I started brainstorming a couple of days ago trying to think up a different way to interpret Da Vinci's ideas for a "Viola Organista"(what a beautiful name!), that would be much simpler than the ways that were previously built. In my previous post, I showed two very different ways to use the hurly-burly model of a rosined rotating wheel. I also know of a built using the belt on two wheels idea. As far as I know, the mechanical bow was never seriously attempted.
I actually just found a very interesting paper posted on the Internet about a bona fide project called:
"The Design and Development of a New, Mechanically Bowed String Instrument Ensemble".
They apparently tested all three of DaVinci's ideas, and found the rotating wheel was the most viable. They are experimenting with multiple wheels controlled by Arduino microprocessors to recreate a whole string orchestra. I hope they get interested into mechanical woodwinds next...
Anyhow, first, I thought up a setup that would play a set of maybe 6 chords using a rotating wheel mounted on slides. Then I thought instead of having a wheel for each set of 4 strings. The wheels would sit above the strings, so they could be rotated simply by rubbing the hands on top of them. It occurred to me immediately that they could also of course easily be "scrubbed", as is done with the crank of the hurly-burly. It would probably help if the hands were covered with powdered rosin, both for "traction", and to keep the wheels rosin on the wheels. The wheels would be staggered for compactness, and their axles sit in slots in rungs running across the strings. Each set of 4 strings would use a separate bridge, and the strings get longer from left too right.
These are the very rough first sketches of both ideas:
There would be a spring keeping the wheels off the strings, and lifting it after each stroke, allowing the strings to keep ringing and resonating, instead of producing the screeching "dead" sound of the hurly-burly:
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