Hurdy-gurdy Hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a stringed instrument that produces sound by a hand crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses "tangents"—small wedges, typically made of wood—against one or more of the strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic stringed instruments, it has a sound board and hollow cavity to make the vibration of the strings audible. Most hurdy-gurdies have multiple drone strings, which give a constant pitch accompaniment
Hurdy-gurdy is sometimes more descriptively called a "wheel fiddle" in English, but this term is rarely used among players of the instrument. Another possible derivation is from the Hungarian "hegedűs" (Slovenian variant "hrgadus") meaning a fiddle. In France, the instrument is known as "vielle à roue" (wheel fiddle) or simply "vielle" (even though there is another instrument with this name), while in the French-speaking regions of Belgium it is also known in local dialects as "vièrlerète/vièrlète" or "tiesse di dj'va" ('horse's head'). The Flemings and the Dutch call it a "draailier", which is similar to its German name, "Drehleier". An alternate