Practice the Hurdy-Gurdy with This MIDI-Based Digi-Gurdy

The hurdy-gurdy is a unique and fascinating instrument that originated approximately 1,000 years ago and found its modern form during the Renaissance period. It’s a stringed instrument that sounds something like a violin, except that the bow is replaced with a rosined wheel. As the musician plays, they use a crank to turn that wheel. Buttons and levers are then used to push the strings against the wheel and produce a tone. They’re incredibly complex instruments, and very hard to come by. Thanks to modern technology, however, you can make this MIDI-based Digi-Gurdy to practice your hurdy-gurdy skills.

As you’d expect given the complexity of the instrument, a hurdy-gurdy is quite expensive. But you can build the Digi-Gurdy, designed by XenonJohn, using affordable and readily-available parts. Because it’s designed to be used with a computer through a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) connection, the device itself doesn’t require any expensive components. You can also adjust how it actually sounds in the software. XenonJohn is still developing the Digi-Gurdy, and this isn’t the final version. But it’s still worth experimenting with if you’re interested in ancient instruments.

To build the Digi-Gurdy, you’ll need a Teensy 3.6 microcontroller development board, microswitches, and access to a 3D-printer. You can also add an OLED screen to display the notes you’re currently playing. The current version of the Digi-Gurdy doesn’t have a crank, but XenonJohn plans to add a simulated crank on future revisions. He even has a experimental crank built using a fishing reel crank and an electric motor. XenonJohn has released his design files and a build manual, so you can get started with the Digi-Gurdy now if you don’t mind that it’s still under development.