The Kid Should See This

The Wheelharp & The Viola Organista

Watch more with these video collections:

The Wheelharp looks something like a piano cylinder and sounds like a gritty set of violins, but in fact, it’s a relatively new keyboard instrument invented by Jon Jones & Sons that bows a string inside of it for each key that’s played: 61 strings for 61 keys. Instrument restoration company Antiquity Music kickstarted production of the Wheelharp in 2013. Nicholas Pike demonstrates above.

Using a keyboard to draw a bow across strings is an idea that’s been built in a variety of ways. On the other side of the globe, Polish pianist Slawomir Zubrzycki unveiled a viola organista that he built from 2009-2012, based on 500 year old drawings of the instrument by Leonardo da Vinci. Get a close up look at it in this 2015 trailer for Zubrzycki’s viola organista documentary:

In the archives, watch videos of violins, violas, pianos, and more instruments.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

What climate change sounds like from the Amazon to the Arctic

Rion Nakaya

Vittorio Monti’s CsΓ‘rdΓ‘s performed by The Kanneh-Mason Family

Rion Nakaya

Vitamin String Quartet’s Venus As A Boy, a paper animation

Rion Nakaya

Tiger Rag on a homemade Emphatic Chromatic Callioforte

Rion Nakaya

The Viola Maker: How Helen MichetschlΓ€ger crafts string instruments

Rion Nakaya

The Sound of Wood: From sapling to violin

Rion Nakaya

The Sea Pig – Songs for Unusual Creatures

Rion Nakaya

The Mario theme song played on F.A.O. Schwartz’s giant piano

Rion Nakaya

The JankΓ³ keyboard, an 1882 replacement for the traditional piano layout

Rion Nakaya

Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.