Hurdy-gurdy Hungarian lowlands, but was the normal term for the instrument on Csepel island directly south of Budapest. The equivalent names "ninera" and "niněra" are used in Slovakia and the Czech Republic respectively. In Russian and Ukrainian the instrument is called "wheel lyre" ("колёсная лира", "колісна ліра"). In Poland it is called "cranked lyre" (lira korbowa). "Leier", "lant", and related terms today are generally used to refer to members of the lute or lyre family, but historically had a broader range of meaning and were used for many types of stringed instruments. In her overview of the instrument's history, Palmer recorded
Wheelharp Wheelharp The wheelharp is a musical instrument with bowed strings controlled by a keyboard and foot-controlled motor, similar to Leonardo da Vinci's Viola organista, a keyboard-operated string instrument for continuously sounding strings by rubbing the strings with spinning wheels, powered by a treadle controlled by one foot of the musician. Created by Jon Jones and Mitchell Manger, the wheelharp debuted at the 2013 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. According to the Wall Street Journal, it "looks and works like a cross between a harpsichord and a hurdy-gurdy: a motor driven wheel spins, rubbing against strings when the player depresses a