Wheelharp

The wheelharp is a musical instrument with bowed strings controlled by a keyboard and foot-controlled motor, similar to Leonardo da Vinci's viola organista, 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 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.^[1]

According to the Wall Street Journal, it "looks and works like a cross between a harpsichord and a hurdy-gurdy: a motor driven wheel spins, rubbing against strings when the player depresses a key."^[2]

However, the principle of bowed strings in a keyboard instrument is old. Michael Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum depicted a Nürnbergisch Geigenwerk (Geigenklavizimbel).

See also

• Viola organista
• Bowed clavier