Playing Your Favorite Music With a Hurdy Gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is possibly one of the most misunderstood instruments in the modern age. As a musician, you may find your range of options for the hurdy-gurdy in a music store to be extremely limited, including the amount of knowledge the staff may have on it. The variations of this instrument that are offered on eBay are designed to suit the tastes of many fans of the hurdy-gurdy, including vintage collectors or contemporary musicians.
How does a hurdy-gurdy work?
A hurdy-gurdy is operated through the use of a hand crank. Similar to a violin, the hurdy-gurdy is a bowed instrument, so the crank pushes the strings against this bow to play. Each string produces its own individual sound when placed upon the wheel. In order to make the wheel better stick to these strings, it is coated with the type of resin that you find on most stringed instruments. You can vary the pitch by adjusting the keys on the far end of the hurdy-gurdy, usually granting you an average of two octaves to work with. The bottom strings create a drone similar to that of a bagpipe. This allows you to simultaneously produce the melody and the bass line. The string that makes the hurdy-gurdy so unique in its design is the placement of trumpet strings, which creates a 'trumpeting' sound when the vibrations are tensed in conjunction with the wheel crank. These features create a melodic range of notes while still offering the familiarity of a standard string instrument.
Overall hurdy-gurdy cost
There is no one specific number for a hurdy-gurdy cost. There are some considerations when purchasing this instrument though, such as whether the hurdy-gurdy is electric, vintage, or handmade. A vintage hurdy-gurdy can easily sell for a mid-level price while something handmade could be valued over three digits. If this is your first piece, you can expect to spend over a hundred on a hurdy-gurdy in decent working condition. Keep in mind that an electric hurdy-gurdy will also need additional equipment for amplified sound, such as a pickup system.
Genres of Music That Feature The Hurdy-Gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy has enjoyed its place in a vast amount of genres. From hurdy-gurdy girl ballads to hurdy-gurdy pirate music. With the resurgence of the electric hurdy-gurdy, modern musicians began utilizing it in genres such as Metal and Irish music. Because of the distinct notes this machine can hit, it is a great instrument to incorporate in most forms of music. So whether you are a hurdy-gurdy girl, a collector of unique music pieces, or an aficionado of hurdy-gurdy pirate music, you can champion the music field!