Home Rare, Cool, or Odd Instruments

Rare, Cool, or Odd Instruments

Articles on topics ranging from Alphorn to Wagner tuba and beyond!

Transforming wood into brass; the alchemy of Rob Jones

Recently I had some some email exchanges with Rob Jones, an award-winning artisan who sculpts in wood. In our exchange he offered some specific...

The Bass Horn in Action

A true oddity. Last year, a picture and description of Roger Bobo playing the Bass Horn was posted here. It is a one-of-a-kind monstrosity that...

Count Roland’s Oliphant of Woe

Recently I was reminded of a historic medieval French poem, The Song of Roland. Key in this poem - which is one of the...

Alphorn World Record!

Yesterday a world record was smashed! The old record was 366 alphorns, but according to Reuters, "508 players broke a record set in 2009."...

A Conch Shell Horn

With summer upon us it is a good time to step back and switch things up with something different. Often horn players make use of...

Thoughts on Playing a Double Wagner Tuba

I am playing extra horn this week with The Phoenix Symphony, seventh horn and Wagner tuba on The Rite of Spring. It has made...

World Cup Horn: The Vuvuzela

Now that the FIFA World Cup is in full gear, the vuvuzela  - pronounced voo-voo-ZAY-lah - is fair game for a Horn Matters article. This...

French Horns in ToonTown

Photos from Disneyland. In the area of Disneyland called ToonTown, there is a fun fountain in the central plaza with a few funny horn-related sculptures. Here...

A variation on the blue horn

A big thanks to Facebook friend Eric Anderson for allowing me to share this nice picture. The horn is a cast aluminum reproduction...

A Very Ornate Reynolds Horn

From Ray Noguera's Musical Instrument Engraving page on Facebook, we have pictures of a very ornately engraved Reynolds French horn from the 1970's. According to...