Thank you !
Glass Armonica as developed by Ben Franklin.
I had some fun wih the effect with a wine glass in a fancy restaurant with a fancy lady.
The sound is so etherial and "carries" throughout the room, so it is really hard to locate its source and all the folks in the restaurant kept looking up and around. My lady got embarrassed even though nobody could tell the source. (I would be surprised if the Navy hasn't experimented with the effect for disguising its sonar source location.)
Anyhow, at home, I experimented a little. It helps to use wine; you dip a fingertip in it and run it delicately around the top of the rim of the glass until (I guess) all the grease is removed by the alcohol, then the ringing starts. You can feel the rapid stick/slip/stick/slip in your finger. I've done it with regular tumblers and water but the knack acquisition time is greater.
Try it. It takes a little knack-development as far as force and speed around the rim is concerned.
But once you catch on, it's hard to
not do it.
The level of the fluid in the glass changes its pitch, but the fluid level change does not result in a pitch change the way you'd expect. Start with half a glass.
Oh, and yes the glass has to be held down pretty good since there's a certain amount of torque involved. Wine glasses are best because you can hold them down by the bottom without inhibiting the vibrations in the top of the glass.
Teeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy.... Whooooo said that? Where is he?
