Unusual Instruments

After being formed in 1998 and with 11 orchestra members, the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra plays music on instruments made entirely out of fresh vegetables.

The strange yet unique ensemble was founded in 1998. They create their weird instruments before every show by carving, peeling and slicing fresh vegetables. They use celeriac bongos, carrot recorders and the multi-vegetable 'cucumber phone' to play everything from contemporary to house, jazz to classical.

Another unique and strange creation is known as The Car Music Project. It was started in 1991 by composer Bill Milbrodt when his Honda Accord was ending its life a battered and tired car. Guitars and trombones amongst many other normal instruments are made up from old cars and played around the country. 

Milbrodt explains his musical instrument creation was derived from the more modern way of being cautious about the environment and recycling. It was time to turn tired old bangers into weird yet wonderful musical instruments.

As well as cars and vegetables being used as instruments so are fences. Jon Rose built and played a barbwire fence in Finland as part of the New Music Festival in 1995.

As well as all these strange creations something as simple as a blade of grass can be transformed into a musical instrument by placing the grass between two thumbs and blowing sharply.