As soon as I saw a Nyckelharpa I knew I had to post about it. It’s not the only stringed, bowed instrument with keys, the Hurdy-Gurdy for example is quite similar, though that uses a static wheel.
The Nyckelharpa uses a more standard bow, though it’s quite small compared to something like a violin. Check it out.
Justin Johnson makes and plays an amazing three string made from a shovel.
The Chapman stick was invented in the 1970’s. It’s essentially the neck of a 10 stringed guitar. It’s intended to be hammered, strummed, or stroked with a bow, but it’s most times hammered. I’ve seen many hammer style guitar players, but with the chapman stick there are far more fingers available, so you get many…