A few weeks ago while strolling through Harvard Square in Cambridge i came across this very interesting woman playing an instrument i had never seen.

I thought you all might be interested!

The following is a direct qoute from this website .

"Benjamin Franklin heard a performance on a set of musical glasses in Cambridge by Edmund Delaval—probably in 1761—and decided to invent a more 'convenient arrangement'. He initially named his invention the 'glassy-chord', but changed it in early 1762 to the 'armonica' (after the Italian word for 'harmony'). His invention incorporated several insights:

• Eliminate the pesky water tuning by making the glasses the right size in the first place for the pitches you want.
• You'll now have a set of glasses graduated in size from largest for the lowest note to smallest for the highest note. Nest them inside of each other so only the rims are exposed, and you'll be able to play 10 glasses at once if you wish.
• Mount this assembly of nested glasses on a spindle so it's already rotating.

He built one and it had its debut performance by Marianne Davies in early 1762. Franklin's invention was a hit. Marianne Davies went on to tour throughout Europe with it. A particularly brilliant virtuoso on the instrument—Marianne Kirchgaessner in Germany—inspired Mozart to compose music for it in 1791. Beethoven and a long list of other composers of the day also composed for it."

(http://www.glassarmonica.com/armonica/history/summary.php)

I didn't buy a CD as I didn't want to invite marital discord. or insanity into my home. But i did get a chance to turn for her for several songs, the one i liked best, the star wars theme music, but i could not take a video and turn at the same time. When she is in doors There is a motor that turns the Armonica for her. but when she brings it out on the street she must ask passsers by to do the honors.