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 from the French, and players generally need to know these terms to read relevant literature. Such common terms include the following: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the mid 18th century origin of the term "hurdy-gurdy" is onomatopoeic in origin, after the repetitive warble in pitch that characterizes instruments with solid wooden wheels that have warped due to changes in humidity or after the sound of the buzzing-bridge. Alternately, the term is thought to come from the Scottish and northern English term for uproar or disorder, "hirdy-girdy" or from "hurly-burly", an old English term for noise or commotion. The instrument