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 Manuel, acted by Spencer Tracy. The instrument came into a new public consciousness when Donovan released his hit pop song, "Hurdy Gurdy Man", in 1968. Although the song didn't use a hurdy-gurdy, the repeated reference to the instrument in the song's lyrics sparked curiosity and interest among young people, eventually resulting in an annual hurdy-gurdy music festival in the Olympic Peninsula area of the state of Washington each September. Today, the tradition has resurfaced. Revivals have been underway for many years as well in Austria, Belgium and The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden. As