Found objects are sometimes used in music, often to add unusual percussive elements to a work. Their use in such contexts is as old as music itself, as the original invention of musical instruments almost certainly developed from the sounds of natural objects rather than from any specifically designed instruments.^[2]

The use of found objects inmodern classical music is often connected to experiments inindeterminacy andaleatoric music by such composers asJohn Cage andKarlheinz Stockhausen. However, it has reached its ascendancy in those areas of popular music as well, such as theambient works ofBrian Eno. In Eno's influential work, found objects are credited on many tracks.^[3] The ambient music movement which followed Eno's lead has also made use of such sounds, with notable exponents being performers such asFuture Sound of London andAutechre, and natural sounds have also been incorporated into many pieces ofnew-age music. Also other builders likeYuri Landman,Harry Partch^[4] (for example his famous cloud chamber bowl instrument),^[5]Pierre Bastien,Iner Souster often incorporate found material in their works.Erik Satie'sParade is also an example of this unconventional type of compositional practice.^[6][7]

Einstürzende Neubauten became known for incorporating a wide range of found objects in their percussion gear. A more recent example of found objects being used as percussion instruments isShawn "Clown" Crahan from thenu metal bandSlipknot, who beats a beer keg with a baseball bat to the beat of the song.The Dodos also played a garbage bin as a part of their percussion gear.Wall of Voodoo drummerJoe Nanini would commonly use pots and pans instead of conventional drums. Manystreet drummers perform with empty plastic baskets.

The bandNeptune uses VCR-casings, scrap metal and all kinds of other found objects to createexperimental musical instruments.^[8][9]

Found objects have occasionally been featured in very well-known pop songs: "You Still Believe In Me" from theBeach Boys'Pet Sounds features bicycle bells and horns as part of the orchestral arrangements.^[10]

The use of found objects in music takes one of two general forms: either objects are deliberately recorded, with their sound used directly or in processed form, or previous recordings aresampled for use as part of a work (the latter often being referred to simply as "found sound" or "sampling"). With the improvement and easy accessibility of sampling technology since the 1980s, this second method has flourished and is a major component of much modern popular music, particularly in such genres aship hop. Found sounds are also used significantly in certain areas ofIndustrial music, especially metallic sounds that are the result of hitting or belabouring solid metal objects and surfaces.

• Great Stalacpipe Organ

• Experimental musical instrument
• Found object
• Sampling (music)
• Sound collage

• Martin J. Junker: Buchhaltung – Percussion octet with books.Norsk Musikforlag, Oslo 2011
• Martin J. Junker: Pop up! – Percussion octet (quartet) for pop-up garden waste bags.Gretel-Verlag, Dinklage 2021http://www.gretel-verlag.de/de/index.htm