# Identify this instrument I saw in a Loreena McKennit video

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-instrument-i-saw-in-a-loreena-mckennit-video/331389>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 16, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-instrument-i-saw-in-a-loreena-mckennit-video/331389 "2005-11-16T21:35:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-instrument-i-saw-in-a-loreena-mckennit-video/331389/1 "2005-11-16T21:35:14Z")

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The other day I happened to see the video for Loreena McKennitt’s _Mummer’s Dance_ (a hit somewhere around '97). She seems to have a taste for making silly videos. Anyway there are a lot of shots of her playing the music with a group of people surrounding her, and one of them has this thing I’ve never seen before.

It was a sort of boxy instrument, sitting on his lap, and while the front looked like a lute or mandolin, the side had a crank. He was grinding it as if was a hurdy-gurdy, only it didn’t look like one. What the heck was this thing?

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**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-instrument-i-saw-in-a-loreena-mckennit-video/331389/2 "2005-11-16T21:47:15Z")

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the other Hurdy Gurdy

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**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-instrument-i-saw-in-a-loreena-mckennit-video/331389/3 "2005-11-16T21:55:55Z")

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[Hurdy gurdy.](http://www.hurdygurdy.com/index.htm)

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**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-instrument-i-saw-in-a-loreena-mckennit-video/331389/4 "2005-11-17T15:52:31Z")

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Well, what do you know. There is more than one kind. Thanks.

I particularly enjoyed the FAQ for the hurdy gurdy page. _This is not a hurdy-gurdy. It is a Hurdy-Gurdy-Shaped Object…_

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**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-instrument-i-saw-in-a-loreena-mckennit-video/331389/5 "2005-11-17T21:48:33Z")

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Watch for my new band, NoCoolUserName and the Hurdy Gurdy Shaped Objects!

🙂