Any nyckelharpa players out there? (keyed fiddle)

[Lauren_WarEagle]

One of my all-time favorite acoustic groups is Vasen, from Sweden. One of the players is a nyckelharpa player, and I'm just curious if any of you here are familiar with the instrument. It has such a beautiful sound, and I've always wanted to maybe learn to play (if I can get my hands on one)

[philjs]

I'm also a huge fan of Väsen. If you've not heard of SLB, the Storis Limpan Band (aka Magnus Holmström & Tomas Lindberg) then you should definitely check them out.

Have you visited the Buy pages of the American Nyckelharpa Association? I know one local player that built her own and she did a good job of it...

Phil

[RustyAxe]

https://www.facebook.com/erikrydvall...7764742308118/

A local player here plays one, too. Interesting concept.

[Wade Hampton]

Lauren, I don't own a nyckelharpa, but years ago when I was in Sweden, I stayed at the home of Anders Eklundh, who played both nyckelharpa and its more archaic predecessor, the silverharpa. He was a Riksspelman, or "Musician of the Realm," which is an honor extended for those who show talent and dedication to preserving Sweden's traditional music styles.

He owned a couple of nyckelharpas, so one day he tuned them both up and we sat down for a nyckelharpa lesson.

The posture you have to adopt to play the instrument is kind of awkward: you sit on the edge of a chair, splay your legs out at about a 90˚ angle from each other, and hold the nyckelharpa out at a canted angle. It's usually supported by a strap.

The Late Anders Eklundh, Riksspelman



Leif Alpsjö, Riksspelman

More than half of the photos I just looked at in my image search showed nyckelharpa players playing them with modern violin bows, (including Leif Alpsjö above.) But the traditional nyckelharpa bow is a much more ancient design, as you might be able to see in this photo:

˙˙˙

It doesn't have a frog to tighten or loosen the tension on the hairs of the bow, so that's done with your bowing hand thumb.

What surprised Anders that, while I was fumbling around with the keys, I took to using the bow right away. It seemed self-obvious to me, but Anders said:

"Nobody gets the bowing first! Everybody has a hard time with it at first!"

Well, not me, I guess.

Anyway, they're beautiful instruments.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[PHJim]

My friend Saskia Tomkins, who plays fiddle in our Maple Leaf Champions Jug Band, is a nyckelharpa player. She plays with her family band, Clan Hannigan, (that's her with her husband, Steafan Hannigan.) She also plays in a duo with Brandon Scott Besharah called Twoish, where the nyckelharpa is often paired with Brandon's hurdygurdy.

[mjh42]

I married into the what I call the 'Norwegian mafia". My spouse plays a hardingfele--hardanger fiddle. She inherited a nickelharpa from my late father in law-he bought it late in life and took a few lessons. My spouse noodles around on it but has not taken it up in serious manner. But she can pretty much play anything with strings. Many friends play the nickelharpa, a few play the hardanger, many dance, spin, whistle and even sing old time scandi tunes. I live in a scandimahovian rich part of the country. Have seen Vasen many times, check out Peter Hedlund a fantastic nyckelharpa player--have seen him many times as well. Plenty of nickelharpa music out there for those interested.....next you'll want a hurdy gurdy....

[catt]

I've been playing hardanger fdl and Norwegian trad for the last few years. I've wanted a nyckelharpa for a long time as I play some Swedish fiddle as well. It's the dark timbre of the music and complex meter that compels me.

I had a hurdy-gurdy for a while (but as a fiddler I'd prefer a nyckelharpa).