7 Instruments Made From Nature

Jul 24, 2019

Many of today’s musical instruments seem complicated and difficult to play at first glance. With all those keys or strings, it can be hard just imagining where to put your hands to start.

But many other instruments are made from the natural world around us, and can seem much more basic to our eyes. In fact, some of these natural instruments may even seem somewhat primitive. But don’t let their simple design fool you, many instruments made from natural materials are as old and as celebrated as human history itself. And most are still used today.

Jewish Shofar

Traditionally made from a ram’s horn, this musical instrument is mostly used today in synagogue services during the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). This instrument makes a distinctive trumpeting sound, and the use of the shofar during ceremonial occasion goes at least as far back as biblical times. In fact, the shofar is even mentioned in the Book of Exodus.

Ancient Greek Pipes

If there’s one thing the Ancient Greeks could agree on, it was a love if music. There were happy songs to celebrate marriage and the birth of a child, as well as dirges to mourn the dead, work-songs for harvesting, grinding grain, and weaving, drinking songs, love songs, and even songs that were said to cure illness. The Auloi were musical pipes made from wood, bone, or even metal. A reed was inserted in the mouthpiece, and the pipes were blown into just like many modern instruments. This particular instrument was usually played in pairs, by a single musician.

Rattles

The most common instrument made from gourds found the world over is undoubtedly the rattle.

Maracas in Latin America.

First Nations’ ceremonial rattles.

West African shekeres.

Cuban chekeres.

Each of these gourd rattles are a little different, but remarkably similar. In every case the gourd was left to dry out over the course of several months. Once dry, the pulp and seeds inside were scrapped out. It was only after this process was done, and the inside scrubbed clean, that the different cultures diverge on just how they would make the hollow vessel rattle.

When making maracas (next on our list), for example, the dried seeds from the inside of the gourd are put back in once the pulp has been removed. It’s the seeds that make the rattling noise. However, for the West African shekere, rather than put anything inside the gourd to produce sound, seeds or beads are woven into a web-like network of cables. This web is then wrapped around and fastened to the outside of the dried gourd. The sound is made when the beads make contact with the outside of the gourd when it is shaken or hit.

Maraca

Some natural instruments, like maracas, are still used throughout modern music. Sometimes called a rumba shaker, chac-chac, or any number of other names, maracas are essentially rattles and appear most frequently in the genres of music from the Caribbean and Latin America. This simple but effective instrument is basically a dried calabash gourd that is shaken either by its natural stem, or by adding a handle.

Hulusi

Coming from China, the hulusi is another instrument that it primarily made from a gourd. This flute uses a very small gourd as a “wind-chest.” Holding the flute vertically, you blow into the top of the gourd. Your breath passes through the gourd and into the flute’s pipes. Hulusi usually have 3 pipes coming out of the gourd. The centre pipe has finger holes and produces the various notes, and one or two of the outer pipes are usually drone pipes, which produce a constant note or chord throughout the performance. Interestingly, sometimes one of the drone pipes is just for show and doesn’t actually work. The drone pipe has a finger hole to stop the tone. Some of the more advanced versions of the hulusi use keyed finger holes, like a clarinet or saxophone, which can broaden the flute’s range to several octaves.

Conch

No one is really sure when humans first discovered that conch shells make excellent trumpets, but once it was discovered, it seems like everyone wanted one! Conch shells were used in many different cultures’ important occasions and ceremonies it’s hard to keep track of them all. The shell itself comes from a large marine snail, and can be used to produce a warm, full, and far-carrying sound completely unmodified. Some cultures chose to modify them anyway, adding a wooden, bamboo, or even metal mouthpiece to make playing the instrument a little easier.

Rasp

Our last natural instrument is one of the simplest, yet it is still used often in today’s music, especially country and folk; the rasp. For thousands of years, humans have been rubbing sticks across the natural roughness of all sorts of materials to produce a rasping sound. Turtle shells, for example, were common in cultures that had them. Rubbing a stick across the shell created a very distinctive sound. A sound that would be amplified by the hollow space between the upper and lower shells. Hollow gourds or clay pots also did the trick quite well. And today you might recognize the washboard as just one modern version of the rasp.

Music is in our nature, and humans have always found creative ways to use their environment to make it. This short list is only a few examples of the incredibly wide world of musical instruments made from nature – we’re sure to have missed some of your favourites. Tell us what we left out, and why you love it in the comments!

Looking to make music a part of your everyday life? The Music Studio offers lessons and classes for all ages & skill levels! Our professional musician teachers offer a wide variety of programs and instruments, and you can sign up any time. It’s never too late to start your musical journey with The Music Studio!