Harpsichord-viola

Hybrid musical instrument based on the designs of Leonardo da Vinci

Folio 93r of the Codex Atlanticus with the designs of the harpsichord-viola by Leonardo da Vinci

The harpsichord-viola (in Italian Clavi-viola) is a hybrid musical instrument[1] based on the designs of Leonardo da Vinci on folio 93r of the Codex Atlanticus. It's a different project from the viola organista (folio 886 of the Codex Atlanticus). It is about the size of a child's toy piano. It weighs 33 pounds and straps to the musician's chest. It's unlike anything else in the orchestra. It has the strings of a viola but is played with a keyboard, and it's powered by the musician's legs as he walks. It's built with the materials that Leonardo would have had on hand, including wooden pegs and gears run by twine. In the folio of Leonardo, you can see that the instrument has a harness. So it was invented as a way to play a stringed instrument while marching. The leg pumps a wooden motor, which moves a long loop of horsehair through the instrument. When the player presses the keys, the strings move up against the loop.

The harpsichord-viola played in New York City in 2009. The working model is on display at the Leonardo3 Museum in Milan, Italy, since 2013

Edoardo Zanon of Leonardo3 has been working on the re-creation on and off for five years. Leonardo might have abandoned the instrument because the wooden motor and gears make a clacking, grinding sound.[2] The first prototype has been presented in New York City[3] in 2009.[4] Massimiliano Lisa, president of Leonardo3, has explained that most of da Vinci's machines, for example the flight machine, do not work or other machines were just toys to impress people. In this case, Leonardo created from scratch a new musical instrument and what makes it important is that this it really works.[citation needed] The working model is on display at the Leonardo3 Museum in Milan, Italy, since 2013.

## See also

[edit]

* List of works by Leonardo da Vinci

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "ASEE PRISM – FEBRUARY 2010 – BRIEFINGS". www.prism-magazine.org. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
2. ^ "Leonardo Da Vinci's Harpsichord Viola". www.leecagledulcimers.com. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
3. ^ "Be the first to hear Leonardo da Vinci's Harpsichord-Viola | Things to Do, Blogs, Time Out New York blog | reviews, guides, things to do, film – Time Out New York". Time Out New York. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
4. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (10 December 2009). "Notes From Leonardo's Musical Dreams". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 2018-07-13.

## External links

[edit]

New York Times video [1]

* Ontario Science Center presentation
* NPR – Rebuilding An Instrument By Leonardo's Design [2]

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Leonardo da Vinci

* List of works
* Science and inventions
* Personal life

Paintings|

* The Annunciation
* The Baptism of Christ ✻
* The Madonna of the Carnation
* Ginevra de' Benci
* Benois Madonna
* The Adoration of the Magi
* Saint Jerome in the Wilderness
* Madonna Litta ✻
* Virgin of the Rocks
* Portrait of a Musician ✻✻
* Lady with an Ermine
* La Belle Ferronnière
* The Last Supper
* Sala delle Asse
* Buccleuch Madonna ✻
* Salvator Mundi ✻✻
* Lansdowne Madonna ✻
* The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
* Mona Lisa
* La Scapigliata
* Saint John the Baptist

| Lost paintings|

* Medusa
* Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
* The Holy Infants Embracing
* The Battle of Anghiari
* Leda and the Swan

|

Sculptures|

* Budapest Horse
* Horse and Rider
* Sforza Horse (unexecuted)

Works on paper|

* Study for the Madonna of the Cat
* Head of a Bear
* The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian
* Vitruvian Man
* Portrait of Isabella d'Este
* Studies of the Fetus in the Womb
* Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk

| Studies for the Virgin of the Rocks|

* Designs for an Adoration of the Christ Child
* Head of the Angel
* Head of the Infant Saint John the Baptist

|

Studies for the Last Supper|

* Head of Christ

Relating to the Virgin and
Child with Saint Anne|

* The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist (London cartoon)
* Second cartoon (lost)
* Christ Child
* Drapery of the Virgin's Legs
* Drapery of the Virgin's Right Arm
* Head of Saint Anne
* Head of the Virgin

Manuscripts|

* Codex Atlanticus
* Codex Windsor
* Codex Arundel
* Codex Trivulzianus
* Codex Madrid
* Codex on the Flight of Birds
* Codex Leicester
* A Treatise on Painting

Other projects|

* Architonnerre
* Divina proportione (illustrations)
* Great Kite
* Harpsichord-viola
* Aerial screw
* Crossbow
* Fighting vehicle
* Robot
* Self-propelled cart
* Octant projection
* Rapid fire crossbow
* Sonar
* Viola organista
* World Map

Leonardeschi|

* Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio
* Cesare da Sesto
* Bernardino de' Conti
* Giampietrino
* Giovanni Agostino da Lodi
* Bernardino Luini
* Cesare Magni
* Marco d'Oggiono
* Francesco Melzi
* Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis
* Salaì
* Andrea Solari

Museums|

* Museo leonardiano di Vinci
* Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci
* Leonardo3 Museum
* Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci (Milan)

Related|

* Cultural references
* Namesakes
* Portraits of Leonardo
* Conservation-restoration of The Last Supper
* Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations
* Clos Lucé
* High Renaissance
* Mathematics and art
* The Lost Leonardo
* Leda and the Swan (Galleria Borghese)

* ✻ Collaboration
* ✻✻ Possible collaboration

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