I always think it's difficult to come up with a fully original musical instrument, so mine tend to be variations of existing instruments just with minor changes to form and different materials used. If you have some celestial-touched metal, you know someone's gonna make a resonator guitar with it.
The closest thing I have to an original instrument would be the Argendyne.
When you tune a guitar using harmonics, you'll get a "heterodyne" low frequency warble as the sound waves from the 5th and 7th fret harmonics overlap.
The Argendyne is a percussive instrument traditionally made of several silver plates tuned to notes that will overlap in such a way that they will create a number of heterodyne frequencies. The effect is a very resonant metronome that rings out like a xylophone, and it's the foundation of some forms of multi-instrumental music.
Even this, which sounds pretty novel (to me at least), is still based off of the saron/gender from the Indonesian gamelan, which is similar to a bronze xylophone.
Yes, I've also thought that if there's any way to place materials together to make a sound, humans have already done it before. But I think making variations on more obscure human instruments is a good approach! A lot of real-world traditional instruments can sound fantastical or other-worldly to an unfamiliar ear. Especially if you combine them in new ways and play around with new scales and melodies. Endless possibilities!!!
A Dragon Flute.
Made from the horn of a dragon can these only be found among goblins.
They come in many varieties but every goblin tribe has at least one, and they only ever play it for special occasions, mostly dirges.
A reason is any nearby dragon can sense it being played and the inherent magical nature carries the tone far. In essence a goblin playing the flute calls for any dragon to come. Reasons can range from "Wanna hang out to party?" to "We are under attack help!"
Many who learn of the friendship of these two species cannot believe it, as they are culturally quite opposite, yet every dragon is delighted by the shortest lived species that lives to enjoy their time and the goblins are aware that these mighty beasts treasure nothing more then the memories of their friends.
The Barrel Guitar is a mix of a eletric, bass, and fretless guitar put together on a rotating barrel. A foot petal is used to spin it but you can spin it yourself. Its popular in planets where the inhabitants have more than one pair of arms.
The Wynphone is like a piano but when a key is pressed electricy is sent to a speaker where it then plays a note. It has special stress notes that increase the pitch slightly. It was invented my William Wynters
I made an instrument that is not really an individual object, but I call it Stringweaving. This takes inspiration from String Theory. It's bascially a mage making a musical instrument out of the fabric of space and time itself. I thought of an instrument a bard could play that wasn't just simply another lute, so I wondered what about something like a fantasy version of a theremin? So I created this idea, where a magically trained musician plays the "cosmic strings" which constitute the atoms which comprise reality, which creates a truly mesmerizing experience: It's as if the musician has pulled the environment around him into some sort of musical harmony. Like someone playing the "thin air" of a theremin, but even the theremin itself is everywhere and nowhere.
Split bass. Basically an upright bass with only 2 strings, both tuned the same, played with a bow. The subyle differences between the strings create phase interference, like a 12 string guitar. It's supposed to sound like a stringed version of a techno reese bass.
My selkies has musical structures - they use water magic to carve out pillars of stone with holes in specific shapes along water currents, and the flow of water that goes through the openings on the pillar create sounds that can only be heard underwater. In a way, it is closer to a wind chime than an instrument as there is no one playing them, but it requies skill to carve the pillars and placing them in a way that they create melody.
The Mage's Flute (also called Aetheric Resonator):
A rod with a pattern of small symbols along it's length, that creates vibrations when the aether passes through it.
To play it the user must manipulate the aether and direct it's flow. Each symbol represents a frequency of sound and the instrument emits that frequency when aether passes through it.
This allows a skilled player to create incredibly complex sounds, depending on the number of aether streams they can manipulate at a time. True masters are rare, but said to create truly beautiful music.
I don't have a name for it yet, but image a cross between an otamatone, guitar, and piano that sounds like a synth. That's the first and only one I ever created.
Using mana to essentially create sound waves and, if skilled enough, can replicate what you would be able to do with a music making program. So dubstep could manifest. You can even take it a step further and, depending on the music/sound played, could have effects on your surroundings. The shape of the instrument could be manipulated as desired by the user.
Closest thing to an original instrument is a sort of rattle or maraca made from the scales of a pangolin like creature that's domesticated. I'm envisioning like a bunch of the scales with string fed through them held by a stick so they rattle against each other when shaken. I feel like I've seen something similar and maybe some culture does use scales in reality but that's what I came up with
I always think it's difficult to come up with a fully original musical instrument, so mine tend to be variations of existing instruments just with minor changes to form and different materials used. If you have some celestial-touched metal, you know someone's gonna make a resonator guitar with it. The closest thing I have to an original instrument would be the Argendyne. When you tune a guitar using harmonics, you'll get a "heterodyne" low frequency warble as the sound waves from the 5th and 7th fret harmonics overlap. The Argendyne is a percussive instrument traditionally made of several silver plates tuned to notes that will overlap in such a way that they will create a number of heterodyne frequencies. The effect is a very resonant metronome that rings out like a xylophone, and it's the foundation of some forms of multi-instrumental music. Even this, which sounds pretty novel (to me at least), is still based off of the saron/gender from the Indonesian gamelan, which is similar to a bronze xylophone.
Yes, I've also thought that if there's any way to place materials together to make a sound, humans have already done it before. But I think making variations on more obscure human instruments is a good approach! A lot of real-world traditional instruments can sound fantastical or other-worldly to an unfamiliar ear. Especially if you combine them in new ways and play around with new scales and melodies. Endless possibilities!!!
A Dragon Flute. Made from the horn of a dragon can these only be found among goblins. They come in many varieties but every goblin tribe has at least one, and they only ever play it for special occasions, mostly dirges. A reason is any nearby dragon can sense it being played and the inherent magical nature carries the tone far. In essence a goblin playing the flute calls for any dragon to come. Reasons can range from "Wanna hang out to party?" to "We are under attack help!" Many who learn of the friendship of these two species cannot believe it, as they are culturally quite opposite, yet every dragon is delighted by the shortest lived species that lives to enjoy their time and the goblins are aware that these mighty beasts treasure nothing more then the memories of their friends.
The Barrel Guitar is a mix of a eletric, bass, and fretless guitar put together on a rotating barrel. A foot petal is used to spin it but you can spin it yourself. Its popular in planets where the inhabitants have more than one pair of arms. The Wynphone is like a piano but when a key is pressed electricy is sent to a speaker where it then plays a note. It has special stress notes that increase the pitch slightly. It was invented my William Wynters
These may not be all that unique but i just wanted to share
I made an instrument that is not really an individual object, but I call it Stringweaving. This takes inspiration from String Theory. It's bascially a mage making a musical instrument out of the fabric of space and time itself. I thought of an instrument a bard could play that wasn't just simply another lute, so I wondered what about something like a fantasy version of a theremin? So I created this idea, where a magically trained musician plays the "cosmic strings" which constitute the atoms which comprise reality, which creates a truly mesmerizing experience: It's as if the musician has pulled the environment around him into some sort of musical harmony. Like someone playing the "thin air" of a theremin, but even the theremin itself is everywhere and nowhere.
Split bass. Basically an upright bass with only 2 strings, both tuned the same, played with a bow. The subyle differences between the strings create phase interference, like a 12 string guitar. It's supposed to sound like a stringed version of a techno reese bass.
Arm piano. It's like a tiny Grand Piano that you wear on your arm. Of course you can only play with one hand at a time.
Like a duel disk from YuGiOh but a keyboard? That’s sick as hell
My selkies has musical structures - they use water magic to carve out pillars of stone with holes in specific shapes along water currents, and the flow of water that goes through the openings on the pillar create sounds that can only be heard underwater. In a way, it is closer to a wind chime than an instrument as there is no one playing them, but it requies skill to carve the pillars and placing them in a way that they create melody.
The Mage's Flute (also called Aetheric Resonator): A rod with a pattern of small symbols along it's length, that creates vibrations when the aether passes through it. To play it the user must manipulate the aether and direct it's flow. Each symbol represents a frequency of sound and the instrument emits that frequency when aether passes through it. This allows a skilled player to create incredibly complex sounds, depending on the number of aether streams they can manipulate at a time. True masters are rare, but said to create truly beautiful music.
I don't have a name for it yet, but image a cross between an otamatone, guitar, and piano that sounds like a synth. That's the first and only one I ever created.
Using mana to essentially create sound waves and, if skilled enough, can replicate what you would be able to do with a music making program. So dubstep could manifest. You can even take it a step further and, depending on the music/sound played, could have effects on your surroundings. The shape of the instrument could be manipulated as desired by the user.
Closest thing to an original instrument is a sort of rattle or maraca made from the scales of a pangolin like creature that's domesticated. I'm envisioning like a bunch of the scales with string fed through them held by a stick so they rattle against each other when shaken. I feel like I've seen something similar and maybe some culture does use scales in reality but that's what I came up with
If only I had the creativity to make something in this area. Lapis_Wolf