One hang is not enough for Manu Delago, check out this solo where he uses three different tunings of hang to construct one amazing bit of percussion music!

After this video, click here and check out Dante Bucci on the hang.

Typically made of bamboo, the rich soulful sound of this Japanese flute more than hints at the spiritual history of the instrument. For Zen Buddhist monks during the medieval period, the common use of shakuhachi was as much for meditation as it was for music.

Today, in Hollywood the shakuhachi is a somewhat commonly used instrument in many films of Japanese setting. Enjoy this performance by Tadashi Tajima in Osaka, Japan.

After the video, Nathan Lee is ready to kick it up a notch with his Beatboxing Flute.

Thumb pianos such as the kalimba are popular throughout Africa, as Hugh Tracey discovered on his journeys. Inspired by these instruments he modified the instrument and introduced his version to the western world.

After the video, Click Here and see another original music instrument.

Nathan Lee needs no instrument, though in this video he has one. Beatboxing is nothing new, but the style certainly is… Check out what Nathan Lee beatboxing with a flute!

Then Click Here after the video and check out a very different sort of wind instrument.

Throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle-East, the hammered dulcimer is a long-time favorite, of course each version having its own unique cultural sound.  In Thailand it is called the khim, in Hungary the cimbalom, in China the yangqin.

This video features the santoor, a Tibetan hammered dulcimer, performed by Shivkumar Sharma and Rahul Sharma.

After the video Click Here to check out this other world string instrument.

Just one in a long line of mbira-inspired instruments, the array mbira is a western take on an ancient instrument.

Sacred music instrument of Zimbabwe, the mbira is frequently played at religious ceremonies and social gatherings.  The instrument is common all throughout Africa, and recently western versions have been produced, namely the kalimba and specifically the Hugh Tracey.

After the video, Click Here and check out the kalimba, close cousin of the mbira.

Since the 16th century, the shamisen has been a popular fixture of music in Japan.  The 3 string instrument is commonly played both with and without accompaniment, as it goes great with many other instruments as well as by itself.

This is a video of dueling shamisen.  Enjoy! After the video, Click Here to check out another world instrument.

The story of the hang is quite an exceptional one.

First off, we’ll leave it to your discretion, but I think it’s safe to say that the hang is one of the most entertaining and creative instruments ever made.  Secondly, the hang is produced just by the 2 original inventors, so simply coming across one is itself a great feat that involves months of waiting, a trip to Switzerland, and thousands of dollars cash.

Because of this, several hang-inspired alternatives have hit the market, among them the HAPI resting on my couch, and the tongue drums made in the backyard… melodic percussion instruments are the greatest!

After watching the video, Click Here to check out the HAPI.

The tongue drum goes back thousands and thousands of years within many African, Asian and South American cultures.  Originally made of hollowed-out trees, the tongue drum is classified as an idiophone, which is a type of instrument whose sound is made by the vibration of itself, and so is part of the first group of instruments ever created (except of course for the human voice).

Here is a glimpse at a modern tongue drum, crafted using modern technology. After the video, Click Here to check out an unusual performance of another world instrument.

By no means am I any kind of master with the HAPI in my hands, but I sure can have some fun with it!  This blog is dedicated to unique music worldwide and features many musicians playing their unusual and amazing instruments, this video is one of mine. 

Along with playing unusual instruments, I make a few as well. My favorites are tongue drums and kalimbas.

After the video, Click Here and check out the first tongue drum I made, it’s the first of many to come.