Benjamin Franklin invented the worlds most dangerous musical instrument 

Hello Everyone! I have started a second channel called "Roar!" where I take on challenges and push myself out of my comfort zone. You can check it out here: ru-vid.com

This is actually one of my favorite instruments that exists, it so strange and haunting.

Originally joined for your reactions. But I'm really glad to see this new direction of yours

Before you explain why it was so dangerous, I was sure those glasses started to cut musicians fingers or even worse 😂😂

I have always loved your reactions, but for a music dimwit like me, I find these types of videos very educational and enjoyable.

So about the lead poisonings, I've seen speculation that it may actually have originated from the use of lead-graphite based lubrication, which has a tendency to vaporize when heated, in the axel barring's.

The most dangerous instrument are my bagpipes. Everytime I TRY to play it someone tries to hit me.

I had no idea what this was gonna be about and as soon as she mentioned glass bowls I thought for sure they were gonna break and cut the player lol. Never would've guessed in a million years it was the tones they produced. I know nothing about music but love learning about it. Thanks Beth.

When you watch a clip of Janis Joplin singing "Another Piece of my Heart," you begin to understand how extremely gifted musicians feel when they really put their soul into a performance...you leave a piece of yourself in the place where this alchemy occurred.

About 7 years I saw an encore from the Metropolitan Opera (in a theater) of Lucia di Lammermore and the the instrument played during the mad scene was so beautiful to me and I didn’t have a clue what it was. I just looked it up and it was actually a glass harmonica they used. I remember being mesmerized by the sound.

Probably about 50 years ago I got to see a "Franklin" attributed harmonica that was probably a precursor to his later "armonica". It was in the South-Western Pennsylvania Historical Society (much of their collection wound up in the "Heinz Historical Center" in Pittsburgh, PA). Don't know if the "Franklin" instrument wound up as part of the Heinz collection, or not? One of our neighbors was a curator at the Historical society and got the Franklin out and showed us how to play a few notes on it. It was smaller and simpler than the "armonica" in this video. There were glasses (gobblets) of different sizes suspended by encircling wires or strings (?) suspended in openings atop a "sounding" / resonance chamber. The sounding chamber had a hinged lid. What triggered the memory was the comment about Franklin traveling with an armonica. Supposedly, Franklin had traveled with one of "glass harmonics" like the one in the museum. Supposedly very few of the boxed sets of gobblets had been made, and the example in the museum was supposed to be one of the very few that still had a complete set of gobblets. Ben Franklin had some historical ties to Pittsburgh, PA (even though it was on the opposite side of the state ... and the journey across the Alleghney mountains was ardeous). The story goes that prior to Railroads, most travlers from the East Coast first went to Cumberland, MD and up the National Pike (once called "Braddock's Road, now "Old Route 40") through the Cumberland Gap. Other travelers chose the route across Lake Erie, and traveled down the Alleghney River to the "Forks of the Ohio". Long story short, Franklin bequeathed the land for a "town market" place now in downtown Pittsburgh. For much of the late 19th and early 20th century it was known as "Diamond Market" selling produce. Last time I was there, it was a city park. Don't believe I ever heard the story about how Franklin's boxed glass harmonica came to Pittsburgh, PA, but it's not hard to imagine that he may have brought an "extra" one with him?

In addition to the reputed psychological effects, if a person playing the armonica exerts too much pressure on one of the bowls, it will shatter, usually badly slicing the performer's finger before they can pull away.

Learning about this stuff is a kick. Well done.

Very informative, I had no knowledge of this before. Good old Ben!

My first guess when I heard this was a dangerous instrument was that if the bowls ever chip, you'll slice your fingers

Thank you Beth and patreon supporters for this wonderful historical dive!

Love these mini doc videos you make. Keep'em coming. Thanks a million to you and your patrons!

Beth: to quote Shakespeare ( Hamlet) " Too much thinking doth make thee mad". Terry from Oz.

Very interesting, Beth. I've never heard of that instrument before. I am passionate about social history and this is definitely part of it. Thank you.

Thanks for doing these videos.

After watching this video, I looked it up and got a tutorial on how it worked. It does have a somewhat ethereal sound. Wild, and impractical.

I really love these new history/science lesson ones! Awesome!

That was amazing Beth, thank you!!!

Wow! I learned something today! Thanks so much!

I want to thank you for doing these different types of videos. I enjoy your reaction videos but all of your videos are interesting and entertaining. Thanks

The epilepsy can be stimulated with voices/ or lights are known, perhps that xplains some -and rumours that have a tendency to grow like bundought! I have sound sensitive , so no live gigs for me...

Really enjoy hearing history being brought into your perview

Wow, your eyes are so mesmerizing. Oh it’s the light causing the ring around your Iris

Such a nice work that you're doing. Love those videos, keep it up Beth ! :)

Thank you for learning someting new!!

wonderful! thank you!

This is awesome! I had heard the lead theory but never heard this! Thank you!

i have always wanted one of these. i looked up the cost and decided i should probably try something else! although i did find schematics to build one myself

Hi Beth! I came across this video after being randomly recommended another armonica video featuring a man in the US who actually plays a Ben Franklin armonica he outfitted with some more up-to-date tech to help things along. Anyway, he mentioned that the sound of the instrument actually comes out of the side of the instrument with the smallest glasses in a cone shape. I just thought I'd share that as maybe that plays into the trouble people have with locating the sound?

This was a really cool video. Enjoyed the mini science lesson, too. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

What a beautiful channel 😍 Looove your intro/outro! *roar* ^^

So sweet! Thank for this video

I will tell you what: this very video will lead me to suscribe to your Patreon. This was just GREAT!!! Thank you, so much!

Wow, never heard of this. Thanks!!!

Arguments can be made for a few men to be considered "The Greatest American." (Our history is short, and mostly male dominated - no disrespect to the great females in American history.) I think the argument for Franklin is strong. Definitely top three.

Appreciate this. Thanks.

Awesome - I was a music major and a life long bassist and I didn’t know this!

One of my two favorite non-traditional instruments...the other in the theremin.

👏🏻👏🏻I have to remark how is amazing to listen someone discussing seriously glass harmonica. Actually glasses continues to be played by masters like Peter Spetena, but glass harmonica have few people in charge to revival. But due this famous madness, it is common you see performers barefoot. They believe that can prevent the effects of such frequencies have in your mind while you play. There are many survival instruments, including one at entrance of Bach Geburthaus in Eisenach. Most of them were not painted at all. So lead intoxication is not a plausible cause at all.

You are very gifted. Thank you.

Glad to see you using some video of my friend William Zeitler playing his glass armonica.

the accent is as hypnotising as the actual armonica, can listen to you for ever

The sound harmonizes the world, and has major benefits to healing and cognitive senses

Another, “psychological “ attribute of the Armonica is that one of its early virtuosi was a certain Dr Anton Mesmer who might be termed a psychotherapist now, and from where the word mesmerism derives played the Armonica to put his patients into a receptive mood.

I loved this new you, very well done Beth.

Normally not a fan of intros but that was adorable. Rar.

Fantastically informative! Suggestion: tinnitus and issues leading to it, possible alleviation?

First ad for me was that Geico commercial with bagpipes, seems about right.

Would be fun to have that instrument paired with a theremin, now that would truly sound otherworldly.

While some of the stories are obviously a bit farfetched there is certainly a connection between vibrations / frequency and its affect on energy, which can affect one's psyche and emotion and ultimately their physical health. Even plants have been shown to be affected by music and sounds if played during their growth. This translates to the entire macrocosm of the universe if you catch my wavelength 🧘

I wish I could build one of these for my dad.

Korn used a glass armonica in a few of their songs for the MTV unplugged set.

here after the fontaine live symphony performance

Fascinating stuff, never had heard of it before. Thanks for making great, informative videos as always!

OK that's a pretty cool instrument.

Would love to hear the actual instrument .

Thank you for teaching me something I never knew about one of the founding fathers of my country.

You have one of the greatest personalities. That (and your reactions to Grace Vanderwaal) is what attracted me to you reactions initially, but what made me look forward to your reactions was the emotion you naturally display when an artist sings from the heart. But then, you have more surprises with "reactions" like this. You seem to enjoy all things musical with both sides of your brain. You are interested in the scientific/technical aspect as above and the emotional heart felt way. You get so emotionally involved in some of your reactions( Ex: Joe Crocker, Grace Vanderwaal) that it makes me enjoy the artist even more. In any case, I truly love and look forward to all your reactions.

Nice video 👍. Im your fan from Malaysia

"There isn't any evidence of people being driven mad... at any unusual rate" 🤣 That totally made my day

I know about this instrument from anime Black Butler, and now I'm looking for every piece of information I can get about it

Amazing!

We love your content but may I make a suggestion? You are using a ring light which creates very strange and distracting white circles in your eyes. I would suggest getting a diffuser made of white fabric to break up the intense circular effect.

"... used to represent the voices of unborn children..." - yep - creepy

hi beth, im writing about the Glass Armonica for coursework @ university, is there any way I could have your references regarding them using the instrument to speak to the dead in the book.. all digital copies of the online are in German :(

It is in some unknown music, later then 2000

I have a tendency to get motion sickness. Usually, this requires seeing the rocking, but I have on one occasion become motion sick in the dark. It was when I was at a beach restaurant in the Seychelles. I could not see the ocean, but I could hear the waves come in from all directions. At the end of the meal I felt disoriented and a bit dizzy (I did not drink anything but Coca Cola, so it was not acohol). So, I bet that sound can also make people feel motion sickness, which could maybe explain some of this. But mostly I think it is just "conspiracy theories" for the time, those have always fascinated people.

Whoah that's crazy!

i wanna play it

I think the reason the armonica disappeared is that others were jealous of it and spread lies about it ,it didn't harm the one that played it, besides Benjamin Franklin lived to be 80! that's longer than most in that time period!

Fascinating big up to Ben and Beth 💐✌️

Love the instrument, it takes me to a hidden beautiful world, where i always wanted to be. Thanks for sharing and you are also very beautiful 👩

Fun video!

That’s awesome. I’d never heard of it. Does it still survive in a museum or something?

Love your reaction 😃

great video- in the early 1800s the view of light switched from the corpuscular view of light made of particles that move through empty space to an undulatory theory for light, in which light is a motion that travels through a medium of material particles- and possibly there was a kind of collapse of basic science logic- and an effort against logic, technological progress, and people like Franklin and Newton who promoted a more logical easier to physically understand view of the universe- or at least that they pushed for science as opposed to religions and mysticism for the most part- so the hostility towards the glass armonica could have resulted from an effort to demonize Franklin and science, or perhaps to cast a negative association with democracy and majority rule- also associated with Franklin

Beth, I hereby challenge thee to learn the glass armonica, and then sing and play one of your favorite songs for us on 'Roar!'!!!

I am pretty sure there is one of these in a museum in Philly which makes sense since Franklin lived there.

Just came to hear an UK accent say "Benjamin Franklin"

The glass harmonica is still SO innovative to me though

Love your professional insights in your reactions,would love to hear/see your opinions on - Guy Sebastion 'Standing with You' Live performance on The Voice Australia.. God Bless from Australia🎶

Ben had ambitiously ambiguous looks...for a Founding Father 00:11 👀 Edit: But seriously, I remember a demonstration of the Singing Glasses when I was in Elementary school and that tone has always stuck with me. This was really fascinating as a musician thank you.

Was in a way, changing some of the metals made a difference.

Ben Franklyn was an open source guy, neat.

Listen to KoRn unplugged, Falling Away from Me. Glass harmonica 😊

The hurdy gurdy?

Determining sound direction gets EASIER as frequency increases. Low frequency tones (bass notes) are so long in wavelength that phase difference across each ear is negligible. This is why we only need one sub-woofer in a hi-fi sound system.

I had a viscerally negative reaction when I first heard it so I can only imagine in person. Reminds me of circus music. Curious if it's been done with the same type of crystal that crystal singing bowls are made with. Also the irony of naming it after harmony when it sounds so dissonant.

Hi , can you tell me about the " glass harmonica " I saw and touched as a school boy in Philadelphia , it had no gold paint ( or I don't remember it having anything like paint ) I'm 56 today ( November 22 , 2022 ) . It most likely was in the Franklin institute , ( but definitely in Philadelphia ) it was just in an unamusing , rectangular wooden ... Frame ....box ... In casement ? We wear school boys , being bad , and got caught , by a curator , she was mad , asked angrily why we wear messing with it . We wear just trying to figure out what it was and how it worked . So after she , told us how much trouble we were in , with authorities , She said it didn't work ... But it did .... We showed her , we just didn't know you were supposed to touch it, to make it play . It had broken pieces ( bowls ) but she allowed us to touch it , to hear sound . ( And she gave us a full history of the artifact ) witch I don't remember all of the details. But I would love to see it again and I think if you discover it ,and it's history you might be able to rewrite , or change a small peace of History . History today says Franklin made his first " glass harmonica " in london , I disagree .

A Theremin and a Glass harp/armonica together, preferably in a church, how etheral would that be?

Hey I would to see your thoughts of Floors cover of Alone!

Beth really cool the way way you breakdown the vocals in a song and also the music to you do a great job was wondering if you could react to a new all female band named plush.They are fronted by moriah formica who was on the voice and American idol and they just released their first single named plush-hate it is a rocking video thank you so much really appreciate it and love your channel.

Greetings from Philadelphia, which still benefits from Ben Franklin’s genius. I enjoyed this video. Next up, take on the life of Lev Termen. It’s fascinating. Or, how about Harry Chamberlin? Les Paul?

Me encanta el acento. 🤩

Ben Franklin, if he could bottle lightning he would likely have given us the Theremin!