The Armonica, also called the glass harmonica, was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761.

In 1757, while in England Benjamin Franklin attended a concert performed on wine glasses. He thought it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard but he wanted to hear more harmonies with the melody. Thus the Armonica was born and named by Franklin for a word taken from the musical Italian language, meaning "harmony."

The Armonica was an instant success. Marie Antoinette took lessons on it and Dr. Mesmer, the famous hypnotist, used it to put his patients into a deeper trance. Composers started writing for it: the most famous were Mozart, Beethoven, Donizetti, and Richard Strauss.