By Nik Bentel Studio

The Ball Harp

A musical instrument that is a deconstructed harmonica. Made out of brass and steel.

A Deconstructed Harmonica.

The Ball harp is pitched in C and can play a range of one octave. Using both hands you can play any combination or all of the 8 notes! Simply place your mouth over the mouth piece and cover all the holes with your fingers.

Behind the Project

Making The Ball Harp

The harmonica was invented in Germany around 1821 by Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann.

He designed it to enable the playing of multiple notes at once. However, the number of notes that can be played is limited by how big the musician can open their mouth.

Here at the studio we have many musicians and artists alike. Taking inspiration from designers here, We redesigned the harmonica into a ball so we could play all the notes at once to create a unique sound.