Friction idiophones

Idiophones produce sound by being either rubbed against each other or by using a non-sounding object such as a violin bow or hands. Instruments of this type are not very common, perhaps the best known examples are the musical saw or the glass harp.

Daxophon

The Daxophone is invented by Hans Reichel. It consists of a thin piece of wood called "tongue" which is fixed to a wooden box. It usually played with a bow, but it can also be used as a percussion instrument. The vibrations are amplified by the box, which contains contact microphones. The Daxophone can produce a wide range of voice-like sounds, depending on the shape of the tongue, type of wood, how the bow is used, and the length og the tongue.

Cristal Baschet

The Cristal Baschet is invented by Thomas Block. The sound is produced by the oscillating glass cylinders. The Cristal Basch consists of 54 chromatic-tuned glass rods.The Glass rods is rubbed with moistened fingers to produce vibrations. The vibrations of the glass rods is transferred to a heavy metal cylinder.And the length of the metal cylinder determines what frequency is produced. Amplification is a result of fiberglass cones mounted in a wooden frame and a high metal part, shaped like a flame.

 





















 

Glass Hamonica

The glass accordion is invented by the American scientist Benjamin Franklin in the mid-16th century. It works like glass harp by rubbing fingers against the glass, but with this instrument the wineglass is replaced with round glass rings in different sizes. It is also the first musical instruments what made use of electricity, but the electricity was not used to produce the sound itself, but to turn the rings around.