Read the text about cool tunes in Norway.

Under the first full moon of the year, music lovers in Norway huddle on ice benches covered with reindeer skins. On a frozen stage, musicians in furry hats and coats play instruments carved entirely from ice! This show is the Ice Music Festival, the only concert in the world of its kind. This cool idea began in 1999, when drummer Terje Isungset played music inside a frozen waterfall. The amazing sounds that he heard led him to start using ice as a musical instrument. Isungset spent years experimenting with ice instruments. The more he learned, the more excited he became. After years of experimenting, he founded the Ice Music Festival in 2016.

To prepare the frozen instruments, Isungset hunts for the best natural sources of ice. He tests each source of ice by cutting out a piece, tapping it with his finger and listening to the sound it produces. Experience tells him whether the ice will make a good instrument. He prefers not to use human-made ice, because he claims frozen lake water sounds better. This claim may be supported by science. Scientists have noticed that natural ice has fewer bubbles, which could lead to a clearer sound.

Once the ice has been sourced, professional ice carvers use tools to create instruments. They carve everything from saxophones to xylophones. The carvers often change the look of the instruments, which causes creative or special sounds. Each year, the goal of the festival is to challenge musicians to make innovative music when playing these one-of-a-kind ice instruments.

Playing the frozen instruments is a challenge. Each performance surprises the musicians and the audience. After the concert is over, Isungset jokes that the musicians will drink their instruments. Actually, they just leave their stage and instruments behind, giving it all back to nature.