Is there a term or special name for music performed on non-instruments?

September 1, 2016 4:57 PM

The sort of thing where a musician or group of musicians will put on a performance, usually with lots of grooves and percussion, using items like plastic buckets, metal tubes, household items, trash cans-- all kinds of 'not really an instrument' things. Like Stomp Out Loud-- does this style of music or performance have a name?
posted by Pastor of Muppets to Media & Arts (16 answers total)

Red Bull had a contest for this kind of music that was called Tum Tum Pa, but I have no idea if that's just their branding or a name for it.
posted by General Malaise at 5:19 PM on September 1, 2016

Asked my music educator SO and her response was "anything that's being played is an instrument. There's even really no line between what's officially an instrument and not an instrument. The best blues guitarists came up playing a string held in place by a nail." She also said that if there's a name for the it, it's completely unofficial and probably provincial and colloquial in every way.
posted by General Malaise at 5:27 PM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

And, because you set off an interesting conversation between us, she mentioned body percussion may be of interest.
posted by General Malaise at 5:30 PM on September 1, 2016

Response by poster: Unofficial and provincial and colloquial is fine! Even better, really. I just would hate to call it "urban tuned percussion" or something clinical, when there's an actual term used by the people who actually DO it.
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 5:31 PM on September 1, 2016

Best answer: I have heard it called stompy music.

(I know nothing about music.)
posted by Michele in California at 5:33 PM on September 1, 2016

Jug band?
posted by dilettante at 6:00 PM on September 1, 2016

I think it's called "found object" music.
posted by amtho at 6:04 PM on September 1, 2016

Best answer: Another term I have heard is "Noise Music", also "Found Sound".
posted by effluvia at 6:12 PM on September 1, 2016

Things that aren't normally considered musical instruments are called experimental instruments, which just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? And doesn't describe the music itself, really. You could say experimental, but that's weird and not very specific.

It's not entirely musique concrete, but there is some overlap. There's also some overlap with found music and sound collage.

But the short answer is probably what General Malaise says. If it's being used to make music, it's a musical instrument.

I'd probably call the instruments found instruments, but that could be totally wrong.
posted by ernielundquist at 6:13 PM on September 1, 2016

By the way, this kind of thing goes back a long way. Spike Jones did a lot of it in the 1940's.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:23 PM on September 1, 2016

Jug Band:

A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepipe, and comb & tissue paper (kazoo). The term jug band is loosely used in referring to ensembles that also incorporate home-made instruments but that are more accurately called skiffle bands, spasm bands, or juke (or jook) bands because they are missing the required jug player.

posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:54 PM on September 1, 2016

Asked my music educator SO and her response was "anything that's being played is an instrument.

What if we start with that and say, then, that are instruments whose primary function is to make music and there are instruments whose primary function is something else. Is there a name for music made on the second kind of instruments?
posted by layceepee at 7:21 PM on September 1, 2016

Response by poster: Someone's suggested "Trash Percussion"-- does this sound plausible?
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 7:27 PM on September 1, 2016

Best answer: Skiffling!
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 2:37 AM on September 2, 2016

Best answer: Alternative Percussion.
posted by gnutron at 5:08 AM on September 2, 2016

I've seen “experimental” or “nontraditional” (“...percussion” or “...instrumentation”) used in a few cases.
posted by D.Billy at 11:37 AM on September 2, 2016 [1 favorite]