Beyond guitar and piano lies a universe of strange, fun and fascinating instruments. Here are 12 of the most unusual: how they sound, difficulty and where to get one.
Japanese instrument shaped like a musical note: slide your finger along the neck to control pitch, squeeze the mouth for vibrato. The quirkiest kawaii gadget from Japan.
Difficulty: Easy
Played WITHOUT touching it: move your hands near two antennas to control pitch and volume. The instrument of sci-fi film soundtracks.
Difficulty: Hard
African thumb piano: pluck metal tines with your thumbs. Relaxing music-box sound, very beginner-friendly.
Difficulty: Very Easy
UFO-shaped metal drum with tuned notes. Ethereal, meditative sound; hugely popular in ambient music.
Difficulty: Medium
Drum filled with ball bearings that mimics ocean waves. Popular in relaxation and music therapy.
Difficulty: Very Easy
Tiny membranophone: hum into it and your voice becomes a comic buzz. No instrument is simpler.
Difficulty: Very Easy
Keyboard meets harmonica: blow air while pressing keys. Portable and widely used in classrooms and reggae.
Difficulty: Easy
Steel drum with tuned tongues struck with mallets or fingers. The affordable cousin of the handpan.
Difficulty: Easy
Analogue pocket synth played with a stylus on a metal keyboard. Retro 1960s sound used by David Bowie and Kraftwerk.
Difficulty: Easy
The horror film instrument: water inside and metal rods played with a bow produce deeply unsettling sounds.
Difficulty: Hard
Sacred instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe: 22-28 tines in 3 registers, UNESCO Heritage. Traditional ancestor of the kalimba with 1,000 years of history.
Difficulty: Medium
Benjamin Franklin's invention: spinning glass bowls played with wet fingers. Mozart composed for it and it was banned for supposedly causing madness.
Difficulty: High
Metal or quartz bowl that sings when rubbed with a mallet. Sustained overtone-rich tones accessible from minute one.
Difficulty: Easy
One of the first electronic instruments (1928): keyboard plus a sliding ring, with an ethereal vocal timbre. Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead made it famous again.
Difficulty: Medium-High
A wooden box that becomes a full percussion kit. Born in Peru, brought to flamenco by Paco de Lucia. The most portable percussion for pop, flamenco and jazz.
Difficulty: Easy
Australia's oldest wind instrument: a eucalyptus tube producing a deep hypnotic drone. Circular breathing allows endless sustain.
Difficulty: Medium
Flexible steel sheet with rubber balls producing a ghostly metallic glissando. Used by Khachaturian and Carl Stalling in Hollywood cartoons.
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
French sound sculpture (1952): steel rods amplified by glass cones, played with wet fingers. Heard in the Amelie soundtrack.
Never played anything? Start with the kalimba or otamatone: cheap, fun and no learning curve. Ready for more? Try the handpan or theremin.