The range of available percussion instruments is both wide and varied. Basically, if you can hit or shake it, it is a percussion instrument. Owing to this definition, there are many unique and often unusual forms of percussion instruments. Today’s blog will list two of the more unusual items that have been constructed to bring additional “colour” to the percussionist’s musical canvas.

This first item is not an unusual percussion instrument per se, however, it certainly was made of an unusual material. As some have already commented, this is the “coolest” drum set ever. This is also a great drum solo.

And another video featuring the ice drums:

It is quite amazing that they could make a drum set from blocks of ice. I wonder who first thought of the idea of doing that. I really like the drum solos on these videos. The drums actually sound surprisingly good for shells made of frozen water. After all that work, it is a shame what happens to them at the end of the video.

The next video clip features an instrument from Brazil called a berimbau. It is commonly used to accompany capoeira, a Brazilian martial art. The berimbau consists of a wooden bow with a steel wire attached to it. At the bottom of the bow, a hollow gourd is attached to serve as a resonator.

The player hits the wire with a stick held in one hand. In the other hand, the player holds a coin or washer that is moved up and down the wire, thus altering the pitch. Alternately holding the open end of the gourd against the abdomen and then moving it away can produce a “wah-wah” effect. The player will also often hold a small basket shaker called a caxixi.

If you know of any other unusual percussion instruments, we would love to hear from you. Perhaps we can build an interesting and extensive list of these fascinating items. If you would like to contribute, please use our “Contact Us” form to give us the details.

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