Otamatone: A Spermy Sort of Musical Instrument
A new Japanese musical instrument is sweeping the internet and being featured in numerous viral videos. Billed as “the world’s cutest and weirdest musical instrument”, the Otamatone is the world’s newest electronic musical sensation. Invented by Novmichi Tosa for Maywa Denki, the Otamatone is a great toy for kids or an addition to any musician’s arsenal of unique instruments.
To play the Otamatone, you simply place your fingers along the length of the stem. As you move your fingers along the Otamatone’s surface, the pitch and tone of the note changes. Move your fingers down the stem to raise the pitch, and slide them back up to lower it.
You can also squeeze the “head” of the Otamatone, which gives the illusion that the Otamatone is singing. Squeezing the head also changes the tone of the note being played. The sound and playing style used to experiment with the Otamatone has been compared by some people to the Theremin, another type of musical instrument.
Clearly, the Otamatone is meant to look like a single musical note. But the instrument comes in two colors: black (which looks like an eighth note) and white (which looks less like an eighth note and more like a very cheerful little sperm). Considering the fact that this item is Japanese, I’m sure it’s no coincidence that white was selected as a color option.
Despite the fact that the Otamatone hasn’t been on the market for very long, there are a number of videos on YouTube of people playing different songs using this wacky and distinctly Japanese instrument. Here are some of the most popular instructional videos and Otamatone performances on YouTube.
If you are looking to purchase one of your own, the Otamatone is available at websites like Strapya World, and retails for 2,940 Yen (about $32 US), plus shipping.
I bet it would be fun to play one of these while driving along “Melody Road“.
By TuckerSCummings on 12-03-2010
