Songs played on non-instrument objects

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.

When my Dad went stereo shopping, he carried along a cd of the 1812 overture. He wanted to hear how well the speakers could produce the cannons. (about 12 minutes in.)

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.

Beat It, played on floppy drives.

PDQ Bach’s Concerto for Horn and Hardart. The Hardart was an automat, a kind of vending machine.

In Phish’s “I Didn’t Know,” the drummer plays a vacuum cleaner. (also heard at the end of “Bouncing Around the Room.”)

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. :wink:

“Ave Maria” - played on piano….and saw. Musical saw - Ave Maria - Schubert - YouTube

Einstürzende Neubauten play (in addition to traditional instruments) various non-instruments such as power tools, industrial ducting, steel sheets, springs, water tanks, shopping carts…
Here’s an early piece that really gets the effect across, here’s a later full concert.

Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” was based on a recording of someone playing a piano bench.

Here’s Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D Minor played on glasses partially filled with water. Remarkably good.

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.

Yeah, I knew that and understood @Beckdawrek’s allusion. :wink:

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 :slight_smile:

Heywood Banks playing the toaster.

Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz playing the accordion case.

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

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:

One of my favorites. Gentle Giant using sound effects of breaking glass as percussion.

Ah, thank you, I first misunderstood the passage you quoted.

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.