TransWikia.com

What word or phrase describes this musical instrument?

English Language & Usage Asked on June 24, 2021

The last time I saw one in the streets was back in the early 1960s, and it drew the attention of all passers-by as most people had never seen one before. Let me describe it:

  • It consists of a box with a drawer and a hand crank.
  • Turning the crank in a circular motion produces music.
  • The drawer contains a lot of tiny cards telling one’s fortune.
  • A lovebird, or a monkey, often has a role in the show.

This instrument is his owner’s bread and butter. He walks around parks and squares, turning the crank to produce music. When he spots a couple, he offers the man a fortune-card for his girlfriend or wife. If the guy accepts it, the lovebird picks up a card for the couple, and the instrument owner gets a tip.

2 Answers

That would be called a barrel organ. The person who plays it is called an organ grinder. I've only seen them on TV and in movies, and I've never seen the fortune card part of it. Just the musical instrument.

enter image description here

(Barrel organ - Britannica.com)

Correct answer by Nuclear Hoagie on June 24, 2021

The answer to the OP's question is definitely "Barrel Organ" but there is a degree of confusion about what this term means and also around the terms Barrel Organ and Hurdy-Gurdy. In particular there is a comment discussion going on between @DarrelHoffman and @Édouard. I was going to add my own comment when I found this site belonging to a maker of barrel organs from which I copied the following paragraph:

To clear up some common misconceptions, these pages are devoted to 'organs' - that is, instruments with pipes that sound when air is blown through them, just like a church organ, but a lot smaller! 'Barrel Organs' were a common sight years ago, and some did contain air-blown pipes, but the majority of these were actually very large versions of a musical box - as revealed by the 'metallic' sounds that they produced. Another name sometimes wrongly applied to Busker organs is 'Hurdy Gurdy'. This is actually a mechanical violin, where a rotating wheel takes the place of a bow, and notes can be sounded by operating keys to press the violin strings onto the wheel.

This said so much that I wanted to say and with so much authority that I thought I should share it with the community. The only thing I would add is that true hurdy-gurdies are instruments which need proper musical skills to play whereas barrel organs of all types are hand-cranked mechanical instruments where the tune is determined by spikes on a rotating drum or holes in cards or paper. For those who are interested I would suggest that they enter "hurdy-gurdy" into a search engine. There is a wealth of information and demonstrations out there.

Answered by BoldBen on June 24, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP