Terminology
A person who plays the hurdy gurdy is called a hurdy gurdyist, hurdy gurdy player, or (particularly for players of French instruments) viellist.
Because of the prominence of the French tradition, many instrument and performance terms used in English are commonly taken from the French, and players generally need to know these terms to read relevant literature. Such common terms include the following:
- trompette: the highest-pitched drone string that features the buzzing bridge
- mouche: the drone string pitched a fourth or fifth below the trompette
- petit bourdon: the drone string pitched an octave below the trompette
- gros bourdon: the drone string pitched an octave below the mouche
- chanterelle(s): melody string(s), also called chanters or chanter strings in English
- chien: (literally "dog"), the buzzing bridge
- tirant: a small peg set in the instrument’s tailpiece that is used to control the sensitivity of the buzzing bridge
Read more about this topic: Hurdy Gurdy