Solenoid

The "Orchestrion" was a 19th century hybrid musical instrument that usually contained a wind orchestra, various percussion instruments, and sometimes a piano played by a pinned cylinder or a music roll. Pat Metheny designed and played his own version of one – thanks to a commissioned group of inventors, advanced solenoid switch technology, and pneumatics on the 2010 album Orchestrion. The guitarist's version combined organic instruments - various pianos, basses, rows of tuned bottles, bells, cymbals, and other percussion, with digital technology – guitarbots (including one modeled on Paolo Angeli's guitar), switches, and more. The Orchestrion Project was recorded following Metheny's world tour with the instrument, wherein he discovered more about the instrument and its capabilities for group interplay in a solo setting.