Hurdy-gurdy
String instrument whose strings are bowed by a crank-turned wheel.
What it means
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument in which a rosined wooden wheel, turned by a hand crank, bows the strings like an endless bow. A keyboard mechanism with small wooden tangents lets the playing hand shorten the melody string to produce different pitches, while one or more drone strings usually sound a sustained root note or a sustained fifth.
Musical use
The hurdy-gurdy has been known in Europe since the Middle Ages, first as a church-music instrument called the organistrum, played by two people, later reduced to a size one person could play alone. From the late Middle Ages to the present it has mainly accompanied folk music in France, Hungary, and other European regions, supporting dances and songs with its characteristic drone sound.
The hurdy-gurdy should be distinguished from the bagpipe, which also sounds a drone and a melody at the same time but produces sound from blown air rather than string friction, and from the barrel organ, which despite the similar-sounding name is a mechanical wind instrument with pipes, has no strings, and is played automatically via a pinned barrel.
Performance practice
When turning the crank, aim for as even a speed as possible, since fluctuations affect pitch and drone sound directly and audibly. Practise cranking alone first, without playing the keys, to develop a stable basic tempo, before adding the melody with your left hand on the tangents.