Earbrass Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) Here are my nyckelharpas. The acoustic one was built by Kjell Lundvall in 2015, and the solid body was by Olla Plahn, 2019, and features a piezo pickup under the bridge and a built-in preamp. The "band" pickup on the Lundvall harpa is used for live performances - for recording I find a ribbon mic gives the best results - an example can be heard here: Edited April 11, 2020 by Earbrass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 I love these instruments, the sound they make is incredible. Would love to hear you playing them once the lockdown is lifted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haruki Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 They are amazing instruments.... Funnily enough my double bass teacher is better known for her nyckelharpa playing - she's a great all round musician and plays all kinds of things (swedish bagpipes anyone) but her music degree was on double bass........ http://www.swan-dyer.co.uk/n 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted April 17, 2020 Author Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) On 14/04/2020 at 11:00, haruki said: They are amazing instruments.... Funnily enough my double bass teacher is better known for her nyckelharpa playing - she's a great all round musician and plays all kinds of things (swedish bagpipes anyone) but her music degree was on double bass........ http://www.swan-dyer.co.uk/n Yes, I know Vicki (nyckelharpa is a small world!) - I first played a nyckelharpa at her house, before buying one of my own. She's a great player and has done a lot to popularise the instrument in the UK. Edited April 17, 2020 by Earbrass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 A hurdygurdy with proper bowing? So I guessing you bow all the strings at once but the keys tune and push the strings up onto the bow? What about the sympathetic strings, are they bowed or just resonant ( like a viola dAmoure ) and do you have to retune them to play in different keys ( like nothumbian bagpipes) As for the electric version .. sympathetic strings synthesised? I love strange instruments. That early music shop in Bradford was alladins cave for me.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) You can bow up to 2 strings at once (or 3 if you have your bow very slack). You can bow only the four main strings - the other 12 strings are sympathetic, and usually tuned in a chromatic scale, so equally good for all keys. Pressing a key moves a piece of dowel against the string, stopping it at the appropriate length - like moving frets against the string instead of the other way around. Traditional Swedish tuning is (low to high) C-G-C-A, but some players, especially those from a violin or viola background prefer have the second string a D rather than a C, thus giving straight fifths - C-G-D-A - pitched like a viola. The traditional design has 3 row of keys, one for each of the top 3 strings - so the lowest string can function only as a drone on its open note, but these days more builders, especially perhaps those continental builders outside Sweden, are also producing more "4 row" harpas, on which there 4 rows of keys, one for each of the main strings. Edited April 26, 2020 by Earbrass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerian Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 (edited) On 11/04/2020 at 10:18, Earbrass said: Here are my nyckelharpas. The acoustic one was built by Kjell Lundvall in 2015, and the solid body was by Olla Plahn, 2019, and features a piezo pickup under the bridge and a built-in preamp. The "band" pickup on the Lundvall harpa is used for live performances - for recording I find a ribbon mic gives the best results - an example can be heard here: Greetings Earbrass! I am considering having Mr. Plahn craft an electric harpa for me. You are the first English-speaking person I have found actively posting online and actually playing one. I would love to hear some of what you've been doing with it. I have so many questions Is it mainly a way to more easily amplify the traditional sound of the Nyckelharpa? Do you find it lends itself well to taking the instrument in new directions? Have you played around with any effects pedals or interesting distortion? Thank you for sharing and taking the time to read my questions! Edited May 27, 2021 by Nerian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 Hi Nerian, On 27/05/2021 at 10:14, Nerian said: Greetings Earbrass! I am considering having Mr. Plahn craft an electric harpa for me. You are the first English-speaking person I have found actively posting online and actually playing one. I would love to hear some of what you've been doing with it. I have so many questions Is it mainly a way to more easily amplify the traditional sound of the Nyckelharpa? Do you find it lends itself well to taking the instrument in new directions? Have you played around with any effects pedals or interesting distortion? Thank you for sharing and taking the time to read my questions! PM'd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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