Strange Musical Instruments You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

By J. E. Nogie•2026-02-27•0 min read

A deep dive into rare, experimental and historic sound-makers — how they work, where to hear them, and why they’re so fascinating. Includes image placeholders and links to museum pages and demos.

Singing Ringing Tree (Wind Sculpture, England)

Singing Ringing Tree, Lancashire — steel pipe wind sculpture (placeholder) — The **Singing Ringing Tree** (Burnley, England) — a galvanized steel "tree" whose tuned pipes sing when the wind blows.

The Singing Ringing Tree is a public sound-sculpture made from stacked, tuned steel pipes. Wind passing through its hollow branches excites resonances, producing eerie harmonic whistles and chordal textures, much like a giant Aeolian harp. Built in 2006 by architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu, it demonstrates how architecture can become an instrument played by weather.

Learn more: Wikipedia — Singing Ringing Tree

Sea Organ (Wave-Driven Organ, Zadar, Croatia)

Sea Organ, Zadar — waves drive pipes under the promenade (placeholder) — The **Sea Organ** at Zadar: hidden chambers and tubes under marble steps make music from waves.

The Sea Organ uses wave motion to push air through buried resonating chambers and pipes. Each incoming swell "plays" a note or chord by compressing air into tuned cavities; the result is an ever-changing ambient organ voiced by the sea itself.

Official info and videos: Zadar Tourist Board — Sea Organ

Great Stalacpipe Organ (Luray Caverns, USA)

Great Stalacpipe Organ at Luray Caverns (placeholder) — The **Great Stalacpipe Organ** taps tuned stalactites with solenoid mallets — the cave becomes a lithophone.

Invented by Leland W. Sprinkle in the 1950s, this console-controlled instrument connects keys to rubber-tipped mallets that strike selected stalactites. Each chosen stalactite was tuned by careful selection or trimming; when struck they ring like bells across the cave chamber, producing a uniquely cavernous timbre.

See the history: Luray Caverns — Great Stalacpipe Organ

Octobass (Gargantuan Bowed String)

Octobass — enormous bowed string instrument (placeholder) — The **Octobass**, designed by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, towers over other string instruments and produces earth-shaking low pitches.

The octobass is an enormous bowed instrument (over 3 meters tall) with massive strings vibrating an octave below the double bass. Because players cannot reach the fingerboard by hand, it uses mechanical levers and clamps operated by the feet and hands to change pitch. Only a few originals exist, and it rarely appears in normal orchestral literature — but when played, it provides a seismic bottom register.

Background: Wikipedia — Octobass

Glass Armonica (Benjamin Franklin’s Invention)

Glass Armonica — nested spinning glass bowls (placeholder) — The **glass armonica** (or glass harmonica) produces ethereal tones by rubbing wet fingers on spinning glass bowls.

Benjamin Franklin mounted graduated glass bowls on an axle so they rotated together; touching the rims with moistened fingers creates pure, haunting tones. Popular in the 18th century (Mozart and Beethoven wrote for it), the sound later faded from mainstream use — but modern performers and museums keep it alive.

Franklin Institute & history: Franklin Institute — Glass Armonica

Additional Oddities (Short List)

Theremin — Wikipedia
Ondes Martenot — Wikipedia
Glass harp (water glasses)
Baschet waterphone
Jew’s harp (jaw harp)

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly makes an instrument "strange"?

"Strange" usually means uncommon in mainstream music, unusual in sound-production (water, wind, fire, plasma, brainwaves), limited in number (few makers or surviving examples), or site-specific installations.

Can I hear these instruments online or in person?

Many have recorded demos and performance videos online. Several are also installed publicly or in museums.