Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day Date in the current year: July 31, 2024

Musical instruments have been around since prehistoric times. The first object that archaeologists and historians identified as a musical instrument is the Divje Babe flute, also known as the Neanderthal flute, excavated in Slovenia in 1995. It dates back to the Middle Paleolithic (50,000–60,000 years ago).

Today, there are more than 1,500 musical instruments in four major categories: string (subdivided into plucked and bowed), wind (subdivided into brass and woodwind), percussion, and electronic. Of course, some of them are much more common than others. For example, the piano, guitar and violin are three of the most popular instruments in the world, but hundreds of musical instruments are pretty obscure.

These uncommon instruments usually fall into one of two categories: traditional instruments and experimental instruments. Traditional instruments, also known as folk instruments, are often common only in a particular region or area where they originated, whereas experimental instruments are created by modifying an existing instrument or made from scratch for the sake of, you guessed it, experimentation.

A classic example of an uncommon instrument is the theremin. Created by Russian inventor Leon Theremin in the 1920s, it is one of the earliest known electronic musical instruments. The theremin is played without physical contact due to having antennas that pick up the movements of the thereminist’s hands.

One of the rarest uncommon musical instruments is the hyperbass flute. It was created in the early 21st century, and, as of 2024, only two were known to exist. The hyperbass flute is the largest instrument in the flute family, with tubing reaching more than 26 ft in length. It is pitched four octaves below the concert flute, and its lowest note is at the threshold of human hearing.

The Pikasso Guitar is another example of an experimental instrument created by modifying an existing one. It was created by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer, who was requested a guitar with “as many stings as possible”. The Pikasso Guitar has 42 strings arranged in four sections.

Some uncommon instruments use the elements to produce sound. For example, the pyrophone (fire organ) produces sounds by combustion inside of glass tubes, the hydraulophone produces sound by direct physical contact with water, and the zeusaphone (singing Tesla coil) produces musical tones by modulating its electricity output.

The origins of Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day are unknown, but the holiday was probably created by a musician who wanted to help people discover the diversity of the world’s musical instruments and celebrate the inventiveness of instrument makers and musicians past and present.

The best way to celebrate Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day is to learn more about rare musical instruments, listen to their sounds on YouTube or Spotify, and share your discoveries on social media with the hashtag #UncommonInstrumentAwarenessDay. If you play an uncommon instrument, share a video of yourself playing to introduce others to your instrument of choice.