What are some tunes played on objects that aren’t generally considered to be musical instruments?
An example is The Typewriter by Leroy Anderson. Typewriters are not a usual part of an orchestra. But in this tune the sounds of the clicking of the keys, the sliding of the carriage and the bell all form part of the composition.
Gotta love Liberace’s performance
Leader of the Pack features the revs of a real motorcycle.
The 1812 overture features real gunpowder explosions.
Any others?
Note - I don’t want examples such as people playing a saw like a cello. That would only count if the composer specifically intended the piece to be played on saws.
The opening of Pink Floyd’s “Money” uses money-related sounds for the initial rhythm: a cash register, jingling change, an adding machine, and tearing paper (assumed to be paper currency).
Interesting in their way, but just to remind you it isn’t quite what I’m after. The Typewriter was always intended to be played on a real typewriter. The “under pressure” song above was always intended to be played on a pressure washer (I presume). But the writer of La Cucaracha never imagined it to be played on a musical road. Nor did the creator of “I ain’t got nobody” specifically intend it to be played on whisk brooms and a can. (At least I don’t think he did). See the difference between them?
In Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” at the end of each verse and chorus, there is a series of four “clang” sounds. It’s not a cowbell, or any traditional percussion instrument: it’s drummer Bev Bevan striking the fire extinguisher behind his drumkit with a drumstick.
Gershwin’s An American in Paris uses a French taxi horn, and the third movement of Respighi’s Pines of Rome uses a recording of a nightingale. (Depending on your definition of musical instrument, that may not fit the criteria of the OP.)
Similarly, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass’s Tijuana Taxi features a bicycle horn. And, agreed, I’m not sure if the OP considers vehicle horns as musical instruments or not.
