The Sound of Music

Most of the pictures are already explained in the photo album, so instead of describing every detail of the trip in long, boring, drawn-out detail that you probably won't have the patience to read, I'll just elaborate on a few trip stories here and there that are too long for the picture captions. Speaking of long stories, that was a long sentence.

From Whirlwind Alpine Tour

In Salzburg, we came across this marvelous music shop called Klanghaus Gandharva Loka (Klanghaus means "House of Sounds," which was extremely appropriate). This store was smaller than my bedroom, but had virtually hundreds of different instruments. The picture above is a mere portion of the woodwind collection alone. I couldn't believe how much they could fit in there.

I was particularly drawn to a few certain instruments:

Sansula - First, the Sansula (Sansula video). It's basically a variation of the Kalimba (Kalimba video), which in turn is a variation of the Mbira, an originally African instrument. (Isn't instrument evolution fascinating). The Sansula has the extra drum skin stretched around it, which you can than use on flat surfaces to bend the beautiful little notes and make "waa-waa" effects. At one point, he said, You can play with a wide spectrum of sounds using objects as well, whereupon he scattered three paper clips on the drum skin and played the instrument with yet another surprising timbre. I adored it and wish I had the €85 to spend for it.

Waterphone - The shopkeeper happily demonstrated any instruments we asked about, and the Waterphone (video) is the first instrument in the store that caught my eye. I'd never seen anything like it. I thought it was a percussion type of instrument, but surprisingly, he picked up a bow and started drawing it across the rods. WHOA! This heavy instrument filled the room like a cave. It produced something I thought was only available in cinematic sound effects :P . If you watch the video, be sure to see the whole thing for both methods of playing.

Singing bowls - Last but not least, I've now been motivated by this trip to get myself a Tibetan/Nepalese/etc. singing bowl (video). We even saw them a second time from a street vendor in Zürich, from whom Kristen actually bought a small one. I must get one! They really made an impression on me, and I love the deceptively small size for a sound you could probably hear from half a mile around. Also, they are often beautifully ornamented. I am smitten with this little, round, metal bowl.

We also got to sit in the "harp-chair" :

From Whirlwind Alpine Tour

Someone plays the long strings on the side of the (rocking)chair while you sit in it. It's sort of a series of low, eerie twangs. When it starts building louder and louder, you feel all the vibrations going through your body.

Oh, everything we touched in that little store made a sound, and not just any sound, but a beautiful sound. Kristen and I easily spent over an hour and a half in that shoebox-sized store. A definite highlight of our time in Salzburg.