The Sympathetic Drone Cello

[@fnersch3367]

A modern day arpeggione. Nice. I want to build a viola organista next.

[@vovan5409]

0:55 Wow

[@bogdang7726]

Plays like a cello, Looks like a viola da gamba, Sounds like a hudry-gurdy, Resonates Like a sitar.

[@user-74652]

Those f-holes are beautiful. And the instrument sounds beautiful, too.

[@bailess980908]

PLEASE put up a video of a full song done with this instrument! I want to listen to this all the time!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The top 5 Strings are tuned like a 5 String Violin down an Octave so you can play anything, quite a cool tool.

[@alanfbrookes9771]

You've always had an enormous talent and an innovative mind, the combination of which has produced some amazing string instruments over the years. About 20 yrs. ago someone gave me an old sewing machine, and I got the idea of connecting it to the wheel of a hurdy-gurdy, which would allow me to turn the wheel via a treadle whilst having my right hand free to pluck strings. I built a hurdy-gurdy with a fingerboard, which is called a strohfidl, but I never got around to attaching the wheel to the treadle. Your motor-driven wheel reminded me of that.

[@FredCarlson]

Wow, Nate...what an adventure it was, manifesting that creature for you! We've filled it with all the love and creativity we could muster....now you get to bring it to the world. We can't wait to hear where you take it (and it takes you!). Much love and many thanks!Fred and Suzy

[@unclefugnutz3356]

Fred Carlson I'd like to sereptisually turn You on

[@evrypixelcounts]

this needs to be put in a sample library!

[@teddydunn3513]

3:00 the best part about fretless instruments is their ability to easily adapt their intonation like the way you played that seventh harmonic beautifully in-tune at 3:01 whereas any fixed pitch instrument would've been off by 30 cents because of temperament

[@pi3tr3]

this is a work of art and a piece of engineering in the same time. well, bravo! wonderful instrument!

[@JeffreyTitusguitar]

Another amazing creation comes to life. Welcome to the family and congratulations to you, Nate!

[@aniquinstark4347]

Now that is fantastic! Such a haunting and emotional tone. I could see this fitting into an opera score quite well.

[@MsPlayitright]

Amazing sound!! Beautiful instrument! True art!

[@VSNarasimhan]

Wow!!! Amazing!!!! Very innovative creation!!! I am very excited, being an Indian Violinist.....!

[@docnova]

I want to make Nine Inch Nails-esque music and film scores with this thing. Seriously you should mail one to somebody like Trent Reznor. This thing has some serious potential.

[@suzz1776]

god that is gorgeous and sounds amazing. and btw-I love love love the hurgy gurdy. I am saving up to purchase one so I can learn. so I am loving this drone cello u made. it sounds like how an angels workshop would sound I think :) and those f holes-just wow

[@voitmusic]

Very warm and mesmerizing. One should be able to play any Indian Raag on it too. Looks like the side chorus of sympathetic strings function much in the same way as the sarangi or dilruba or taus. Wonder if a player can arrange the tuning of the jawari or buzzing strings to the different modes/raags or if this instrument has a fixed chromatic scale? Do the wheeled strings have a tonic and fifth? I did find the hurdygurdy drone a little over powering of the jawari set which can ring out each note as it bowed as is the function on sarangi.

[@fritzjagr5121]

What an amazing instrument. Sounds and looks so beautiful! Nice work.

[@Maulyr]

Beautiful work both on the instrument and with it. The piece at the end, it sounds familiar like something from the Vampyr soundtrack...I can't quite place it! Is it an original off-the-cuff piece?

[@RobertZat]

Way to think outside the Nathan and also to the makers of this beautiful instrument. Concert please!

[@sketchhuntermusic]

you got cello with tanpura and cello aww come on, this is nice hybrid instrument and well made

[@LiLi-or2gm]

This is the sort of sound/music that would be perfect for the new Dune movie!

[@TheGuitarsquatch]

They really strapped a citar and hurdy gurdy to a cello.

[@Bishka100]

I'm sure there are lots of musicians that would love this instrument. Pete Knight springs to mind

[@cemagan9071]

Tech and traditional craft :) Nice work sir.

[@mccypr]

It’s crazy cool!!! Thanks!!!😎✌️🌞🎻

[@Neoprototype]

Couldn't hear the sympathetic strings because of the noise of the drones.

[@Montanacellist]

I would love to create a piece with this.

[@lanalyra6519]

Please can we make this happen!! I love your music!

[@Cj12sings]

Such GENIUS!!!! SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!! awe.....awe.......

[@divine_om]

Very ingenious!!

[@Iconick1]

Mad scientist of music

[@TSBoncompte]

searched for unusual cellos. was not disappointed. i love the innovation, bowed strings have been way too static for too long.

[@edwincancelii2917]

With a pasione high E string.

[@wefysan58]

holy shit that is the coolest most incredible thing i have ever seen. you had me at the f-holes

[@kimtrammell7445]

Those arnt f holes those are deformed s holes

[@arnaudmenard5114]

from what I can tell, those are fairly standard for ''Viola d'amore'' and you can see them on a few pochette fiddles. here's a few links: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/503185?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&when=A.D.+1600-1800&what=Chordophones&ft=*&offset=120&rpp=20&pos=138 www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/501574?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&when=A.D.+1600-1800&what=Chordophones&ft=*&offset=100&rpp=20&pos=107 www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/504228?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&when=A.D.+1600-1800&what=Chordophones&ft=*&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=6

[@Zahlen0]

Dayum... that is amazing!!!

[@bridylph]

it’s like a bazantar but smaller and with a motor. cool!

[@carolynfleming7885]

amazing and beautiful

[@BetterMe981]

Ugh... it'd be like having a harpsichord and an accordion with you all the time while playing the cello. Amazing work, though. It's beautiful looking and the technology is so cool.

[@Riccieripaludo]

Incredible!!!

[@Leoast14]

Isnt this like a bazantar?

[@carlosmacmartin4205]

I was thinking the same thing except that this instrument has the hurdy gurdy wheel.

[@peanutworkshophuang5276]

Amazing! Indian style cello!

[@TheAnonyy]

Wow fantastic

[@kimtrammell7445]

Cello+bass+herdygurdy+harp guitar = that

[@Zantrop64]

So... this is a cello-hurdy gurdy-sitar?

[@Nathanbarrcomposer]

Yes, that is an accurate descriptor.

[@dandavis1953]

fantastic!

[@MsCellobass]

How would you maintain such a complex instrument

[@lobadores5024]

Why isn't this viral?

[@reubenlouismusic]

If you like sympathetic strings you should look up the Sarangi, mine has 32 sympathetic strings :)

[@Replier]

Only the one video of this beast!?! Why are you being selfish? We need more!!! D:

[@rydia7987]

Search Sympathetic Drone Cello, you'll find at least one more :)

[@Mns_87]

I’d call that a cello d’amore

[@styliten2569]

I love this❤️

[@skwosjdoos]

Really nice, can you tell me what that beautifull piece of music is?

[@nathanbarr6173]

It was something improvised the first time I played the instrument...

[@skwosjdoos]

Thanks for the answer, I wish I could improvise like that...

[@johnhulsker9123]

Would love to duet with him with my surbihar!

[@ValCharis]

Unbelievable ! How is the little wheel actioned, by the bow?

[@FredCarlson]

There's a little DC motor hidden beneath the tailpiece cover, with a digital speed controller and an on/off foot switch that sit on the floor. The idea was to make the electronic aspect somewhat invisible, not something listeners would notice. So it really seems kind of magical... Fred Carlson

[@ValCharis]

Very well done, this instrument is really something :)

[@broscosmoline]

very cool. brought to mind the mohan veena, but no hurdy-gurdy apparatus on that creature. q's: how do you keep the motor from interfering (either sonically or via vibration) and how difficult is it to tune to accomodate different keys?

[@FredCarlson]

Hey Brosco! Lots of R&D went into motors and mounting, to find the quietest set-up. Our final solution was to get a digital speed controller for the motor...the motor speed can thus be fine tuned so that what noise it does make essentially becomes another drone, a part of the overall sound. The drone strings are low-tension and have a pretty big range of tuning. They tune at the pegbox as with the main strings, and utilize a peg with internal gearing to avoid the need for fine tuners on a tailpiece. Thanks for your interest, Fred Carlson (one of the builders)

[@broscosmoline]

making the motor a part of the drone...brilliant!

[@KeziahMason]

Brilliant! Please become friends with Dylan Carlson.

[@ApplepieFTW]

That's awesome :o

[@paulbnoble]

Want one.

[@CharlesPlager]

Body is built more like a bass than a cello. How come?

[@OJASCKI]

Interesting, would have liked to hear it without the motor running.

[@TheStudioexpresso]

cool!

[@tylerthackray5664]

Really cool. I'm in your area. We should connect

[@lanalyra6519]

Was this inspired by the bazantar?

[@FredCarlson]

Suzy and I have been making instruments with sympathetic strings since the early 1980s; I don't know when the Bazantar was made, but certainly we had never heard of it then. And Nate was interested in the automatic drone feature, more like something found on Hurdy-Gurdies (the bagpipes of the string world), and not a feature of the Bazantar. So I don't think we can say the drone cello was inspired by the Bazantar, though I do think it's an amazing instrument! Fred Carlson

[@CLPM777]

I'm sorry to tell you that it is not a cello, but it is a viola de Gamba. Still impressive though!

[@FredCarlson]

Thanks for your comment! You're correct in noticing that the instrument has some similarities to viola da gamba. What you may not be able to tell from the video is that the instruments' architecture, plate graduation and other important aspects are in fact based on cello. That, and the fact that it is tuned in fifths like a cello and has no frets really makes it more of a cello than a viol.

[@bearshield7138]

far freaking out

[@thrivedru]

I'm always surprised at what internet scrooges will go out of their way to dislike. Like... come on... this? I'm no happy go lucky guy, but how miserable does one have to be? Really...

[@felixoffenbach8713]

The shape of the instrument indicates its a baby upright bass, not cello ...

[@Bagfullofcrabs1]

Just finished watching The Son, great job, Nathan! The last episode has a very atmospheric cover of Cohen's "It Seemed the Better Way". Has that track ever been released in any way?

[@Nathanbarrcomposer]

Thanks for the kind words! I am hoping to see my score for The Son released sometime next year and want to include the Cohen cover on that soundtrack - my version, which you heard in the finale, is sung by Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top!

[@heheollo651]

circle is closed. hurdy gurdy was created like cello with infinite bow, but now wheel is returned. amazing.

[@sephwilson5127]

Sounds like it could be in the game of thrones score

[@camiloandresclavijo7274]

👏👏👏

[@nicolafattorini3841]

Hardanger hurdygurdy cello

[@claymationwaves]

wowowowow

[@trusstingod]

Gimme that

[@antman2826]

Too bad you can hardly hear the buzzing strings over the drone strings.

[@FredCarlson]

Yes, the drone strings occupy the same "sonic space" as the jiwari strings, and are louder and constant. The jiwari strings do add wonderfully to the ambiance, but to really hear them one can always play the instrument without the drones.

[@adamjones7701]

holy mother of God...

[@cletusbeauregard1972]

Jimmy Page needs to see this.

[@sudiptaroy9725]

Sounds Indian...

[@TheBlueeyedJew]

Take my money

[@MarianBaldovino-my9gs]

#bluey

[@gabrielfromyhr5694]

baryton inspired

[@Giogiogio4]

This was already done? Thought it was the bazantar. Just because you are using a cello instead of a base its a "new" concept?

[@FredCarlson]

Certainly sympathetic strings on a bowed instrument is not a new concept at all. However, I know of no other cellos using a motorized Hurdy-Gurdy-type bowing wheel on drone strings. I think the combination does make it pretty unique in the instrument world. Fred Carlson

[@rjlchristie]

The immediately obvious musical drawback is that there is no apparent ability to control the intensity (volume) of the drone.

[@lorenzosabatelli920]

Sitarcello sounds better