers that settled in my area of the States were German so I’m not sure if that’s where those terms come from or not, interesting.
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Forerunners of the modern Nyckelharpa have existed since the Middle Ages. Evidence of the existence of such instruments can be found mainly in Sweden, but also in Denmark, Germany, Austria and Italy. The oldest known illustration of a Nyckelharpa is dated to the year 1350. The musician Thomas Roth, a long-time member of the medieval folk band “Die Geyer”, now interprets the instrument in his own modern way:
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Thanks Jurgen, I never heard of the nyckelharpa before. It is quite an unusual instrument. It almost sounds like an entire string section in one instrument. I started smiling around the 4 minute mark when he started playing Smoke On The Water.
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Originally the Nyckelharpa was probably played more like this traditional Norwegian folk style:
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It’s quite similar to the hurdy gurdy as it uses the many pegs to make the notes but only uses the bow to play the strings. Many more strings on the nyckelharpa. I found one called the tagelharpa which is only a two string bass that make some very low and deep notes. It looks quite simple compared to the nyckelharpa.
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The talharpa doesn’t mean much to me either. It comes from Sweden and Estonia. Thanks for the video. Maybe not suitable as a solo instrument, but like many others bass instruments it was probably used as an accompanying instrument. There is also a Finnish version, the Jouhikko. Although it only has three strings, it can obviously also be used as a solo instrument. If you imagine singing and drumming with it, then it sounds good.
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Jurgen, here’s one of the simplest instruments, a one string, washtub bass. I can remember my brother Rod making and playing one to keep time with my brother Tom playing his guitar. Not as good as the two old boys in the video but just as effective.
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Seeing this two guys playing the one string washtup bass is real fun. A simple idea as for the exmaple the washboard as a music instrument, but very effective.
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I’ve subscribed to Sonic State’s free newsletter for many years. They sent me to classicfm.com for this piece about the 13 strangest instruments. A curious list, including, it seems to have more than 13 instruments. But what caught my eye was the badgermin, #5, which of course, is a cross between a badger and a theremin. What else would it be?
#4, the Octobass is interesting too, since it was created by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the famous Parisian luthier. The only reason I know of him is because one of my favorite violinists, Hilary Hahn, has 2 of his violins, one modeled after Stradivari and another a Guarneri.
These guys seem to be enthused with large instruments. But anyone would love an organ that works by setting it on fire. Reminds me of the old Cheech and Chong skit about a table candle. You put wax on a table. Then you set it on fire.
#13 is the Singing Ringing Tree, which is conveniently located just north of Liverpool in Lancashire.
A lot of these remind me of when I had to roadie a Rhodes (no pun intended) around, way long ago. Big, and mostly, not good for moving around like the Great Stalacpipe Organ or the Sea Organ, neither one of which are going anywhere.
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/weirdest-musical-instruments/
classicfm.com
The 13 weirdest musical instruments ever
The biggest, strangest, most bizarre musical instruments in the world - expect unlikely hybrids, oversized brass and an electronic badger.
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Hi Chris,
thank you for sending the newsletter. Yes, the list of unusual musical instruments only seems to end where people’s imagination ends. I find the Badgermin a little macabre, but The Zadar Sea Organ is a very interesting idea just like the other instruments.
PS: Is there an indication of what level of ripeness the cheese drum should have? Young cheese certainly sounds different than riper cheese. And overripe cheese makes for sure a huge mess…
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Jürgen,
Thanks for that video. That’s interesting. The sea organ. Sounded like it was vamping. Makes me wonder what instrument you should bring to jam with it. Pretty much whatever you want, I would guess. Someone needs to improvise on top of that. Wonder what it’s like when a storm kicks up.
I can imagine getting booked for a gig, and they would expect me to carry one of those up a few flights of stairs into the hall. Sorry – old memories, too many trips with a Rhodes.
And now I’m wondering if it’s possible to find more vids for the other instruments as well, to hear what they sound like. I’ll bet it is.
As far as the cheese goes, I’m no affineur. But, I would think too young of a cheese wouldn’t work at all, it’d be too firm. Can’t have sound without vibration. And as you said, too ripe would just be a mess. So, you would want cheeses, that were – á point.
Of course.
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Yes Chris you bet right, the other instruments are sure to be found somewhere.
Not everything is cheese that you’ll find on YouTube, but the following video somehow is. I already thought that it was Gouda that was processed in the drum. This cheese tastes best when matured. 😀
PS: The Octobass in action can be found on page 4 of this topic.
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There are a number of vids of this one, the Singing Ringing Tree from Lancashire.
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The cello horn that was listed in Chris’s newsletter, dates from the 1930s. It belongs to a group of amplifying instruments invented in the days when records were made acoustically (without electricity, microphones, etc.) One manufacturer was named Stroh. This film was made in Britain in the early 1930s. An attachment was available for every stringed instrument, from string bass to ukulele.
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The master organ builder Christian Kögler used a woodcut from 1518 as a model for this instrument, which shows the then Emperor Maximilan I with his court orchestra. The organist in that picture was playing on an apple shelf. It was so named because the gold-plated bells were made from apple wood.
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Hi Jurgen, that organ and the sounds playing it is beautiful. It shows how the organ operates with the air baffles. Those big church organs are built similarly it looks like, except the air bag is hidden behind the walls.
I came across some very interesting instruments from the 18th Century. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sisters harpsichord and piano survive today, and here they perform one of Mozart’s pieces on it.
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