Who can forget the experience of having cheap, plastic recorders foisted upon them round about the 3rd grade? Was there anything more embarrassing than getting up in front of your parents and classmates to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in ear-splitting squeaks? If only my school had been as creative as the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra! This one-of-a-kind group plays everything from Kraftwerk to Strauss using modified fresh vegetables of all sorts - from leek violins to pepper trumpets (or carrot recorders, pictured). They hold concerts all over the world, and have two CDs of their unique, ephemeral instrumentation. It's pretty amazing to hear the sounds they get from their veggies!
I wonder how Bach would sound on a cucumberphone?
Photo of carrot recorders is from the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra Website, gemueseorchester.org.
Or a parsnip flute?