The Natural History Of The Musical Bow (1899)
Dec 1st, 2009 by Doug Berch
Musical bows are most likely the original stringed instrument.
Some are played in a fashion similar to the Jew’s harp; the player’s mouth is used as a resonator and by changing the shape of the mouth different harmonics are emphasized to produce melody.
Some musical bows are designed to allow defining notes by fingering the length of the string, some are played with a slide, some are struck as a melodic percussion instrument and others are designed to combine these techniques.
The simplicity of the musical bow is the beauty of the musical bow.
Download your copy here courtesy of Google Books:
“The Natural History Of The Musical Bow by Henry Balfour (1899)
Random Posts From The Archives:
Binding a Dulcimer Soundboard
Dulcimer With Fretting Tools
Balancing Instrument Making and Instrument Playing
Very cool, Doug. Man’s need to create music, art, and things of beauty in all cultures throughout history is simply fascinating.
I agree Kari. Hopefully more and more people will continue to do so!