HISTORY | MUSIC
The World’s Most Dangerous Instrument
It had the power to drive the listener insane
The world’s most dangerous instrument
There are very few instruments in the world that divides opinion as much as the glass harmonica.
Benjamin Franklin was said to be a prolific glass harmonica player. He was so fond of this parlor trick, he even invented his own version simply called armonica. Franklin wrote from London in 1762 about his musical instrument:
“The advantages of this instrument are, that its tones are incomparably sweet beyond those of any other; that they may be swelled and softened at pleasure by stronger or weaker pressures of the finger, and continued to any length; and that the instrument, being well-tuned, never again wants tuning. In honor of your musical language, I have borrowed from it the name of this instrument, calling it the Armonica.” Source — www.americanmusicpreservation.com
Glass fingering
Hydrodaktulopsychicharmonica is the musical practice of rubbing one’s fingers along the rim of a glass or glasses. The sounds are created by using cups or bowls of glass in increasing and decreasing size to produce different pitches by the sheer friction of the fingers.
