String instrument strings, or play them by rolling the bell of a brass instrument such as a trombone on the array of strings. However, these are relatively rarely used special techniques. Other keyed string instruments, small enough for a strolling musician to play, include the plucked autoharp, the bowed nyckelharpa, and the hurdy-gurdy, which is played by cranking a rosined wheel. Steel-stringed instruments (such as the guitar, bass, violin, etc.) can be played using a magnetic field. An E-Bow is a small hand-held battery-powered device that magnetically excites the strings of an electric string instrument to provide a sustained, singing tone reminiscent
Howard Skempton among which are some for instruments rarely used in the western tradition: the hurdy-gurdy ("Concerto for hurdy-gurdy and percussion" (1994)) and the accordion ("Concerto for oboe, accordion and strings" (1997)). Some of the later works explore non-standard instrumentation: "Alveston" (2007) is scored for four trumpets, "Horizons" (2001) is scored for oboe and harp, "Ballade" (1997) is a pieces for saxophone quartet and string orchestra. Howard Skempton Howard While Skempton (born 31 October 1947) is an English composer, pianist, and accordionist. Since the late 1960s, when he helped to organise the Scratch Orchestra, he has been associated with the English school