# Songs played on non-instrument objects **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2026, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766 "2026-01-17T05:14:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/21 "2026-01-17T08:22:20Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’m not sure if the OP considers vehicle horns as musical instruments or not. I think it’s a valid example for this thread. Queen’s _Bicycle Race_ uses cycle bells. Wouldn’t have thought of that without you post. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/22 "2026-01-17T08:49:13Z")
When my Dad went stereo shopping, he carried along a cd of the [1812 overture.](https://youtu.be/VbxgYlcNxE8?list=RDVbxgYlcNxE8) He wanted to hear how well the speakers could produce the cannons. (about 12 minutes in.) ---
**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:** [January 17, 2026, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/23 "2026-01-17T11:17:54Z")
I’m still not quite sure what the OP is after, and I can’t think of a specific song, but of some objects that are sometimes used. Jug bands blow on jugs, skiffle and folk bands use washboards played with a thimble and sometimes paper-covered combs blown on, and I have seen people playing songs on water-filled (wine) glasses by rubbing their fingers on the rims. And what about steel drums? Originally they were modified oil barrels. ETA: the mentioning of “Money” reminded me of the fact that before recording “Dark Side Of The Moon”, Pink Floyd tried to produce a whole album exclusively using non-instrument common objects. The working title was “Household Objects”. They soon gave up. > **[“The sounds of plucked elastic bands and scraping broomsticks are the last...](https://www.loudersound.com/features/pink-floyd-lost-album-household-objects)** > > For over three decades, a two-minute clip of tuned wine glasses was the only sign of a project begun in 1980 and finally abandoned four years later ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/24 "2026-01-17T11:38:34Z")
[Beat It](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B522GbH3D8), played on floppy drives. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/25 "2026-01-17T11:49:00Z")
PDQ Bach’s Concerto for Horn and Hardart. The Hardart was an automat, a kind of vending machine. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NT6bxlnS1Is/maxresdefault.jpg "Concerto For Horn And Hardart, S. 27") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT6bxlnS1Is) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/26 "2026-01-17T11:54:28Z")
In Phish’s “I Didn’t Know,” the drummer plays a vacuum cleaner. (also heard at the end of “Bouncing Around the Room.”) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lw2EIdgd3Yg/maxresdefault.jpg "I Didn't Know") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2EIdgd3Yg) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/27 "2026-01-17T12:18:37Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Jug bands blow on jugs, skiffle and folk bands use washboards played with a thimble and sometimes paper-covered combs blown on, and I have seen people playing songs on water-filled (wine) glasses by rubbing their fingers on the rims. And what about steel drums? Originally they were modified oil barrels. This is what @Beckdawrek was alluding to above, when she paged me. I play the spoons, hence my username. They’re a percussion instrument. I’ve played them to British and Irish traditional; Canadian Newfoundland, Maritime, and Ontario traditional; and Bluegrass and American Applachian tradional. Some Australian tunes fit also, but I’ve never had the opportunity to play spoons in Australia. I have played in the US and Canada, however. But I wouldn’t say that you can play a song on them, in the way steel drums can be played to produce a melody. Oh, I can modify my style and playing to produce different sounds, but it’s always with a band that plays the genres I mentioned above. A spoons solo sound like a spoons solo. “Click-pop-clickety-slam-pop.” Not terribly interesting, unless I’ve got a band behind me. But when I do, it’s Katie bar the door. Do I—do we, the band and I—ever have fun! In the end, if you ever have me over as a guest in your home, inventory the silverware before I arrive. You might find that you’re missing a couple of spoons when the evening concludes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/28 "2026-01-17T12:30:40Z")
“Ave Maria” - played on piano….and saw. [Musical saw - Ave Maria - Schubert - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqErKy1x6yM&list=RDaqErKy1x6yM&start_radio=1) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/29 "2026-01-17T12:33:52Z")
Einstürzende Neubauten play (in addition to traditional instruments) [various non-instruments](https://xlr8r.com/gear/70-4/) such as power tools, industrial ducting, steel sheets, springs, water tanks, shopping carts… Here’s [an early piece](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odKf7_sA5HQ) that really gets the effect across, here’s a [later full concert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iCMTtPf7BI). ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/30 "2026-01-17T13:03:30Z")
Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” was based on a recording of someone playing a piano bench. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/31 "2026-01-17T13:06:02Z")
Here’s Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D Minor [played on glasses partially filled with water](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDm4IphrlYg). Remarkably good. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/32 "2026-01-17T13:36:00Z")
Cage’s 4’33" is best-known as being four minutes and 33 seconds of silence, but the original intent wasn’t that the silence itself was the piece: Rather, the audience would spend that time listening to whatever other ambient sounds were present in the venue. So I suppose you could say that it was intended to be played on non-instrument objects? Just not known in advance which non-instruments. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/33 "2026-01-17T14:01:10Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > This is what @Beckdawrek was alluding to above, when she paged me. I play the spoons, hence my username. Yeah, I knew that and understood @Beckdawrek’s allusion. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/34 "2026-01-17T15:25:12Z")
We absolutely have to mention Cage, but we should not forget his use of slightly more existent non-instruments such as in _Imaginary Landscape #4._ As for later experimental music (I do not mean Cage), I have seen things like amplifiers/signal processors fed from EEG signals, hooked up to potted plants, you name it. Sometimes the musician even knew what they were doing and got an intriguing result 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/35 "2026-01-17T15:43:48Z")
[Heywood Banks playing the toaster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHptn_3RyYE). [Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz playing the accordion case](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkouut-9RQ&list=RDtZkouut-9RQ&t=65s). ---
**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:** [January 17, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/36 "2026-01-17T15:48:27Z")
Your table manners are a cryin’ shame You’re playin’ with your food; this ain’t some kind of game Now if you starve to death, you’ll just have yourself to blame, So eat it! Don’t you tell me you’re full! — Weird Al ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/37 "2026-01-17T15:48:56Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I’m still not quite sure what the OP is after, and I can’t think of a specific song, but of some objects that are sometimes used. It sounds, based on the below, that he’s looking for songs where use of a non-instrument was an explicit, original choice by the composer/original artist, rather than cover versions of songs (in which the original version/composition used traditional instruments) which use non-instruments: > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > 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? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/38 "2026-01-17T15:49:06Z")
One of my favorites. Gentle Giant using sound effects of breaking glass as percussion. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/D3t4fUHZJUA/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/D3t4fUHZJUA?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLKIqJ44QpT4xYBRc8LZ3lPSAo6Ku76mx7 ---
**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:** [January 17, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/39 "2026-01-17T15:52:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It sounds, based on the below, that he’s looking for songs where use of a non-instrument was an explicit, original choice by the composer/original artist, rather than cover versions of songs (in which the original version/composition used traditional instruments) which use non-instruments: Ah, thank you, I first misunderstood the passage you quoted. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766/40 "2026-01-17T16:08:00Z")
Malcom Arnold’s “A Grand, Grand Overture” includes parts for vacuum cleaners and floor polishers. “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “Hardware Store” begins with the sounds of various hand tools - likely an homage to Pink Floyd’s “Money,” mentioned above. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DFI6cV9slfI/maxresdefault.jpg "Hardware Store") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFI6cV9slfI) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-played-on-non-instrument-objects/1026766.md?page=3)