Llarmonica
A browser instrument inspired by Benjamin Franklin's glass harmonica. Touch and hold a spinning glass to make it sing, and slide between glasses to glide from note to note. Free, no download.
Llarmonica
Touch a glass, hear it sing
Touch and hold a glass
How to play
- Touch and hold a glass. The note swells in, rings for as long as you hold it, and fades when you let go, just like a wet finger on a spinning glass.
- Slide your finger along the row to glide from glass to glass. Small circles on one glass make it a little louder, like rubbing the rim.
- Use more fingers to play chords. On a phone, turn on Note hold so each glass keeps singing after you lift your finger. Tap it again to stop it, or press Stop all.
- Big glasses on the left play low notes and small ones on the right play high notes. The rim colors follow Franklin's own scheme: C red, D orange, E yellow, F green, G blue, A indigo, B violet, and white for the sharps and flats.
About the glass harmonica
Benjamin Franklin invented the glass harmonica, which he called the armonica, in 1761. It nests glass bowls of different sizes on a spinning rod, so the player only has to touch the turning rims to make them sing.
Llarmonica has 37 glasses, three full chromatic octaves from G below middle C to the G three octaves up, a common range for the instrument. Every sound is generated live in your browser, with no recordings.