“Retro” is a word you hear a lot these days – taking something old and clearly dated and making it fashionable again. Bell bottoms, vinyl records, lumberjack beards, thick plastic glasses, mullets (someday, I hope!)

Many people have said to me how much they enjoy the sound of older instruments – since I’m a keyboard player, I usually hear it about the harpsichord. It looks like a piano, but its sound has a bite to it that is not unlike the electric guitar; it’s gentle and elegant, but has a real edge to its sound. I think we are attracted to the older instruments because they remind us of something we already know, but are different enough to really catch our attention (our “beginner’s mind“). The fact that the instruments are recycled from the past (as opposed to newly invented) gives an added benefit of transporting our imaginations to an idealized time in history.

The Crumhorn could be called the lovechild between a bagpipe and an oboe. It is a double-reed instrument with fingered holes (like an oboe), but the player’s mouth doesn’t touch the reed – instead it is contained in a box, giving it a growling sound while severely limiting its range. It was a popular instrument in the renaissance, but its lack of range made it fall from favor as newer instruments were invented. The sound will put you back in the 16th century – as you can see by this extremely talented performer who is playing all 4 crumhorn parts, all 4 viol parts, as well as the drum. It’s slightly surreal, but completely awesome, and yes, I’m totally jealous of this guy’s abilities.

Make sure you pay attention to the video, especially the artwork. Yeah.