Firstly, the hypochondrium seems to be somewhere inbetween these two diagrams, but I cannot figure out exactly where (the article on Mesmer said it was below the diaphragm, hence my confusion): diagram 1 and diagram 2. See also here.
Secondly, after looking the patient in the eyes, making "passes" from the shoulder down the arms with his hands, and then pressing the hypochondrium for hours, sometimes the patients would convulse and this was a sign that the cure was on the way. He would then play on his armonica. Now somehow I passed that one by.
Go here for an interesting history video from youtube on the glass armonica (I recommend the video). You can read about the instrument ('invented' perhaps around 1740 but modified substantially by Ben Franklin in 1761) here and I recommend listening to the song "The Fixed Stars, the Frontier to the Beyond" on that page. Mozart and Beethoven both composed for this instrument. It was then rumoured that it caused insanity and eventually lost public interest, also in part that the piano proved to be a more useful instrument for projection in a larger venue. (Watch that video for more info!)
A modern 'virtuoso' of the glass armonica is Thomas Bloch. He also specializes in the ondes Martenot and the Cristal Baschet.
On different occasions, he has played with Radiohead, John Cage, and Tom Waits (on the Black Rider tour). You can watch all sorts of videos of Thomas Bloch here.
(I didn't expect to discover three new instruments in one night!)
The ondes Martenot...is an early electronic musical instrument with a keyboard and slide, invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot and originally very similar in sound to the Theremin. The sonic capabilities of the instrument were subsequently expanded by the addition of filter banks and switchable loudspeakers. The instrument is especially known for its eerie wavering notes produced by the thermionic valves that produce oscillating frequencies.
The Cristal Baschet is a musical instrument that produces sound from oscillating glass cylinders. The Cristal Baschet is also known as the Crystal Organ and the Crystal Baschet, and composed of 54 chromatically-tuned glass rods. The glass rods are rubbed with moistened fingers to produce vibrations. The sound of the Cristal Baschet is similar to that of the glass harmonica. The vibration of the glass rods in the Cristal Baschet is passed to a heavy block of metal by a metal stem whose variable length determines the frequency produced (i.e., the note). Amplification is the result of fiberglass cones fixed in a wood frame and a tall cut out metal part, in the shape of a flame. "Whiskers", placed under the instrument to one side, amplify high-pitched sounds. The Cristal Baschet was created in 1952 by the French instrument makers and artists Bernard and Francois Baschet.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristal_Baschet,
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondes_Martenot,
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bloch
(This is also the third post in one day!: the other two below are on Hermes and the Prisoner's Dilemma, respectively.)
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