The glass armonica, also known as a glass harmonica or simply armonica, is an extraordinary looking musical instrument that produces sound by rubbing glass or crystal bowls or goblets with wet fingers. It was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761.
The instrument consists of a series of glass bowls of varying sizes, mounted horizontally on a spindle. The bowls are arranged in order of size, with the largest bowl on one end and the smallest on the other.
Franklin came up with the idea after attending a concert where the performer was rubbing the rims of wine glasses to produce musical notes. Franklin thought that was inefficient. Why move your arms when you can move the glasses?
So, he hired a London glassmaker to construct 36 bowls to specific thicknesses and sizes. He mounted the bowls horizontally on a spindle with the largest bowl on one end and the smallest on the other. In this way the musician can play the glass bowls like a keyboard.
The glass armonica became popular during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Mozart and Beethoven both composed chamber pieces for it.
But by the 1820s, it was nearly a forgotten instrument amid fears that it had the power to drive the listener insane. You can hear what it sounds like in the video below.