The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, glass harmonium, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica or harmonica (derived from 'ἁρμονία', harmonia, the Greek word for harmony), is a type of musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction (instruments of this type are known as friction idiophones).

Benjamin Franklin invented a radically new arrangement of the glasses in 1761 and called it the armonica after seeing water-filled wine glasses played by Edward Delaval at Cambridge in England in May 1761. Franklin worked with London glassblower Charles James to build one, and it had its world premiere in early 1762, played by Marianne Davies. In Franklin's treadle-operated version, 37 bowls were mounted horizontally on an iron spindle. The whole spindle was turned by means of a foot pedal. The sound was produced by touching the rims of the bowls with water-moistened fingers. The rims were painted in different colors according to the pitch of the note.

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