Hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy in five languages — hurdy-gurdy, ghironda, Drehleier, vielle à roue
Related
Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 手摇琴 |
| English | hurdy-gurdy |
| Italian | ghironda |
| German | Drehleier |
| French | vielle à roue |
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument: a rosined wooden wheel inside the body is turned by a crank, acting as a bow that never reverses and keeps the strings sounding. Keys under the player's hand stop the melody string to change pitch, while the remaining strings drone. It is recorded in medieval Europe and later became common in French and eastern European dance music.
Watch out: the hurdy-gurdy is not an accordion. The accordion uses bellows and reeds; the hurdy-gurdy uses a wheel against strings — the Chinese names differ by one character, but one sounds from reeds and the other from strings. Nor is it a barrel organ, which plays itself from a pinned cylinder.
Read deeper → Hurdy-Gurdy
Sources
- 各语种乐器名与手摇琴的构造，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Hurdy-gurdy"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.