All around the world, strange sounds are being heard! The sea is making music, sands are singing and even humans are finding ways to turn monuments into instruments. Have you had the privilege of hearing any of these cool sounds?
Music of the Sea and Wind, Croatia
If you’re travelling along the Zadar coast in Croatia, be sure to treat yourself to the beautiful melodies of this 230-foot wooden organ (or ‘morske orgulje’).
It might look like a series of steps with holes, but the waters and winds rush inside the chambers and when they exit, they create a somewhat dissonant but enchanting stream of music. Incredible!
Singing Sands, Ireland
There are no man-made instruments needed for this one! At White Park Bay in Ireland’s north, winds rush over the sand dunes creating a kind of ‘boom’ or ‘rumble.’
Scientists don’t know exactly how or why the sound is produced, but they suspect it’s something to do with friction between the grains or compression of the air.
Superb Lyrebird, Australia
It’s on our 10 cent coin and it has the ability to produce a massive variety of sounds!
A native songbird, the lyrebird can imitate sounds that it hears, from construction noise and chainsaws to car alarms and sounds made by at least twenty other birds, like kookaburras. Amazing, isn’t it?
Live Forest Sounds, Estonia
The forests of Estonia are truly beautiful but it wasn’t until a bunch of architecture students got together and built these giant megaphones that we could actually hear them!
Made of timber, the megaphones are placed around the forest and amplify the forest sounds for all to hear.
Best of all, you can also use them as makeshift seats!
Brooklyn Bridge Harp, US
You’ve probably never thought about it before in your life, but in 2014, sound artist Di Mainstone actually came up with a way to play music using the Brooklyn Bridge.
Hooked up to the bridge with strings, she found it was possible to manipulate the bridge’s cables, then translate these into listenable sounds and music.
Sky Trumpet Hum, US, Canada, Germany, Australia and more
If you’re a believer in the stories that H.G. Wells once wrote, this sound would probably freak you out. Over the past few years, residents around the world have reported hearing strange, sci-fi-ish trumpet-like humming sounds coming from the sky.
Many have speculated over whether it could be aliens, but NASA assures us it’s either radio emissions or sounds from ocean waves hitting the seabed.
Ringing Stone, Scotland
If you don’t believe us when we say that rocks can ring, just head to the Isle of Tiree in Scotland’s Hebrides. The boulder here is lithophonic, meaning that when you tap it, it makes a sound like a bell.
Most fascinatingly, it’s not the only one! You’ll also find ringing rocks in England, Mexico, the US and Australia.