Two Ontarians came together and created the awesomest new musical instrument??
One guy is a musician from Ottawa and has been toying with the design of a new instrument for 30 years, then he met a clockmaker and woodworker from Guelph who was eager to make this instrument a reality.
And it's absolutely beautiful. It's cylindrical and played with a bow, 10 equally spaced strings that you bow in different spots to change tensions and make a sound.
And the genius of it musically, is that it's cyclical so as you keep rotating the cylinder, you come back round to the first notes you struck (if you keep your bow still), and so you get these rhythmic, periodic repeating patterns that sound really ethereal, calming and hypnotic.
Apparently it made some listeners cry, and I was surprised before hearing it. Skilled playing can make people cry, sure. Melodies, harmonies, all that stuff, definitely. The open instrument itself? If you just eyeballed bowing a cello you'd drive people far away, I'd reckon. I certainly would.
But I saw a clip of it in action, I can definitely see it now.
They called the instrument Fron2. A new Canadian musical instrument!
