Drone Capos (pronounced 'kay-poe') on a Hurdy Gurdy are mechanisms that attach to the drone strings. Much like a capo on a guitar, these change the 'key' of the instrument.
They attach to each drone string individually, and with the 'flip of the lever' they instantly raise the pitch of the string. For example- a drone string tuned to 'c' can be changed to 'd' (literally in about 1/2 a second).
Pictured is one of our 'Aquitaine' hurdy gurdies with a drone Capo mounted on the trompette string.
Why would you need these? After all, the keychest is chromatic- so no trouble there. When you change musical keys
on a Hurdy gurdies, the player will selectively engage / disengage various drone strings to keep up with the song (don't worry, our
lesson book covers this). If you want to play in a key that your drones don't quite work with, you usually have to start retuning
. Having drone capos attached to the strings gives you more flexibility without having to retune; you literally change
the key of the instrument with the 'flip of a switch'.
We realize this is sort of an advanced topic. If you're a
beginner and wondering if this option is right for you,
just drop us an email and we'll be happy to offer as much information as you
like to help decide what's best for your needs.
*Not available for our symphonie model*
