The Best Songs with Omnichords

Omnichord 80s Electronic Auto Harp Cool Musical Instruments

The omnichord is a used-to-be-obscure instrument that has become over the last few years because of it’s awesomeness. It’s easy to play with a unique – sprinkly-magical-vintage keyboard sound.

It was made by Suzuki in the early 1980s and sounds like the times. It is an instrument that’s perfect for beginners, for learning to play music. Cyndi Lauper uses them to write songs and amazing bands like Devo, Brian Eno, Dr. Dog, Bat for Lashes, The Magnetic Fields, and Gorillaz use them in a ton of songs. There even used in a Keisha, Katy Perry and lots of other new pop songs. Here’s a photo of David Bowie holding an Omnichord.

david bowie with omnichordomnichord with silver case

And a smoking hot silver travel case that looks like a raquetball carrier.

So let’s start with a little Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo showing you how this amazing instrument works. The buttons control the chords – majors, minors, and minor 7th’s (press multiple buttons for major 7th’s and diminished chords). The silver strip represents each note in the chord – so you can run your finger up and down the silver strip to make the whole chord. So easy. Push a button for the chord and tap or run your finger along the silver strip.

And the next few videos are a collection of some of the best songs with omnichords. I mixed a few popular songs with some obscure songs so that everyone will hear something new. Believe it or not, a lot of these songs are not available on Spotify – only as youtube videos uploaded by users. If you only listen to one of these songs, don’t miss Brian Eno’s This from 2005. It’s so rich with kindness. He has always been a personal favorite.

And here’s what happens when you start attaching pedals and circuit bending your omnichords. It’s so cool to hear such complicated and abstract sounds coming from these little instruments. Zorch is a 2 piece band from Austin that use several omnichords in their instrumentation. They made several of these videos showing the modifications they made to their omnichords and have several videos that explain how they make these awesome and lush sounds.

suzuki omnichord timeline

Please comment and share your favorite songs with omnichords! And if you still need more songs check out this link to watch David Bowie covering Simon & Garfunkel’s America for a benefit. He’s sitting on the ground playing an omnichord! So amazing.

Let’s Stay Friends!

Insta | Pinterest | Enews | TikTok

enews new leaderboard pop shop america diy blog

4 thoughts on “The Best Songs with Omnichords

  1. reparatii frigidere beko craiova says:

    Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thanks, However I am going
    through issues with your RSS. I don’t understand why I
    can’t subscribe to it. Is there anybody having similar RSS issues?
    Anybody who knows the solution can you kindly respond?
    Thanks!! The Best Songs with Omnichords – reparatii frigidere beko craiova

  2. Table de mixage says:

    I usually do not comment, however I browsed a few comments on The Best Songs with Omnichords |
    Pop Shop America. I actually do have a few questions for you if it’s allright.

    Is it only me or does it look like some of these
    comments appear as if they are left by brain dead people?
    😛 And, if you are writing on additional social sites, I’d like to keep up with anything fresh you have to post.
    Could you post a list of every one of all your shared sites like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Your Cart