'Sound Effects'

Sound Effect Wiki.

The above Wiki looks at sound effects, the most common sound effects and the ways in which some sound effects are created.
Its interesting to see the interesting ways in which the sounds are created when the original sounds are unavailable.
Also interesting to see the associations which are made between creatures etc and sounds which are used within movies. For example one of the earliest sound effects used was that of a californian tree frog which was recorded in the early 1900's and used within a range of films and has now become the traditional sound for a frog with the typical "Ribbit Ribbit" sound.

 

The above video shows a few examples of the ways in which digital methods can be used to create sound effects.

'Chicken in a Cup'

Learn How to make a cup that sounds like a chicken. For more Science How-To Videos & Articles, visit WonderHowTo.

'Blue Man Group'

'Instrument Adaptation'

 

This video shows the way in which instruments can be adapted or played in different manners to the way in which they were originally intended to be used to create different very interesting sounds.

This could be taken further and the ways in which the instrument is held, played and generally interacted with could be altered to make the instruments easier to play with special consideration for the specific target market of those people with dementia.

'Unusual instruments'

The above video shows an animation of a 'self playing instrument' which uses arms to pluck the strings of a sort of table guitar(?).
Whilst the concept of a self playing instrument isn't not with the invention of a self playing piano (player piano) coming in the late 19th century the way in which this instrument has been conceptualised is (to the best of my knowledge) a new concept. 

While this instrument would have no real use within a music therapy setting, the concept of have a range of instruments mounted within a single piece of 'furniture' does appeal and holds many possibilites.

This video shows another form of improvised instrument, using the reed section from a trumpet and inserting the reed assembly and mouth piece into a length of vinyl tube to create a trumpet like sound.
Whilst I personally doubt the reliability of this video the idea of using pipes etc in this way is quite a nice idea and provides cheap alternatives to the brass equivelant.

See this article for further information on the way in which a trumpet mouthpiece works. 

This third video, shows the way a wind based instrument can be made out of almost anything (an egg in this case) and also shows that it is relatively easy to tune these instruments simply by englarging the holes which are made to provide the notes.
The man who creates these videos has a series of them created from a whole host of random and unusual objects, such as a burdock stick and a watermelon.

'Whistling'

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Whistle-from-a-Straw

'The Autoharp'

The autoharp is a relatively simple string based instrument which uses a series of bars with stops on the underside, so that when you press the button on the top section these stops are placed upon the string therefore deadening the sound of certain strings providing a set chord. (These stops can be seen in the beginning of the video where the camera can see into the working elements of the autoharp)

Whilst the instrument is relatively simple to operate and play, its very nature means that it would be hard to accompany with any other pitched instruments during improvisation as its possible for the user to jump from one end of the scale to the other between two separate chords.

This article (Article source here) explains some of the tunings that are used witihin small 'cigar box autoharps' which the author makes and also looks at some of the dimensions and problems that he has come across during his time making the autoharps.

The video above shows the method used by the creator of the video to create a 'cigar box guitar'.

The video is an interesting example of the ways in which it is possible to adapt the basic principles of instruments and using found materials to create playable instruments. Whilst I doubt the 2x1 neck offers a great level of playability and sound quality it shows that you can break the standard rules of instruments using the very best quality materials and techniques to provide a working instrument that can produce a relatively toneful sound.