Can you make your own hurdy-gurdy?
Making a playable hurdy-gurdy is a task not to be taken lightly. We built our very first instrument from a kit with very little woodworking experience, so we can assure you that it can be done. We had to do a fair amount of work just to get it to function, and it’s still not a wonderful instrument.
How long does it take to make a hurdy-gurdy?
Hurdy-gurdies take a long time to make, and they have a lot of moving parts. Our Volksgurdy model takes about 250 hours to make. The Minstrel Model takes about 80-100 hours, not including the time spent making jigs and fixtures.
How much does a good hurdy-gurdy cost?
For a good hurdy gurdy, even a basic one, you should expect to pay at least $1,000.
Is hurdy-gurdy easy?
The hurdy-gurdy, like many other instruments is very easy to play some good sounding music on, but also provides years’ worth of learning if you want to delve deeply into it. It is easier than fretted instruments to get started on because you don’t have to learn to press down the strings.
What strings are used on a hurdy-gurdy?
For drones and trompettes we recommend an Italian brand, Aquila – they make strings dedicated for hurdy gurdies. Alternatively for the drones, you can use any cello strings for 1/2 scale – G for G and C for low C or D for high C drone, depending on your preference.
How do you maintain a hurdy-gurdy?
As with a violin bow, you must periodically apply rosin to it. 2) applying / changing cotton on the strings- the strings are wrapped with little wisps of cotton where the intersect the wheel. The purpose of this is twofold- it sweetens the sound a little, and it helps the strings last longer.
Who invented the hurdy-gurdy?
The hurdy-gurdy is generally thought to have originated from fiddles in either Europe or the Middle East (e.g., the rebab instrument) some time before the eleventh century A.D. The first recorded reference to fiddles in Europe was in the 9th century by the Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d.
What are hurdy-gurdy strings made of?
Synthetic strings (Sugar bio-plastic) Although the surface is extremely smooth, the grip is remarkable and therefore they start vibrating easily under the wheel. Moisture absorption is 100 times lower than Nylon strings. The density of our Sugar material is the same of gut, so even the gauges are the same.
Is a hurdy-gurdy the same as a Zanfona?
For this reason, the hurdy-gurdy is often used interchangeably or along with bagpipes….Hurdy-gurdy.
| Other names | Wheel fiddle, wheel vielle, vielle à roue, zanfona, draailier, ghironda |
| Classification | String instrument (bowed) |
| Playing range |
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How many keys does a hurdy-gurdy have?
24 keys
Most contemporary hurdy-gurdies have 24 keys that cover a range of two chromatic octaves. To achieve proper intonation and sound quality, each string of a hurdy-gurdy must be wrapped with cotton or similar fibers.