5 ms·

The glass harmonica's unlikely comeback

42 points by CraneWorm 10y ago

dmead 10y ago
https://www.fi.edu/history-resources/franklins-glass-armonica https://www.fi.edu/history-resources/franklins-glass-armonic...
Synaesthesia 10y ago
Ass heard on the track "All Neon Like" by Bjork on the album Homogenic.
- strictnein 10y ago
  > "Ass heard" Yes, I giggled. Yes, I'm a child.
  - Synaesthesia 10y ago
    Lol. Mobile device fail
- a3n 10y ago
  "Ass herd," a group of objectionable people. "Oy! You ass herd up there, keep it down!" "Sorry, it's our weekly Armonica jam. We'll be done pretty quick."
  - coldtea 10y ago
    >"Ass herd," a group of objectionable people. Or people with very cute backsides...
rcurry 10y ago
I didn't even know what one was until I watched the movie Mr. Holmes (2015) a while back - a glass armonica is part of the story.
- klipt 10y ago
  With a brilliant performance by Ian McKellen!
verelo 10y ago
I cannot believe this link doesn't give you a video (or at least, i don't see it?) Here is a link to one being played: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQemvyyJ--g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQemvyyJ--g
- civilian 10y ago
  It's the blog of a print magazine... I'm equally disappointed but not at all surprised.
- teh_klev 10y ago
  Third paragraph "It’s an unusual and quiet sound indeed"
  - scoot 10y ago
    Good spot. Following that link, there was an "up next" video of what looks like a trade-show demo of an "Eigenharp" - in which they describe "Touch 3D": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9qPf31xYnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9qPf31xYnY Not quite "3D Touch", but it makes you think! (Amazed to see that the company behind this "instrument" appear to be still in business: http://www.eigenlabs.com/ http://www.eigenlabs.com/
    - teh_klev 10y ago
      Very cool. It's like an instrument out of the Mos Eisley bar.
chrissnell 10y ago
I genuinely thought this story was in reference to Mitch Hedberg's "glass harmonica". He had a great riff on hotel minibars' use of oddball containers for serving ordinary things like Coke in such a way that the patron can't replace the item before the hotel tallies its consumption. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H91DJQlYRjg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H91DJQlYRjg
- shiggerino 10y ago
  Is he a drug addict, an imbecile, or is it just a speech impediment?
  - handedness 10y ago
    He was a self-professed drug addict, but his speech was, as far as I know, an affect.
  - stinkytaco 10y ago
    As already pointed out, he was a drug user ("I like the Fed-Ex guy because he's a drug dealer and he don't even know it"). But the delivery is his style. Whether it's natural or not I don't know, but it certainly was an integral part of his comedy, similar to the monotone of Steven Wright (whom Mitch Hedberg is the spiritual successor to, in my opinion). EDIT: Curiously, Hedberg suffered from terrible stage fright. I find him funny to listen to, but almost uncomfortable to watch because he would often stare at the stage or close his eyes.
  - bbctol 10y ago
    He had pretty extreme stage fright, hence the sunglasses and staring downward. By all accounts, just a very shy guy with a knack for clever jokes.
  - freshyill 10y ago
    That's not very nice.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
gumby 10y ago
This article should mention then peripheral neurological damages suffered by players of this instrument
- sosuke 10y ago
  Any proof of that claim? I've seen it mentioned more than once but only pointing back to some very early (1798) reports. Another good article on it with a couple of sample videos http://krui.fm/2015/12/30/whats-sound-glass-armonica/ http://krui.fm/2015/12/30/whats-sound-glass-armonica/ http://www.glassarmonica.com/census.php http://www.glassarmonica.com/census.php This research paper mentioned several claims about it through Franklin himself suffered no damage despite playing it for years http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079612314000065 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079612314...
- JoeDaDude 10y ago
  I remember hearing stories that armonica players got lead poisoning from the glass, but perhaps the whole thing was a myth. http://www.glassarmonica.com/armonica/lead_poisoning.php http://www.glassarmonica.com/armonica/lead_poisoning.php
  - scoot 10y ago
    I'm pretty sure lead poisoning is a myth. As a teen I used to habitually chew on lead solder while I worked on electronics projects. No adverse effects so far that I'm aware of.
    - dzdt 10y ago
      Pretty tiny amounts of lead are damaging to young children, like age 0-6. It causes neurological damage, decreasing IQ and attention span; increasing aggression. It is such a pervasive effect that researchers find very strong correlation between the phaseout of lead in paint and fuel and decrease in crime 20 years later.
- bsder 10y ago
  I find it hard to believe that this does any more damage to peripheral nerves than jamming a steel wire into your fingers over and over (aka--playing guitar).
wnoise 10y ago
They say "also known as the armonica", when "glass armonica" is the far more common term.
crystalmeph 10y ago
$40,000 each seems like a lot for an instrument there's not that much demand for, and is likely itself an impediment to further adoption. Is there something about the construction of this instrument that justifies this kind of price beyond just "we don't make a lot, so we've got to charge a lot for the ones we do make?"
- compiler-guy 10y ago
  $40K is _because_ there isn't a lot of demand for the instrument.
phasmantistes 10y ago
The armonica is a truly beautiful instrument, but in terms of technical difficulty and impressive performance I still much prefer original many-cups-of-water glass harmonicas/harps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdoTdG_VNV4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdoTdG_VNV4
- apendleton 10y ago
  Definitely. Another cool example that has some impressively fast passages, and also a novel sort of vibraphone-esque table-shaking technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEXH9DAH98 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEXH9DAH98
teh_klev 10y ago
Does anyone from the UK remember ITV's Picture Box [0] (a children/schools programme) and was old enough to be at school in the 70's when it was broadcast? For years I thought they used a glass harmonica for the theme tune, but it turns out it was played on an even more unusual instrument, the "Cristal baschet" [1][2][3]. Also made of glass and relying on wet fingers to produce notes. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEMc-NilY-Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEMc-NilY-Q [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristal_baschet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristal_baschet [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g6i7KUu2Lg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g6i7KUu2Lg [3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHzwdnYdEc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHzwdnYdEc

42 points by CraneWorm 10y ago

dmead 10y ago

https://www.fi.edu/history-resources/franklins-glass-armonica https://www.fi.edu/history-resources/franklins-glass-armonic...

Synaesthesia 10y ago

Ass heard on the track "All Neon Like" by Bjork on the album Homogenic.

strictnein 10y ago
> "Ass heard" Yes, I giggled. Yes, I'm a child.
- Synaesthesia 10y ago
  Lol. Mobile device fail
a3n 10y ago
"Ass herd," a group of objectionable people. "Oy! You ass herd up there, keep it down!" "Sorry, it's our weekly Armonica jam. We'll be done pretty quick."
- coldtea 10y ago
  >"Ass herd," a group of objectionable people. Or people with very cute backsides...

rcurry 10y ago

I didn't even know what one was until I watched the movie Mr. Holmes (2015) a while back - a glass armonica is part of the story.

klipt 10y ago
With a brilliant performance by Ian McKellen!

verelo 10y ago

I cannot believe this link doesn't give you a video (or at least, i don't see it?) Here is a link to one being played: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQemvyyJ--g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQemvyyJ--g

civilian 10y ago
It's the blog of a print magazine... I'm equally disappointed but not at all surprised.
teh_klev 10y ago
Third paragraph "It’s an unusual and quiet sound indeed"
- scoot 10y ago
  Good spot. Following that link, there was an "up next" video of what looks like a trade-show demo of an "Eigenharp" - in which they describe "Touch 3D": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9qPf31xYnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9qPf31xYnY Not quite "3D Touch", but it makes you think! (Amazed to see that the company behind this "instrument" appear to be still in business: http://www.eigenlabs.com/ http://www.eigenlabs.com/
  - teh_klev 10y ago
    Very cool. It's like an instrument out of the Mos Eisley bar.

chrissnell 10y ago

I genuinely thought this story was in reference to Mitch Hedberg's "glass harmonica". He had a great riff on hotel minibars' use of oddball containers for serving ordinary things like Coke in such a way that the patron can't replace the item before the hotel tallies its consumption. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H91DJQlYRjg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H91DJQlYRjg

shiggerino 10y ago
Is he a drug addict, an imbecile, or is it just a speech impediment?
- handedness 10y ago
  He was a self-professed drug addict, but his speech was, as far as I know, an affect.
- stinkytaco 10y ago
  As already pointed out, he was a drug user ("I like the Fed-Ex guy because he's a drug dealer and he don't even know it"). But the delivery is his style. Whether it's natural or not I don't know, but it certainly was an integral part of his comedy, similar to the monotone of Steven Wright (whom Mitch Hedberg is the spiritual successor to, in my opinion). EDIT: Curiously, Hedberg suffered from terrible stage fright. I find him funny to listen to, but almost uncomfortable to watch because he would often stare at the stage or close his eyes.
- bbctol 10y ago
  He had pretty extreme stage fright, hence the sunglasses and staring downward. By all accounts, just a very shy guy with a knack for clever jokes.
- freshyill 10y ago
  That's not very nice.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

gumby 10y ago

This article should mention then peripheral neurological damages suffered by players of this instrument

sosuke 10y ago
Any proof of that claim? I've seen it mentioned more than once but only pointing back to some very early (1798) reports. Another good article on it with a couple of sample videos http://krui.fm/2015/12/30/whats-sound-glass-armonica/ http://krui.fm/2015/12/30/whats-sound-glass-armonica/ http://www.glassarmonica.com/census.php http://www.glassarmonica.com/census.php This research paper mentioned several claims about it through Franklin himself suffered no damage despite playing it for years http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079612314000065 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079612314...
JoeDaDude 10y ago
I remember hearing stories that armonica players got lead poisoning from the glass, but perhaps the whole thing was a myth. http://www.glassarmonica.com/armonica/lead_poisoning.php http://www.glassarmonica.com/armonica/lead_poisoning.php
- scoot 10y ago
  I'm pretty sure lead poisoning is a myth. As a teen I used to habitually chew on lead solder while I worked on electronics projects. No adverse effects so far that I'm aware of.
  - dzdt 10y ago
    Pretty tiny amounts of lead are damaging to young children, like age 0-6. It causes neurological damage, decreasing IQ and attention span; increasing aggression. It is such a pervasive effect that researchers find very strong correlation between the phaseout of lead in paint and fuel and decrease in crime 20 years later.
bsder 10y ago
I find it hard to believe that this does any more damage to peripheral nerves than jamming a steel wire into your fingers over and over (aka--playing guitar).

wnoise 10y ago

They say "also known as the armonica", when "glass armonica" is the far more common term.

crystalmeph 10y ago

$40,000 each seems like a lot for an instrument there's not that much demand for, and is likely itself an impediment to further adoption. Is there something about the construction of this instrument that justifies this kind of price beyond just "we don't make a lot, so we've got to charge a lot for the ones we do make?"

compiler-guy 10y ago
$40K is _because_ there isn't a lot of demand for the instrument.

phasmantistes 10y ago

The armonica is a truly beautiful instrument, but in terms of technical difficulty and impressive performance I still much prefer original many-cups-of-water glass harmonicas/harps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdoTdG_VNV4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdoTdG_VNV4

apendleton 10y ago
Definitely. Another cool example that has some impressively fast passages, and also a novel sort of vibraphone-esque table-shaking technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEXH9DAH98 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEXH9DAH98

teh_klev 10y ago

Does anyone from the UK remember ITV's Picture Box [0] (a children/schools programme) and was old enough to be at school in the 70's when it was broadcast? For years I thought they used a glass harmonica for the theme tune, but it turns out it was played on an even more unusual instrument, the "Cristal baschet" [1][2][3]. Also made of glass and relying on wet fingers to produce notes. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEMc-NilY-Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEMc-NilY-Q [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristal_baschet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristal_baschet [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g6i7KUu2Lg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g6i7KUu2Lg [3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHzwdnYdEc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHzwdnYdEc