Wheelharp

The wheelharp is a musical instrument with bowed strings controlled by a keyboard and foot-controlled motor, similar to Leonardo da Vinci's <a href="/facts/Viola_organista/dt3gGCba">viola organista</a>, a keyboard-operated string instrument for continuously sounding strings by rubbing the strings with spinning wheels, powered by a treadle controlled by one foot of the musician. Created by Jon Jones and Mitchell Manger, the wheelharp debuted at the 2013 <a href="/facts/NAMM_Show/ENy017Pu">NAMM Show</a> in <a href="/facts/Anaheim%2c_California/nIGWAJWY">Anaheim, California</a>.
According to the <a href="/facts/Wall_Street_Journal/9Pkf2cYK">Wall Street Journal</a>, it "looks and works like a cross between a <a href="/facts/Harpsichord/8RtW7bzM">harpsichord</a> and a <a href="/facts/Hurdy-gurdy/b2xqCPrI">hurdy-gurdy</a>: a motor driven wheel spins, rubbing against strings when the player depresses a key."
However, the principle of bowed strings in a keyboard instrument is old. <a href="/facts/Michael_Praetorius/D7EqYh9E">Michael Praetorius</a>' <a href="/facts/Syntagma_Musicum/sylDzd5K">Syntagma Musicum</a> depicted a Nürnbergisch Geigenwerk (Geigenklavizimbel).

Wheelharp open-in-new

Wheelharp