Editing Glass harmonica (section)

==Franklin's armonica==
[[File:Glassarmonica.jpg|left|thumb|A modern glass armonica built using Benjamin Franklin's design]]
[[Benjamin Franklin]] invented a radically new arrangement of the glasses in 1761 after seeing water-filled wine glasses played by Edward Delaval at [[Cambridge]] in England in May 1761.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/musicfeature/pip/k8ko2/ |title=Downloadable Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Adam Hart Davis on the ''Angelic Organ of Evil'' |publisher=BBC |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref> Franklin worked with London glassblower Charles James to build one, and it had its world premiere in early 1762, played by [[Marianne Davies]].

In a letter addressed to his friend [[Giambattista Beccaria]], an Italian priest, physicist and mathematician in Turin, Franklin wrote from London in 1762 about his musical instrument:
"The advantages of this instrument are, that its tones are incomparably sweet beyond those of any other; that they may be swelled and softened at pleasure by stronger or weaker pressures of the finger, and continued to any length; and that the instrument, being well tuned, never again wants tuning. In honour of your musical language, I have borrowed from it the name of this instrument, calling it the Armonica."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/BenjaminFranklinGlassArmonica.htm|title=Benjamin Franklin and his Glass Armonica|website=www.americanmusicpreservation.com|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>

In Franklin's treadle-operated version, 37 bowls were mounted horizontally on an iron spindle. The whole spindle turned by means of a foot pedal. The sound was produced by touching the rims of the bowls with water-moistened fingers. Rims were painted different colors according to the pitch of the note: A (dark blue), B (purple), C (red), D (orange), E (yellow), F (green), G (blue), and [[Accidental (music)|accidentals]] were marked in white.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf3/letter3.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206142907/http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf3/letter3.htm|url-status=dead|title=The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, Volume III: London, 1757 - 1775 -- Faults in Songs|first=Benjamin|last=Franklin|archivedate=December 6, 2008|website=www.historycarper.com}}</ref> With the Franklin design, it is possible to play ten glasses simultaneously if desired, a technique that is very difficult if not impossible to execute using upright goblets. Franklin also advocated the use of a small amount of powdered chalk on the fingers, which under some acidic water conditions helped produce a clear tone.

Some attempted improvements on the armonica included adding keyboards,<ref name=Biggs>{{cite web |last=Zeitler |first=William |title=E. Power Biggs Attempts a Keyboard Armonica |url=http://glassarmonica.com/armonica/e_power_biggs.php |year=2009 |access-date= 2016-06-05 |publisher=glassarmonica.com}}</ref> placing pads between the bowls to reduce [[sympathetic resonance|sympathetic vibrations]],{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} and using [[violin bow]]s.<ref name=Biggs /> Another supposed improvement, based upon later observations of non-playing instruments, was to have the glasses rotate into a trough of water. However, William Zeitler put this idea to the test by rotating an armonica cup into a basin of water; the water has the same effect as putting water in a wine glass – it changes the pitch. With several dozen glasses, each a different diameter and thus rotating with a different depth, the result would be musical cacophony. This modification also made it much harder to make the glass "speak", and muffled the sound.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zeitler |first=William |url=http://glassarmonica.com/armonica/water_trough.php |title=Water Trough |year=2009 |access-date=2016-06-05 |publisher=glassarmonica.com}} (Includes a video demonstration.)</ref>

In 1975, an original armonica was acquired by the [[Bakken Museum]] in [[Minneapolis]] and put on display, albeit without its original glass bowls (they were destroyed during shipment).<ref name=Bakken /> It was purchased through a musical instrument dealer in France, from the descendants of Mme. Brillon de Jouy, a neighbor of Benjamin Franklin's from 1777 to 1785, when he lived in the Paris suburb of [[Passy]].<ref name=Bakken>{{cite web |last=The Bakken |title=Glass Armonica | url=http://www.thebakken.org/exhibits/mesmer/glass-armonica.htm |access-date=2007-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405115543/http://www.thebakken.org/exhibits/mesmer/glass-armonica.htm |archive-date=April 5, 2007}}</ref> Some 18th- and 19th-century specimens of the armonica have survived into the 21st century. [[Franz Mesmer]] also played the armonica and used it as an integral part of his [[Mesmerism]].

An original Franklin armonica is in the archives at the [[Franklin Institute]] in [[Philadelphia]], having been donated in 1956 by Franklin's descendants after "the children took great delight in breaking the bowls with spoons" during family gatherings. It is only placed on display for special occasions, such as Franklin's birthday. The Franklin Institute is also the home of the [[Benjamin Franklin National Memorial]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.fi.edu/exhibits/permanent/electricity.php|title=The Franklin Institute – Exhibit – Franklin... He's Electric|website=fi.edu|access-date=6 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824052509/http://www2.fi.edu/exhibits/permanent/electricity.php|archive-date=2013-08-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A website has attempted to catalog publicly known Franklin-era glass armonicas.<ref name=Zeitler>{{cite web|last=Zeitler|first=William|title=Census|url=http://www.glassarmonica.com/census.php|website=The Glass Armonica|publisher=William Zeitler|access-date=2014-07-03}}</ref> The [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]] has an early 19th-century instrument on display, which is occasionally used for public performances and recordings.<ref name=MFA-Cat>{{cite web|title=Musical glasses (armonica)|url=http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/musical-glasses-armonica-50595|website=Museum of Fine Arts Boston|publisher=Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|access-date=2014-07-03}}</ref><ref name=Goyette>{{cite web|last1=Goyette|first1=Rich|title=Historic Glass Armonica - MFA collection|url=http://audio.richgoyette.com/node/40|website=RichGoyette.com|access-date=2014-07-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714144109/http://audio.richgoyette.com/node/40|archive-date=2014-07-14}}</ref>