I’ve noticed trends in electronic musical instruments to play air. Some of you may have seen certain type of electric drumsticks that can make drum sounds if played in the air, and I believe we’ve already covered the Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker.

The piano has been getting the short end of the stick when it comes to the air instruments market. Fortunately, there is the Piano Hand, gloves that allow the user to create a tune by just tapping the fingers.

I looked all over and tried to find more information on the Piano Hand, but I could find very little information on it except that you can choose from about eight instruments. I tend to get suspicious about new products about these, and raise a bunch of questions.

Memorex of Imation has just made available its Memorex SingStand microphone speaker system which allows you to croon away to tunes stored on your iPod or other compatible MP3 players. Sounds like a dream if you have the voice of a diva or pop star, but what happens when even the cat runs away with its hair standing straight up whenever you attempt to carry a tune? I guess I’ll leave the results up to your imagination, as what we’re going to focus on today is the SingStand microphone speaker system instead of the effects of noise pollution in the neighborhood.

Have you been a victim of the Steampunk craze yet? Maybe most of the designs seems a little to unworldly to you. How about something with a bit more of a terrestrial edge that still holds onto the Steampunk values of design? Mark Melchior has designed a musical instrument gadget that might be right up your alley.

These Cigar Box Guitars are not as extreme as some of the other Steampunk designs, but are clearly hinged on the influence from Victorian era and antique ascetic. Mark “Doc-o-rock” Melchior has 20 years of guitar building experience under his belt and started building these Cigar Box Guitars, taking a shift from his usual traditionally built instruments.

Musician’s aren’t known for being diabolical war mongers. Most of the time they have a free-loving, peaceful anti-war spirit (if they aren’t named Ted Nugent). The U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected legislation that would have banned hand guns from public and inner-city use. This, of course, spurred some pretty nasty controversy among the old Interwebz.

Before the ban was rejected, Freaking News ran a Photoshop contest in preparedness for a nationwide hand gun ban. The concept? Make weapons less intimidating through the design of musical instruments. And boy, did users create some doozies. If names like the Trumpet Pistol and the Russian Banjo aren’t enough to intimidate, we don’t know what is.

Take for example the previously mentioned Russian Banjo, which features an assortment of rockets and bombs as the banjo’s neck and a Russian psuedo-commie star as the face design, not to mention being the prized possession of one Vlad Putin. Yet surely the totally fake instrument can whip out an impressive Deliverance twang line.

When you think of “music on the go” you most likely think of an iPod or another portable music and video player. But what if you’re the type of person who likes to make music, especially electronic music? It’s pretty difficult to cart around all your synthesizers and equipment just for the time when you feel the need to make some music.

From the unlikely source of Think Geek you can find the Kaossilator Touchpad Synthesizer. What looks like an innocent pocket-sized touchpad with a few buttons and a dial is really quite a complex and robust musical creation tool. From the website:

Rather than using keys or buttons to play musical notes, the Kaossilator features a revolutionary touchpad design. Move your finger from left to right to change the pitch of the note, and up and down to change the sound. But musical sounds are only the beginning, the Kaossilator can also be used like a drum kit with dozens of built in beats and drum sounds. Plus you get some amazing sound effects from laser blasts to Pac Man. You can put everything to good use with the built-in loop recording feature which lets you layer virtually unlimited tracks to create complex songs combining lead instruments, drum beats and sound effects together.

I couldn’t help but notice the success of Guitar Hero, Karaoke games, and the general transition to simulated music. Because such a game becomes rewarding very quickly, many ‘play’ the simulated instruments instead of choosing to make real music. This pains me a lot, even more so because I’ve been playing the guitar for years.

This summer however I discovered a great little instrument, that becomes rewarding in the first day, and even in the first hour. While I was abroad in the summer holidays, I went to a music shop to buy some strings and picks for my guitar, which was home (much to heavy to carry around while traveling). That, day, I discovered the Ukulele.

If you’re a budding rocker just starting a band and looking for a recording deal, or maybe just a wannabe who enjoys playing with Garage Band, Samson has just come out with a new Microphone that’s USB supported. Dubbed the G-Track, this USB condenser microphone incorporate a built-in audio interface and mixer, with input jacks for vocals and guitar, bass, or keyboard while also providing monitoring through an on board headphone output.

SALAGAR Sonics recently released its Symphony S210 self-amplified speaker that is capable of producing full, rich sound from its stylish cabinet that draws design inspiration from centuries of musical instrument design. According to Salahuddin Khan, SALAGAR co-founder and president, “Consumers will immediately recognize the Symphony S210 for its distinctly rounded cabinet shape resembling instruments from the string family. This design facilitates an even distribution of cabinet stress, realized by creating a curved walled, airtight vessel, to reduce dramatically cabinet coloration for high quality sound production across all audible frequencies.” I suppose in a nutshell, that means you get great sounding audio - ’nuff said.