 Nail violin, Bohemia. Czech Museum of Music, Prague | |
| Other names | Nail harmonica; (Fr.) violon de fer; (Ger.) Nagelgeige, Nagelharmonika, Eisenvioline; (It.} violino di ferro |
|---|---|
| Classification | idiophone |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 131.2 (Sets of friction sticks) |
| Inventor(s) | Johann Wilde |
| Developed | 1740 |
The nail violin is a musical instrument which was invented by German violinist Johann Wilde in 1740.[1][2] The instrument consists of a semicircular wooden soundboard, approximately 1.5 feet (46 cm) by 1 foot (30 cm) in size, with iron or brass nails of different lengths arranged to produce a chromatic scale when bowed.[3]
- ^ Sachs, Kurt (1940). The History of Musical Instruments. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 402–403.
- ^ RCM staff 2004, nail violin.
- ^ Schlesinger 1911, p. 154.