The lost art of playing glass instruments

"Music is to the soul what words are to the mind." 11/26/17 Dean Shostak is one of the last true masters capable of playing the glass armonica – an enchanting instrument lost to time. First devised in 1761 by Benjamin Franklin, the art of "playing glass" began to fade in popularity as musical fashions changed. Along with the revival of the armonica, Shostak is also reintroducing an entire family of glass instruments, including the glass violin, the crystal hand bells and the French Cristal baschet. A Master of Forgotten Music Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton is a musician bringing back the magic of a bygone era of American jazz. Drawing inspiration from the blues scene of the 1930s, Paxton has become a master of forgotten music, transporting his audiences to another time. By the time he was 18 years old, Paxton was declared legally blind, lending way to his moniker "Blind Boy." Still, his love of music never waned. Enchanting the Internet With Funk and a Fiddle You won't find another musician quite like Gaelynn Lea. Based in Duluth, Minnesota, she's a folk singer and violinist classically trained in Celtic and American fiddle traditions and has been honing her craft for the past 20 years. Born with brittle bone disease, she invented a new way to play her instrument, holding her violin upright as one would a cello.  Copyright © 2017 Great Big Story, LLC, All rights reserved.You are receiving this message because you subscribed to the Great Big Story newsletter. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list