What's your favorite name for a musical instrument?

Mine is sackbut.

Heheheh. Sackbut.

Bombardon. Careful how you say it at the airport.

I came in here to say that. Damn.

Theremin. Or calliope.

Sweet potato is a good one.

Tiple. Tee-play!

Composer Harry Partch had some good ones:

Cloud Chamber Bowls
Harmonic Canons
Quadrangularus Reversum

Ukelele (Hawaiian for “jumping flea”) is cute.

Sexophone.

Hurdy Gurdy

Don’t forget the Chromelodeon!

I heard a concert of Partch’s work on his instruments a few months ago. Great stuff!

It’s a toss-up between bratsche and fagott.

Or maybe just violin :slight_smile:

Vibraslap - It just sounds dirty doesn’t it?

Whereas the whip just is!

dulcimer

zither.

Rummelpot / rommelpot.
Rackett.

Flugelhorn

It sounds like something a Dr. Seuss character plays on Christmas morning.

The “Bumba” of course.

Invented by none other than the late Ervin A. Callies (aka “Curley the Bumba King”)

I has never heard of him until he came into a store I was working at in Milwaukee back in 88’. He had a windbreaker on that said “The Bumba King” in big letters on the back. A co-worker said “Hey look, it’s the Bumba King.” I said “What’s a bumba?” He replied “It’s an instrument the use in polka bands.”
“Really?” I asked, “What does it sound like?”
to which my friend answered “Bumba-bumba-bumba!”:slight_smile:

Timpani.

To me, it sounds like a tiny, delicate instrument but it’s really great big kettle drums. Go figure. :slight_smile:

Well, I came in here to say sackbut, but I guess now that it was said in the first post I’ll say ophicleide instead.

Even though I am no longer interested in playing one, “Stratocaster” is just all kinds of cool as a name…