Great Performances #5: Glass Harp

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Great Performances #5: Glass Harp

Posted by Thomas J. West on September 20, 2008 at 10:32 PM

Nearly everyone has been annoyed at some formal occasion by someone at a nearby table running their wet fingertip around the rim of a crystal wine glass, producing that pure tone accompanied by a small squeak. Here is one gentleman who has taken the act of wine glass playing to a level of artistry.

Playing the glasses in this fashion is a great example of how the brain can be trained to perform completely different rhythmic actions with the left and right sides of the body. He even rewets his right hand in a bowl while the left hand is playing! If you've ever tried to produced a sound on a wine glass yourself, you know how tricky it can be to get the glass to speak at all, let alone instantly and with short duration. There are several other good glass harp videos on YouTube that are worth watching as well. Enjoy.