

Da Vinci's String Organ - dylandrop
http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2013/12/01/247543086/da-vinci-s-string-organ-must-be-heard-to-be-believed

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Udo
This is very, very cool - one can only imagine Da Vinci's delight had he known
this thing would actually be built and played all this time later!

Sadly, the demo video is incredibly useless. Not only is it an obnoxiously
cut-together collage of song fragments, it also never shows how the organ
actually works. They do show off the room it's standing in, the pianist, and
the audience in detail, but not the instrument nor do they do an acceptable
job at providing a good listening experience. One can only assume this is by
design, since the article is pretty vague on the inner workings of the organ
as well.

Still, the project itself is very neat. I'm looking forward to hearing more
from the _viola organista_.

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alternize
the keys when hit lower the strings on the constantly turning wheels. this
video has some short footage on how the instrument works:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS9c76V4RDE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS9c76V4RDE)

~~~
kzrdude
There's an interview here which includes more detailed video of the
instrument. Just be sure to toggle the subtitles.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOrn_z9m9lU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOrn_z9m9lU)

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JasonFruit
I hate to be that guy, but Leonardo didn't really innovate here: the hurdy-
gurdy had existed for a long time by the time he sketched out this instrument,
and it had rosined wheels turning against strings, the different pitches being
selected by a crude keyboard of buttons. Sure, this is more refined, but all
the important elements were present in an existing instrument.

Still, though, it makes a pleasant, musically useful sound. I wonder how hard
it is to keep in adjustment; it seems like it would be touchy (just like the
hurdy-gurdy).

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gry
First off, I didn't know the hurdy-gurdy was an instrument, nor did I know it
preceded this. Guess I really didn't pay attention to Donovan's lyrics…

I'm even more curious now. I want to know why this couldn't or wouldn't have
been built before.

~~~
JasonFruit
Similar things _were_ built. If you read German:
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geigenwerk](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geigenwerk).

~~~
gry
I don't. The English version
[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geigenwerk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geigenwerk)]
suggests the a hurdy-gurdy wheel is in constant contact with strings, while
the viola organista allows for a large number of strings to lower on to the
wheel, so individual notes strings and notes are played.

This seems like he moved technology forward, no?

~~~
corin_
The hurdy-gurdy has 4 drone strings and 2 for melodies, so it's a rather
similar concept to bagpipes with regards how it plays.

Also interesting is the origin of the hurdy-gurdy, the Organistrum:
[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organistrum](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organistrum)

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cheesycheese
The work of Zubrzycki is impressive. For having studied acoustics quite a bit,
I'm very impressed by the fact that the sound manages to have both a very
short attack an a very good sustain (thanks to the wheel). Controlling the
vibration of a bowed string must have been extremely difficult... For the
interested reader, there's a more detailed article here:
[http://tygodnik.onet.pl/zmysly/the-da-vinci-tone-in-
english/...](http://tygodnik.onet.pl/zmysly/the-da-vinci-tone-in-
english/qw5s9)

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alxndr
Here's someone from Japan who's been making Geigenwerk and Streichklavier for
the last twenty years. Neat videos.

[http://obuchi.music.coocan.jp/Geigenwerk/index-e.htm](http://obuchi.music.coocan.jp/Geigenwerk/index-e.htm)

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apendleton
Super cool. In both sound and musical capabilities, it seems like it shares a
lot with the viola da gamba, especially as they both compare to modern
stringed instruments; gambas, being fretted, can't achieve vibrato in the same
way that modern strings can, and so depend a lot more on ornaments (trills,
mordents, etc.) for emphasis. They also lack dynamic range as compared to
modern strings because of their simpler bows, meaning dynamics were often
achieved by adding or removing voices in ensembles. This new instrument is
similar: vibrato and dynamics probably aren't easily achievable, so it seems
well-suited to gamba repertoire.

No surprise, then, that in the Polish-language video linked elsewhere in the
comments here, he plays a couple of M. de Sainte Colombe pieces, as he was a
master gamba performer and composer.

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coldcode
Having played a gamba in college, despite its obvious limitations due to the
frets, you could play wicked multi string chords not possible on a cello.
Sadly due to the gut strings it did not like air conditioning. Because it had
frets I as a guitar/bass player could actually learn to play it reasonably
well.

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marshray
The Brazilian ensemble Uakti plays another take on the bowed string and wheel
instrument. Hauntingly beautiful. Can't get enough of Uakti.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yZijDmnLuY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yZijDmnLuY)

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Sommer
Much better article, interview, and video here (watch the bottom one with CC
on): [http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/11/viola-
organista/](http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/11/viola-organista/)

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xkarga00
Sounds amazing!

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a_olt
Da Vinci was certainly the hacker :)

