Yes, that's a problem with the name "hurdy gurdy" - it actually is used to
describe three distinct instruments:
* our circular-bow keyboard-stopped droning violin
* a barrel organ, or monkey-grinder organ (usually the crank pumps a bellows,
and turns a wheel that drives a player-piano-like paper music roll)
* any of the cranked music boxes (with the tunes encoded on cylinders or disks)
That's an identity issue I have not been able to resolve regarding American saloons in the old West
- they were called "hurdy gurdy houses" (Mark Twain mentions visiting one in Virginia
City in his book _Roughing It_), and the dancers were called "hurdy gurdy girls", but I
can't find a drawing, photo, or description of which instrument was used there.
-Gary P.
John Roberts wrote:
Ah, but is that even a hurdy-gurdy? Sounds to me like it may be a barrel
organ.
JR
