The unknown instrument

People who know me well are aware that I rarely "write" songs. Mostly I "hear" them and then try to record what I hear. Sometimes I hear them with full orchestras and choirs.

Last week, I woke up with a new song playing in my head but by the time I found an iPad to try recording it, it came out kind of lame. What was interesting though was that I heard an unknown instrument playing. It was not any instrument I have heard on this planet. It clearly played chords, but was definitely a percussion instrument - almost like a guitar with rattles. You need to understand that I didn't see it - only heard it, so I can only describe it by the sound. It was played with rapid strokes.

I have a sense that on this planet we have not been very creative lately in inventing new instruments on this planet. In fact, most of our instruments are fairly ancient. What new instrument, besides the kazoo and the synthesizer, has been invented in the last 50 years (I don't include the electric guitar - that's an innovation, not an invention)? Much of the development has gone into mimicking acoustic sounds in digital ways. Are we in a "dark ages" of musical development, preoccupied with electronic gadgets. I'm guessing there are few people left who could take a piece of wood or metal and create an instrument.