Diego Stocco forged a niche for himself in the music world by creating sounds using custom-made instruments and unusual sources. His sonic palette includes sounds culled from sources as simple as sand ...

The standard configuration of the symphony orchestra has remained mostly unchanged for the past century. But innovative artists continue to design new instruments to create sounds never before heard.

Haymes calls himself a “utility infielder” in Ramblin Jug Stompers, responsible for many of the unusual sounds that don’t come from the typical stringed instruments in acoustic bands. At the band’s ...