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
The Hurdy Gurdy Man The rest of "The Hurdy Gurdy Man" was recorded in April 1968, after he visited Rishikesh in India to study Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. John Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Ringo Starr, Mia Farrow, Prudence Farrow and Mike Love were there as well. Harrison wrote a verse for "Hurdy Gurdy Man" when they were in India, but it was cut from the studio version in order to ensure that the song was not overly long for a single. On his 1973 live album "" and his 1990 live album "Rising", Donovan explains