30 Days of Weird Instruments, Day 29 -- the Harpitar

Ahhh! Hybrid instruments!

In September of 1918, Popular Science featured R.E. Bates's creation, the Harpitar. Electric amplifiers would not exist until the 1930s, so Bates strung six strings over the body of a harp and made an instrument with the beautiful tones of the guitar and loud projection power of the harp.

It makes me wonder what he'd think of today's guitar pickups and amplifiers.

A modern version of the harpitar can be seen and heard in this wonderful video performance from musician, Andy McKee. The original didn't use a double neck like this one, so it's a great example of how the instrument evolved.




Tomorrow's instrument will be our final post in this series! I can't believe we're almost done!

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Previous Weird Instruments:

Day 1 - Len Solomon's Majestic Bellowphone
Day 2 - The Pyrophone Organ
Day 3 - The Cheese Drums
Day 4 - Civic Musical Road
Day 5 - The Lego Harpsichord
Day 6 - The "Rock Ock" 8-Neck Guitar
Day 7 - The Vegetable Orchestra of Vienna
Day 8 - The Musical Saw
Day 9 - Circuit Bending
Day 10 - The Intonarumori
Day 11 - The Oomphalapompatronium
Day 12 - The Anarchestra
Day 13 - The Chromatome 312
Day 14 - Wintergatan's Marble Machine
Day 15 - The Stylophone
Day 16 - Aeolian Wind Harps
Day 17 - Instruments Made of Ice
Day 18 - The Sea Organ of Zadar
Day 19 - The Theremin
Day 20 - The Pikasso Guitar
Day 21 - The Great Stalacpipe Organ
Day 22 - The Octobass
Day 23 - The Musical Stones of Skiddaw

Day 24 - The Alphasphere 

Day 25 - The Wheelharp

Day 26 - Microtones and the Microtonal Guitar

Day 27 - The Whamola

Day 28 - The Singing, Ringing Tree