There are all sorts of instruments in the world, and most of them have keys or strings of some sort. But there are drums that lack both, and instruments like the Theremin that is uniquely bizarre in that to play the instrument, you do not touch the instrument. Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day encourages you to broaden your idea of what an instrument is. The history of Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day is really just the history of the many types of instruments in the world today, and the less commonly known producers of that music. There are hundreds of instruments you’ve likely never heard of, things like the contrabass balalaika, easily the least unusual of the instruments you can research. It has a large triangular body and is either played with the fingers or leather plectrums. I just found this
A friend once lent me a Chapman stick. It's played by tapping. Not easy at all! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman_Stick
They're not really uncommon instruments then, are they? My children learnt to play saucepans years ago, curse them!
How about the oddest instrument of them all - humans? Bobby McFerrin proves that we all have pentatonic scales built into our brains - weird . Well worth a watch. Always makes me smile.
I don't want to get involved in this, I'm in enough trouble explaining the musical instruments I do have.