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Banned! Musical Instrument "causes insanity"

oddstrument.com — The crystallophone or glass harmonica was known to cause madness, depression, and self-annihilation in its musicians and listeners. Ghostly and amazing sounds =)

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  • thebradmiskell, on 05/09/2008, -1/+86I'm probably not a good judge since I'm already nuts, but force me to listen to a Bon Jovi medley on that thing and I'm definitely running amok.
    • RealmDown, on 05/09/2008, -9/+1I disagree. I don't think you'll run amok. :-D
      • sexybobo, on 05/09/2008, -5/+12Maby not but i do run amarok
        • unicronband, on 05/09/2008, -1/+5Sorry for comment abuse, but I found this really tripped out Russian animation from the 60's called "Glass Harmonica" some Diggers might enjoy.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq3E3Tle24c
        • Neoanarchist, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1@ Unicronband
          I like it already! Nice of you to bury it deep in a 3rd level nested comment lmao.
          Anyway, thanks and nice find.
        • Stroggoth, on 05/09/2008, -1/+14Factiod: the resaon the instruments "caused insanity" was because the players would rub their fingers on LEADED glass when they played, which eventually gave them lead poisoning, which looks like mental disorders. Newer versions are not made with leaded glass, and thus cause no insanity.
      • davidg11, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1I thought this was a story about Yanni and him being the master of the PAN FLUTE. Buried..
    • jabberwolf, on 05/09/2008, -2/+16OMFG - can they ban the TRIANGLE too? Please!
    • vypergts, on 05/09/2008, -5/+9Fry: Hey Bender, as long as you know, I have a Holophoner recital Tuesday and I would really like to have someone there, please?
    • Revenuer, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2Amok, Amok, Amok!
      • ZannaDiosa, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2Every time I hear this word, that's the quote I think of. :)
    • directedition, on 05/10/2008, -2/+1For the love of god, just don't ban the cowbell.
  • senders, on 05/09/2008, -2/+49put it together with a theramin and a lute... ROCK.
  • neuens07, on 05/09/2008, -18/+242ajegnakeopitpandgpcizyyywwwjanaoite!!! whiiioccnncndooooooooojjjladjfiejrqf!!!! groy... glabbb.... flaaaajiofejfpjag!!!
    • arcooke, on 05/09/2008, -1/+124citation needed.
      • neuens07, on 05/09/2008, -7/+2Encyclopedia Britannica... maybe...
        • neuens07, on 05/09/2008, -3/+13Sorry, Drinking and Digging last night...
    • Phillzz, on 05/09/2008, -6/+37я не знаю о чем ты, но твой базар мне близок :)
      • RealmDown, on 05/09/2008, -3/+69"In Russian, music plays you" ?

      • doshindude, on 05/09/2008, -6/+5ooga booga to you too?
      • Raptor007, on 05/09/2008, -0/+19"I don't know what you're talking about, but your bazaar is close to me."
        Wait, what?
        • analogkid01, on 05/09/2008, -1/+9Exactly.
        • AmICoolNow, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2I got "I do not know about what you, but your market is close to me". Sort of funny how online translators make things make less sense.
      • ophello, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1anything but english is funny...did you really think anyone here would know what that says?
      • WShadow, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1It's an expression. In colloquial Russian, "bazaar" can also refer to speech.
    • LiquidIse, on 05/09/2008, -5/+20Well played sir
    • Ganja420, on 05/09/2008, -2/+9INSANITY !!!!
    • bstew22, on 05/09/2008, -0/+19is it bad i understood that?
    • lunachique, on 05/09/2008, -3/+5Gesundheit!
    • protogenxl, on 05/09/2008, -2/+42Father: What's wrong, son?
      Son: I want to drink goat's blood.
      Father: But son... it's only *Tuesday*!
    • polloconjamon, on 05/09/2008, -19/+11………………………..,-~*’`¯lllllll`*~,……………………………………
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      • pkaocdigg, on 05/09/2008, -2/+7thats a way better facepalm than any other one i've ever seen
    • AROZ, on 05/09/2008, -2/+3Too bad we couldn't get a clip of the Simpsons where Hugh Hefner plays wine glasses like a glass armonica on Krusty's comeback show.
    • canUdi9it, on 05/09/2008, -2/+13I listened to the whole song and I'm as sane as ever. No you're not. Am too. Wanna bet? Shut up. Make me. I don't make mistakes. Do too. Do not. You're an idiot. Takes one to know one.
    • MrNeom, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2Snow Crash, its a hell of a drug.
      • rathergood, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1probably 5% of diggers would get this reference
    • jpl7986, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1that glabbb made me quiver
    • Noureddin, on 05/10/2008, -8/+1omfg.... Spammer got dugg up big time! WTF???
    • PeanutCheeseBar, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
    • CelloZach, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2I do hope that you recover from that lead poisoning.
  • jimthenglishman, on 05/09/2008, -4/+87that is incredibly cool…
    i can just imagine it being used on the next nine inch nails album…
    something that causes "madness, depression, and self-annihilation" seems like it would attract trent…
    • sykotik, on 05/09/2008, -35/+10Ugh... don't encourage him, and maybe we'll get lucky and he'll stop making albums.
      • dafragsta, on 05/09/2008, -5/+20Speak for yourself. You are in hostile territory if you expect to rally anyone behind that opinion.
        • seraph741, on 05/09/2008, -3/+5agreed
        • ErikHarrison, on 05/09/2008, -4/+7AGREED. Don't ***** with a guy that creates, writes, produces, plays, and does all of the music himself, or at least used to. You cannot deny that type of talent.
          • RealmDown, on 05/09/2008, -4/+9And makes my day
            by giving it away
            in order to say
            ***** the RIAA
        • sykotik, on 05/09/2008, -0/+2I was, in fact, speaking for myself. I'm well aware that the prior comment, as well as this one, will be dugg down with much vigor.
        • twiztidsinz, on 05/09/2008, -1/+5Not to mention one who's been EXTREMELY cool to the types of people who use Digg by GIVING AWAY his album.
        • GuitaristTom, on 05/09/2008, -4/+3Well I create and produce the ***** that comes out of my ass and I'd give it away to anyone who wants it... It's crap, go listen to some real music that doesn't sound like it was written in four minutes.
      • Heavypettingzoo, on 05/10/2008, -2/+2If you don't like it, don't buy it. Do you automatically purchase these albums he's making? Is that what is bothering you so much?
    • Terr01, on 05/09/2008, -5/+25The insanity was probably because original models used leaded glass and lead would be absorbed into the skin over time.

      Same as the madness from "mad as a hatter", since mercury was a part of the manufacturing process.

      Not mystical sounds and brain waves.
      • KibibyteBrain, on 05/09/2008, -0/+10Actually, that theory had been debunked. The lead exposure from the glass through the skin would have been insignificant compared to that acquired from other vectors common at the time, like pewter tankards drinking acidic beverages. It is very likely that the belief that this instrument caused insanity was not as prevalent as the legends make it out to be, and was confined to germany and even then little supports its widespread belief. Its just the idea of an instrument causing insanity is too artistically appealing to not fixate on. And also keep in mind at the time some people were highly mystic about anything new, and the sound of this instrument was quite alien.
        Also, there is no evidence it was ever banned. It just was a victim of musical style changes just like the harpsichord. But again, the idea of a banned instrument is too appealing to ignore.
    • antiorblkflag9, on 05/09/2008, -0/+10Reminds me of a holophoner
    • insenid, on 05/10/2008, -1/+3yea, but it seems like an odd sound to go along with someone yelling ERASE ME!!!
  • travbrack, on 05/09/2008, -4/+177Freebird!
    • polloconjamon, on 05/09/2008, -23/+12………………………..,-~*’`¯lllllll`*~,……………………………………
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    • ErikHarrison, on 05/09/2008, -6/+3Hotel California!
    • motivatedmama, on 05/09/2008, -3/+8Don't you know Hillary supporters aren't allowed on Digg?
    • Akaji, on 05/10/2008, -2/+1Stairway to Heaven!
  • AManWithNoName, on 05/09/2008, -3/+21I think the digital transition destroyed the effect...I watched that whole video, and I'm no more insane than I was before.
    • SteelChicken, on 05/09/2008, -4/+2yeah it just sounded like crap.
    • sexybobo, on 05/09/2008, -0/+7Maybe you are to far gone?
    • drakenlot, on 05/09/2008, -0/+3I think I'm less insane... Or I'm insane to think that.
    • Llanowar, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1I know what you mean. And so does my new friend the crossbred chicken-horse!
  • Heavypettingzoo, on 05/09/2008, -3/+146FTA: "The glass armonica’s ghostly notes will cause insanity in its musicians and listeners! At least this is what was thought to be true in the 18th century."

    Sensationalist title much?
    • RealmDown, on 05/09/2008, -2/+31He probably works for Fox.
    • dafragsta, on 05/09/2008, -1/+2Very much.
    • blahtastic, on 05/09/2008, -2/+10It was the lead in the 18th century glass, actually.
      • Heavypettingzoo, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1I just saw a comment above somewhere debunking that theory because the amount of lead actually absorbed through the skin was insignificant. But who knows...any scientists in da house?
        • MisterNetHead, on 05/10/2008, -1/+2Or you could just read the article....

          "The glass armonica’s sound is perceived by human ears differently than other instruments because its range is between 1,000 and 4,000 hertz. When sounds are below 4,000 hertz, the human brain compares “phase differences” between the left and right ears to triangulate the origin of the sound rather than comparing volumes. This causes hearing disorientation and a “not quite sure” feeling about where the sound is coming from."
  • Tymyyy, on 05/09/2008, -8/+2nu a mers sa vad nimic
  • ANT1138, on 05/09/2008, -1/+13More glass armonica music please.
  • playuhh, on 05/09/2008, -6/+7Glassarmonica looks freakin badass as he's playin it and it sounds coool too. Title = Lame?

    Nooooooo! Title = frontpage ;)
    well played greenmason... well played.
  • mrtracy, on 05/09/2008, -1/+21I think I found a new way to torture my enemies.
  • mikephimikephi, on 05/09/2008, -0/+7I'm pretty sure that maddening qualities have been lost from the youtube conversion.
    Anybody have a .wav link that will restore the crazy to this instrument?
  • Dumbledorito, on 05/09/2008, -1/+20It's as if some MONSTER took the "running a wet finger around a leaded goblet" noise and increased the effects a THOUSAND FOLD! The sheer, mad GENIUS of it all!
    • flashingcurser, on 05/09/2008, -5/+2Umm that monster would Ben Franklin if I'm not mistaken. I don't know about mad genius, but Ben has been rated by psychologists posthumasly to be a genius. Digg me down if that was in the article, I could only get to a mirror that didn't look very informative.
  • AlwaysAwake, on 05/09/2008, -17/+1If I had payed to listen to this annoying "music ?", I would definitely go "madly" to the box office for a return of my money. Otherwise, this whole story is just more of the human blame game, to avoid personal responsibility and accountability for our actions, and the consequences of those. This time, blame it on the glass harmonica, and/or the music it plays.
  • Diderotten, on 05/09/2008, -1/+6What group of musical instruments does this fit into? Percussion? It's not on the site, or wikipedia.
    • unicronband, on 05/09/2008, -0/+5"Friction instruments of this type are called friction idiophones. The glass armonica is called a crystallophone while the glass harp is called a hydrocrystalophone."
      • fatlip, on 05/09/2008, -0/+11but then whats the bananaphone?
        • drakenlot, on 05/09/2008, -0/+5deliciousness
        • po43292, on 05/09/2008, -0/+10It's a cellular, modular, interactivodular instrument.
        • Akaji, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, bananaphooooooone....
  • drowningfish, on 05/09/2008, -0/+112Nice sound. One problem though. What do I do with all these bodies?
  • Altanar, on 05/09/2008, -10/+3"in its musicians and listeners." Sorry, I refuse to digg sensationalist BS. The lead in the instrument definitely didn't help the health of anyone playing the instrument, but that doesn't affect listeners.
    • OMnicient, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1Too little lead in the glass to affect anyone as much as living near an intersection during the days of tetraethyl leaded gasoline. Leaded crystal for drinking could be hazardous, although they still make it for decanters.
  • plimpton777, on 05/09/2008, -4/+66More Cowbell!
    • polloconjamon, on 05/09/2008, -20/+3………………………..,-~*’`¯lllllll`*~,……………………………………
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      • sailadayaway, on 05/09/2008, -3/+23………………………..,-~*’`¯lllllll`*~,……………………………………
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        • unicronband, on 05/09/2008, -1/+5FACEPALM.JPG
          • po43292, on 05/09/2008, -0/+3* .txt
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          • copypasta, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG

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      • fatlip, on 05/09/2008, -6/+4quit /b/ing a faggot
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        • polloconjamon, on 05/09/2008, -8/+1@W @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@
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  • TGMD, on 05/09/2008, -0/+18Take that Ben Franklin!
  • brjohnson789, on 05/09/2008, -12/+4Well, this explains 8 years of George Bush. There was a Simpsons episode, the Krusty Komeback special, where they had a song played by a glass harmonica. There are many insane Americans running around after hearing that, and that's why Bush is still getting 20% approval or whatever.
    • sobe86, on 05/09/2008, -1/+13Seriously, does everything have to come back to politics?
    • mijelh, on 05/09/2008, -0/+0The fact you invented a relation between this and politic proves the fact that it causes insanity indeed
  • omnithought, on 05/09/2008, -4/+6I'd like to see what Steve Vai could do with one o' those!
  • redcolumbine, on 05/09/2008, -0/+3It's lovely, very delicate and sweet, almost wistful - really suits Tchaikovsky, and that piece in particular. All that nonsense about pitch is ridiculous - plenty of instruments play low notes.
    • OMnicient, on 05/09/2008, -2/+1Okay, sit in a crowded room and wet your finger and play a glass. I know I've driven people nuts doing it.
  • cmuwriter, on 05/09/2008, -12/+5The guy playing is even dressed up like the thing's inventor, Benjamin Franklin. How douchish.
    • BadseedJR, on 05/09/2008, -0/+8Is that how you spell douchish? I think trying to comprehend that is going to make me insane more than the glass instrument.
      • fatlip, on 05/09/2008, -0/+3i believe the correct term is douchey
        • charmedguy18, on 05/09/2008, -0/+3I believe there isn't really a correct term.
  • Nhmarine, on 05/09/2008, -5/+1This is the reason I am on digg (because I am insane)
  • dmark77, on 05/09/2008, -7/+1What if your already insane?
    • zephyr42, on 05/09/2008, -2/+2we've found the perfect thing for you to do.... alone
    • copypasta, on 05/10/2008, -1/+0The fact that you can't comprehend the contraction you're which is formed by combining the words you and are automatically makes you insane by default.
  • Seventus, on 05/09/2008, -0/+7They say that Mozart loved the instrument after hearing it that he designed symphonies specifically for it.
  • staeiou, on 05/09/2008, -3/+4The only thing that causes insanity are these ridiculous, sensationalist stories that keep getting dugg to the top page.
  • dhirajj, on 05/09/2008, -0/+56The glass armonica’s ghostly notes will cause insanity in its musicians and listeners! At least this is what was thought to be true in the 18th century. People were frightened by the armonica’s sound due to it’s strange interactions with the human brain and ears (more on this later). Benjamin Franklin invented the glass armonica (above) in 1761 after being profoundly moved by the sounds of the glass harp (below).

    glass harp

    The glass armonica’s ethereal notes were said to cause insanity, depression, and marital problems. Via Wikipedia:

    One example of fear from playing the glass harmonica was noted by a German musicologist Friedrich Rochlitz in Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung where it is stated that “the armonica excessively stimulates the nerves, plunges the player into a nagging depression and hence into a dark and melancholy mood that is apt method for slow self-annihilation. If you are suffering from any nervous disorder, you should not play it; if you are not yet ill you should not play it; if you are feeling melancholy you should not play it.

    The glass armonica’s sound is perceived by human ears differently than other instruments because its range is between 1,000 and 4,000 hertz. When sounds are below 4,000 hertz, the human brain compares “phase differences” between the left and right ears to triangulate the origin of the sound rather than comparing volumes. This causes hearing disorientation and a “not quite sure” feeling about where the sound is coming from. The video below is “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from the Nutcracker being played on a glass armonica. Relax and enjoy. :)

    Friction instruments of this type are called friction idiophones. The glass armonica is called a crystallophone while the glass harp is called a hydrocrystalophone.

    with this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQemvyyJ--g
    • hsanjuan, on 05/09/2008, -2/+2i feel like killing myself
    • scottgman, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1I think that Wikipedia explanation of the sonic range might be a little inaccurate. 1000 hertz (1kHz) is really not all that low. I would consider that as lower mid range. Alot the sonic energy of a bass guitar is below 1kHz. Even a regular old 6-string guitar has alot of sub-1kHz stuff going on. The "thump" of a kick drum is around the 50 to 100 hertz range.
      • RustyJ, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1the thump is more 200-400, depending on your kick.

        You're right though, 1k is just shy of the middle of the human hearing spectrum
      • ParanoydAndroid, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2My understanding is that the point isn't that the sound is particularly low. Apparently sounds over 4kHz our ears definitely use volume to locate, and for sounds under 1kHZ our ears definitely use phase differences to help locate. This instrument falls into the 1kHz-4kHz range which is just perfectly in between so our ears are never quite sure what to do to locate the sound.
    • LogicBomB, on 05/09/2008, -1/+2Just so people know, for comparison, subwoofers will dip down to 20hz, well below 4000hz.
    • julienbh, on 05/09/2008, -0/+3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WZExmtIJkI&feature ...
      The guy in green is already insane... PROOF !!!
      (plus you can't say the girl playing don't look crazy)
    • slazer, on 05/09/2008, -1/+3awww crap. im crazy again.
    • FutureGuy, on 05/09/2008, -3/+2That sounds sweet, that lady playing it does look kinda crazy, just kidding. OMG what's going on, my PC just started talking with me, huh leett meee get bacwace sdf32@#$WEF r2rq@#$@#$QWERWEFR#@R$#@$, bang.
    • crowsmurder, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3Korn did a unplugged song, "Falling Away From Me", that was beautiful with the glass harmonica
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t90_cmWojcA
      • bjornski, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1That was really cool. I almost thought you were joking at first, but I'm quite impressed.
  • sykotik, on 05/09/2008, -0/+12Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this very same instrument used on Korn's unplugged set?
  • bstew22, on 05/09/2008, -0/+19hmmm.. all along i thought it was the oboe that caused insanity
    • farboo, on 05/09/2008, -0/+10No but the glass oboe does.
    • MrESaulved, on 05/09/2008, -0/+8Nah, that's just a vicious lie spread by those wicked clarinet players.
      • bstew22, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1...i have NO idea what you're talking about.... *evil laugh*
  • Shawshanksr, on 05/09/2008, -6/+5i play this kind of music when im high
  • fejjfunklamella, on 05/09/2008, -2/+3Mirror?
  • hsanjuan, on 05/09/2008, -5/+46mirror http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:pMCo7g_5DrAJ: ...
    • D14BL0, on 05/09/2008, -0/+2Digg this guy back up, guys. Site's down.
    • Surferess, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1thank you!
    • OaklandNative, on 05/09/2008, -0/+2I'm stealing your mirror and posting it as a reply to the first comment so I can get all the dig up glory. HA!

      Seriously though, it's never a bad thing to post a mirror at the top of the page.
  • nukethewhales, on 05/09/2008, -15/+1http://www.duggmirror.com
  • Gryfft, on 05/09/2008, -3/+102It caused madness because they used to make glass with lead and longtime players of the glass armonica absorbed large enough quantities of lead through the pores in their fingers to poison them, not because of any effect of the sounds it made.
    • endlessoul, on 05/09/2008, -1/+17Logic, comprehension, facts, all on a Digg post?

      You've just made my day.
    • scrag10, on 05/10/2008, -2/+3Your facts make it seem less cool. thanks a lot!
    • notwizt, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1(citation needed)
  • mchristiansen, on 05/09/2008, -1/+10I read somewhere that musicians went mad from exposure to lead in the paint used to color the glass containers.
    • MrESaulved, on 05/09/2008, -0/+17You mean from the guy in the post right above you?
      • dhughes, on 05/10/2008, -4/+2 Well look at you reading up two inches and thinking you're the bomb.
  • krisscofield, on 05/09/2008, -8/+16Buried. I'm on Expert on CrystallophoneHero and I'm fine. o_o
  • GreatSunJester, on 05/09/2008, -3/+12I was able to play on one a few years back (play being a stretch! Make it make sounds is more accurate). No insanity here at all. No ill effects on me. Nope, none......nada..... [puts on tinfoil heel cup] ... nope, not at all.

    Seriously, the person who COULD play it made some hauntingly beautiful music.
  • E3L1, on 05/09/2008, -10/+1THIS IS HARMONICA!!!
  • demiurgency, on 05/09/2008, -2/+23Cthulhu approved!
    • 5xSTUN, on 05/09/2008, -1/+3With a special recommendation by Mr. Erich Zann.
  • Crazd, on 05/09/2008, -0/+7I actually saw a guy perform on one of these in Colonial Williamsburg. Apparently there aren't too many left in the world. No one in the audience went insane, but it did make me kind of drowsy. I've got a whole CD of it somewhere. Also, as a bonus, he said it eventually wears off your fingerprints from the constant rubbing of glass.
  • wacomwacoff, on 05/09/2008, -1/+6Er.... not exactly banned. The glass armonica was invented by Ben Franklin, and I see a guy playing one at the local renaissance fest every year.
    • doctechnical, on 05/09/2008, -1/+2I believe Franklin invented a *version* of it, but not the first one. I heard one played on NPR some time ago, I thought it sounded quite lovely. But then I may be insane already :)
      • RationalXubrnce, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2 No he invented the first one ever.
  • postalblowfish7, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1jeff tweedy?
    • LETSPLAYCROQUET, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2What does Wilco have to do with this?
  • mal1964, on 05/09/2008, -0/+11Try sitting in a room with a 2 year old with any instrument for an whole day. You might not go insane but you wont be normal
  • dafragsta, on 05/09/2008, -0/+9This is the coolest sounding accoustic instrument I think I've ever heard.
    • MrESaulved, on 05/09/2008, -0/+4Wait until you hear an air blown pipe organ with 64 foot bombards and thousands of pipes.

      Compare and contrast!
      • bjornski, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Very cool too. But totally different. There's something to be said for subtlety. The sound from a pipe organ is awe-inspiring, almost intimidating if you have a good organist. But the haunting sound of this glass harmonica, just.....neat as hell.
  • uberchaoslord, on 05/09/2008, -1/+11Coming soon for XBox360/PS3: Glassarmonic Hero!

    I think anyone who can play the piano would probably have an easy time with this - similar motions.
  • ChingKing, on 05/09/2008, -1/+12Oh dear god, now every emo will want one for christmas.
  • quietamerican, on 05/09/2008, -1/+35Online emulator:

    http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/musician/virtualarmonic ...

    Schweet!
    • MemfisDesigns, on 05/09/2008, -0/+6That was pretty intense, now all we need is a program to convert our mp3's to Armonica music
    • iperbole, on 05/09/2008, -0/+5my ears hurt. that online emulator can get out of hand pretty quick, esp if listening on headphones.
    • timothycrash01, on 05/09/2008, -0/+4D - G# - G on the keyboard = Zombie suspense.
    • NEWNHLISLAME, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1killer!
    • MuskokasFinest, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3Holy crap I think my speakers almost had a stroke playing some of those notes together.
  • MOates, on 05/09/2008, -0/+7The holophone?
  • whathandsyield, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1I remember reading a book about the glass armonica a little while back. As far as i remember the insanity was caused by the lead in the paint that they put on the rim of the glass bowls. It is an amazing instrument though and i'm glad people still play it.
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