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
Anna Murphy (musician) she came in contact with music in her early childhood years. In 2006, at the age of 16, she became the hurdy-gurdy player of the Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. At that time, the band was looking for a hurdy-gurdy player. A friend mentioned her to them and so, Murphy was taken in. Before that, she had played the hurdy-gurdy for only a few months. Impressed by the German band Faun, she started playing it. After taking some classes at the music academy, she borrowed the instrument to mainly practice the music from Eluveitie. In addition, she occasionally plays the