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A piano turned on its side and tuned to three different chords struck by a huge rubber mallet became the "Piano Basher". It is played by one of their members during a version of The Who's "Baba O'Riley". Long PVC pipes twisted in to a curved apparatus played by hitting it with flat hammers is the newest creation. It is slung over the performer with a harness so he can still move about.

Leo Theremin invented a device played by waving ones hands over it and along a vertical antennae. You can hear this instrument played in the Beach Boys hit, "Good Vibrations". Theremin was reportedly amused that someone in pop culture was using his instrument.

Another exotic instrument is the Moog Synthesizer. The Moog Synthesizer is an organ-like device that uses tape loops to reproduce sounds that were prerecorded. Mike Pinder, formerly of the Moody Blues, is the most well known player of this instrument and the sound became their signature. They stopped using it when electronic synthesizers came out, because the tapes kept breaking and Pinder would periodically have to stop during a show to tape all the bits together again.

Perhaps the most unusual instrument I've seen is the Glass Harmonica. This bears no resemblence to the mouth organs with the same name. The Glass Harmonica is a series of ascending sized lead crystal discs mounted on a turning dowel. It is played by touching one's fingertips to the edges. Run your finger around the rim of a crystal glass, and you'll hear what this instrument sounds like. The sound is ethereal and beautiful. The instrument, popular in Benjamin Franklin's time, was outlawed in that time period because the players eventually went mad. Today, we know that lead poisoning affects the mind. Linda Rondstadt had a Glass Harmonica player on one of her tours, and in every city, she had his blood levels tested. When they rose too high, she cut those numbers from the set to allow his body time to lower the lead levels.

Creativity and imagination are all that one needs to invent a new instrument. The world will find a way to use it.

Learn more about this author, Liane Laskoske.
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