Collecting Unique
Musical Instruments
By Ron McCluskey
Those of us in western civilizations are accustomed to a large
variety of instruments. However, there are many types of instruments
that you will never see in any orchestra. They are, however, worth
your consideration, both for their uniqueness of structure, but of
sound.
One of the things that I really wanted to do in Borneo was bring
home a number of the stringed instruments that I saw in the shops of
Kuching, Sarawak - the sape. But, I did not have enough money at the
time.The sape or sapeh is a guitar type instrument shaped somewhat
more like a lute. It normally has four strings, but occaisionally
has 3 or 5.
Several of the tribes in Borneo use this instrument. I saw one man
in the Sarawak Cultural Village that made them. He gave us a short
concert that was simply enchanting.The sound that was much more
common in our travels in Sarawak was the combination of brass gongs
and drums. The gongs are sold by Chinese traders up and down the
rivers and so at least one set is found in every longhouse. A set of
these gongs would be a good addition to any musical instrument
collection.
Musical instruments are typically found in three different groups -
string, wind, and percussion. They can be further divided by the
type of material they are made of and whether they are designed to
play melody or for rhythm.
One unique string instrument that would make a great collectors item
would be the gopichand. This unique instrument has a single string
and it is held tight by two strips of bamboo. The bamboo is then
squeezed together to change the tone of the note. It is typically
used for rhythm. This intrument is from Bengal.
Another unique string instrument is the Veena from southern India.
This instrument has resonance chambers at each end. The Veena (also
called Vina) is somewhat like a lute and has a sound like a very
mellow sitar.
There is one type of instrument that you may already have and not
realize it. That is the rain stick. It is made of a hollow tube of
wood - often bamboo - with beeds or seeds in it. You tip it back and
forth to make a soothing sound.
Another type of instrument that is commonly taken home without
thinking of it as being a musical instrument is the thumb piano or
kalimba. These strange instruments are made by attaching strips of
metal into a sounding board. These are then plucked in a downward
motion of the thumb to make a tone. They are different sizes so that
a melody can be played.
Something that I've tried to play a couple of times is the
didgeridoo. I would love to become adept at playing this unique
instrument. It is basically just a tube that the Australian
aborigines use to produce a delightfully soulful sound by blowing in
it. This one definitely goes in the rhythm section because there is
not really any tune possible.
Drums come in all shapes and sizes and make noise in more ways than
you can imagine. You could make a very interesting collection just
of these instruments.
You may not decide to make a large collection of unique musical
instruments, but you should definitely put them on your list of
things to consider bringing home.
Our family has traveled on every continent in the world. You
will want to read about our adventures at I
Love Travel Vacations.
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