DESCRIPTION:
I've fallen in love with some of these instruments, they have so many interesting properties, it was amazing to see one in real-life!

(more details about Harry Wass and about the Hurdy Gurdy below (press "Show more").

Harry Wass makes his own medieval instruments!
https://sites.google.com/site/medievalinstruments2/
medieval.instruments@gmail.com
I took this video of him at Salamanca Marked, in Hobart, which is in Tasmania, Australia. I'm posting it with his kind permission - he even sent me some details:
"The two short tunes are original pieces written by me the first being called Gumbo the second tune is the faster part that I go into it's called Crossover."

The Hurdy Gurdy is even more amazing than it looks. Keep reading, srsly:

The rhythmic buzzing you hear is part of the music, controlled by the speed of turning, you can see him adjusting the tension on it at the 18-second mark.

Many people associate it with bagpipes because it has a drone (the constant base noise). Many instruments have had a drone, but the bagpipes are the only common instrument left with one. It's sometimes used as a stand-in for bagpipes!
He lifts one of the drone strings, checks the tuning of the other, and returns the first drone again at the 25-second mark.

The keys even have a little bit of travel, so you can not-only hit a note, but you can also pitch-bend it a little, giving the hurdy gurdy extra expressiveness.
It's an amazing invention
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurdy_gurdy
and it has a history dating back to around the start of the 11th century. It's somewhere around 900 years old! Srsly!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organistrum