String instrument strings, or play them by rolling the bell of a brass instrument such as a trombone on the array of strings. However, these are relatively rarely used special techniques. Other keyed string instruments, small enough for a strolling musician to play, include the plucked autoharp, the bowed nyckelharpa, and the hurdy-gurdy, which is played by cranking a rosined wheel. Steel-stringed instruments (such as the guitar, bass, violin, etc.) can be played using a magnetic field. An E-Bow is a small hand-held battery-powered device that magnetically excites the strings of an electric string instrument to provide a sustained, singing tone reminiscent
Nigel Eaton Nigel's tune "The Halsway Carol" (lyrics by Iain Frisk) and "Halsway Schottische" have attracted many cover versions on YouTube. Nigel Eaton Nigel Eaton is an English hurdy-gurdy player. He originally played the piano and cello but switched to the hurdy-gurdy in 1981 when his father, Christopher Eaton, began making them. He was a member of Whirling Pope Joan with Julie Murphy, Blowzabella, The Duellists and Firestarters of Leiden. He has released two solo albums, "The Music of the Hurdy-Gurdy" (1987) and "Pandemonium" (2002), and has been featured on recordings by other artists including Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (with whom