Friday, October 7, 2016

30 Days of Weird Instruments, Day 23 -- the Musical Stones of Skiddaw

Today's post brings us to Skiddaw Mountain in Northern England. Hornfels, a type of stone found at the mountain, are said to have a superior tone and a long, sustaining ring.

This brings us to the Musical Stones of Skiddaw, a collection of lithophones built over two centuries from hornfels taken from the Skiddaw mountain. The first was made by an inventor named Peter Crosthwaite around 1785, after he discovered the hornfel stones while walking around the Skiddaw area in North Cumbria, England.

The video below does a good job of showcasing the uniqueness of these stones.




From the looks of it, the stones don't seem to have been altered much. They haven't been smoothed or polished, just carefully selected and placed on a xylophone.

Monday's instrument likes to roll up electronic musicians into a neat little ball.

Purchase I AM DRUMS!
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