# Musicians playing instruments in unusual ways **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 11, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440 "2023-12-11T19:37:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/21 "2023-12-12T11:37:01Z")
Here’s one … [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/veH-hyWMSbo/hqdefault.jpg "Goofus - Cumberland Ridge Runners (circa 1932-35)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veH-hyWMSbo) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/22 "2023-12-12T12:01:13Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Back in the day “hipsters” would play a bass by plucking the strings instead of using a bow. Is that considered unusual on a bowed string instrument? Pizzicato is more rare on the piano, cf. Henry Cowell. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/23 "2023-12-12T12:40:59Z")
Thanks. I watched that just last week while reading **Country and Midwestern** , but couldn’t remember the group’s name. I believe that’s Stan Laurel with them. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/24 "2023-12-12T14:06:38Z")
Or reaching inside the piano to strum the strings directly for “Just Take A Pebble.” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/25 "2023-12-12T15:39:36Z")
Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel plays his guitar with a violin here. Does that count? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OCYS24uBu28/maxresdefault.jpg "Spinal Tap Parodies Jimmy Page + Led Zeppelin — Plays Guitar w/ Violin — "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCYS24uBu28) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/26 "2023-12-12T15:42:14Z")
I love funk, and Scary Pockets really knows funk. I especially enjoy Swatkins “playing” the talkbox (even though I’m not 100% sure about what it is) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qRQvnCSGffo/maxresdefault.jpg "How Deep Is Your Love | funk Talk Box cover ft. Swatkins & Frankfurt Radio Big Band") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRQvnCSGffo) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/27 "2023-12-12T16:49:52Z")
These guys are doing all kinds of horrible things to a defenseless piano: > **[Angels We Have Heard on High (Christmas w/ 32 fingers and 8 thumbs) - The...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n543eKIdbUI%2F)** > > ► Get our albums: https://smarturl.it/TPG\_ALBUMS► WE'RE ON TOUR! https://smarturl.it/tpgtour► TPG APPAREL: http://smarturl.it/tpgapparel► SHOP OUR AMAZON STO... ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/28 "2023-12-12T17:32:08Z")
Are “Funk Fingers” unusual enough? > **[Funk fingers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_fingers)** > > Funk Fingers are a kind of drumstick that attach to the fingers of a bass player for producing percussive, funky sounds on a bass guitar. They were created by Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Liquid Tension Experiment) and his guitar tech, Andy Moore. The aim was to recreate the effect of drumming on the strings of one's bass as done by drummer Jerry Marotta for Peter Gabriel's song “Big Time” when recording the album So. They later appeared on the songs “Steam” and “Secret World”, also ... ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/29 "2023-12-12T17:56:07Z")
Not sure if this counts since they’re not actually playing but still… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/F880hu2pYaQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Trombone section suicide routine") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F880hu2pYaQ&t=18) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/30 "2023-12-12T18:06:42Z")
[Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom doing their two guitar slash routine.](https://youtu.be/33cPGpTsdzE?feature=shared&t=225) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/31 "2023-12-12T18:28:51Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Of course, Jimmy Page used to use a bow on his Les Paul guitar. Didn’t do much for me and I sure wouldn’t want to play a concert with all that rosin on the strings. The parts where he did this on “Dazed And Confused” on all versions I know are the most boring parts in a tedious song in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/32 "2023-12-12T20:37:30Z")
Sonic Youth was known for its habit of jamming a stick or a screwdriver or whatever caught their eye under the strings of their guitars to see how that would influence the sound. Some of their songs they could only play on the one specific guitar that they had uniquely prepared. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/33 "2023-12-13T01:02:17Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Or reaching inside the piano to strum the strings directly for “Just Take A Pebble.” Which many people (in my experience) who had never seen it done, assumed was an autoharp. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/34 "2023-12-13T01:09:25Z")
OK, seems like “prepared” or modified instruments are allowed. At any rate, this popped up on my YouTube feed the other day, and I was completely awed by it. Some dude modified his Clavinet with a giant whammy-bar type controller. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IUDUCTsXPiE/maxresdefault.jpg "Voodoo Child (Hendrix) - Lachy Doley LIVE - Studios 301 Sessions") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDUCTsXPiE) ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/35 "2023-12-13T15:20:08Z")
The Nice had a bass player (and singer) who used a violin bow. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/36 "2023-12-13T16:58:30Z")
Postmodern Jukebox - All About That Bass Two musicians on a single bass, queued to the start of it. The song is pretty amazing in its own right. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aLnZ1NQm2uk/maxresdefault.jpg "All About That Bass - Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLnZ1NQm2uk&t=144/) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/37 "2023-12-13T17:00:19Z")
Apparently embedding means you can’t queue it to the right spot, or edit. The bass part starts at 144 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/38 "2023-12-13T18:06:03Z")
Sure you can ! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aLnZ1NQm2uk/maxresdefault.jpg "All About That Bass - Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLnZ1NQm2uk&t=146) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/39 "2023-12-13T18:11:24Z")
I saw sax player Gilad Atzmon (who also plays with [the Blockheads !](https://youtu.be/gp3DMxJQ7Vo)) playing his soprano sax into an upright piano. It gives excellent reverb ! Unfortunately i can’t find any video of him, or anyone else, doing it ☹ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440/40 "2023-12-13T19:33:59Z")
Stretching the category a bit: Rick Derringer and Mark Cunningham tossing their guitars to each other mid-song. They were one of the first groups to use wireless guitar transmitters. [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV87kjLOd9daYZeERsjeQJFSns1FrDF3fKUs5242jTl7zexKnERj55IANDu6yNjZ2HMZ40xNFzsiUK4WOOFiidEsW-6O7cZSwGEMo7UCRqe4FGJRWx_nZdXv2TBLmGDPloleI4gqksI-K4BXuPhJi6GdS4_4aBeIc1dg5oOJrViNHlJOT4og6ZwzY6wIzDrvzpabSAgowcqwqgFtim46YJ32SBT2JPyZ0vLXHBvw76JULbGVt5-zIL41ARAFgwxy4rKBPvv5KycwS7BWqq5ni_jaX_GKe9RCmwZirtDNExgcr_FdaIZiZ-57Udm_5LtdaOdkgXabHt5ff6IjPTqgfrWZZVs7on1EqUckFFJeudG9VCpBEh5PPslIVaneI-oxCFgscAO9H-mGoDIA505gMIO2qO8RGjjQnFCsg9Sw3NJASIxtUnbojUaNXjvMwIohV2Fwvll8ZLQxHfxfgkTWNhiisFRW1VgZ-8ir-iUGZSHw9l1y65lAOedc0KPJue27Nxva_x16dzoh6gHch4CBmJIWQ9Q8qQ35yQ2pltlnNiOPcokW7CumBa4m4Qg81kJIOQDZdiaFRp_phTskHgY92pMNFTQHEOZrS4pDGwN3mBm-ttrlw60NWOYK9p4hKktnt7rRczS49Rlr3XWulBXDx3KHYg-jBKQLDxM2QCNtRRffsp-9_XwvyQN06p_hbrA9KinJcg0VI7J8UJJ03xWv0mkSoZhFk4sWbsFCvqdald_ydiyxL1Afoh0jGnoRTVwO61BAXpmtPhDqS7FDiSgF6D995SNMCT5qgQ5e99-Xuz4ICDJ38Wa_aTvHuLiBPYOVnZZWwAq3UDSqZT_Gx1KGPdqB3gop--Cajm5TRgGBRhXg0rwOGL7O6dPzvUDz_PFO402lOsqdo4om9BT2XG1lUGpcfx3Ca_URiljeikNKhQtyS=w636-h379-s-no?authuser=0) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV87kjLOd9daYZeERsjeQJFSns1FrDF3fKUs5242jTl7zexKnERj55IANDu6yNjZ2HMZ40xNFzsiUK4WOOFiidEsW-6O7cZSwGEMo7UCRqe4FGJRWx_nZdXv2TBLmGDPloleI4gqksI-K4BXuPhJi6GdS4_4aBeIc1dg5oOJrViNHlJOT4og6ZwzY6wIzDrvzpabSAgowcqwqgFtim46YJ32SBT2JPyZ0vLXHBvw76JULbGVt5-zIL41ARAFgwxy4rKBPvv5KycwS7BWqq5ni_jaX_GKe9RCmwZirtDNExgcr_FdaIZiZ-57Udm_5LtdaOdkgXabHt5ff6IjPTqgfrWZZVs7on1EqUckFFJeudG9VCpBEh5PPslIVaneI-oxCFgscAO9H-mGoDIA505gMIO2qO8RGjjQnFCsg9Sw3NJASIxtUnbojUaNXjvMwIohV2Fwvll8ZLQxHfxfgkTWNhiisFRW1VgZ-8ir-iUGZSHw9l1y65lAOedc0KPJue27Nxva_x16dzoh6gHch4CBmJIWQ9Q8qQ35yQ2pltlnNiOPcokW7CumBa4m4Qg81kJIOQDZdiaFRp_phTskHgY92pMNFTQHEOZrS4pDGwN3mBm-ttrlw60NWOYK9p4hKktnt7rRczS49Rlr3XWulBXDx3KHYg-jBKQLDxM2QCNtRRffsp-9_XwvyQN06p_hbrA9KinJcg0VI7J8UJJ03xWv0mkSoZhFk4sWbsFCvqdald_ydiyxL1Afoh0jGnoRTVwO61BAXpmtPhDqS7FDiSgF6D995SNMCT5qgQ5e99-Xuz4ICDJ38Wa_aTvHuLiBPYOVnZZWwAq3UDSqZT_Gx1KGPdqB3gop--Cajm5TRgGBRhXg0rwOGL7O6dPzvUDz_PFO402lOsqdo4om9BT2XG1lUGpcfx3Ca_URiljeikNKhQtyS=w636-h379-s-no?authuser=0) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-playing-instruments-in-unusual-ways/994440.md?page=3)