Homemade bass tagelharpa (Scandinavian bowed lyre) 

Let’s collaborate man that’s so beautiful

Honestly, just go for it! We are all our own worst critic and when we put our minds to it, we can do things we've always wanted to but never thought we could. Even building really cool stuff like this. Besides, there is no "right way" for it to sound. It will sound like yours when it's in your hands. So just put your soul into and make it your own \m/

Whoa, now that's certainly one hell of a fine compliment! Thanks very much, I'm humbled!!! I just responded to another comment asking about plans so I'll just copy and paste my response here: I pretty much just figured out the measurements needed and then went for it with a fairly flexible approach. It's got an overall length of just under a metre long and a width of 25 cm. The scale length (distance between the bridge and tuning pegs) is 76 cm and the soundbox is 40 cm long and 5 cm deep. Sorry for not having a more in depth actual design plan but it is a very good instrument for tailoring to what you want. Hope it helps and feel free to ask more questions.

Thanks, really appreciate that!

Thanks a lot!

Thanks a lot, glad you think so!

Glad to hear it, thanks a lot :D

Hey, thanks a lot!

Hey, thanks Johan! I'll have to check out your videos, I have a huge soft spot for exotic animals :D

Thanks :D That's absolutely awesome, mate! Sanding is by far the most mind numbingly tedious chore ever but it needs to be done and it sure does leave the end result being so polished and smooth. I have seen people using cello, viola and violin strings on the tagelharpa and it definitely has it's own unique sound. It is tricky to get the right tension with the nylon strings and when I restring mine I think I may make the strings a little thicker to be honest. All a bit of trial and error though. Would be good to see yours if you don't mind sharing it.

Cheers, mate!

Thanks very much!

Thanks a lot!

Thanks very much :D

None taken! To be honest, I don't really blame you. It's built using super cheap materials and combine that with the fact that I am not a master woodworker, it definitely isn't the most amazing looking instrument ever. But I'm glad you are pleasantly surprised and thanks for the feedback :)

Thanks 🔥

Hey, thanks a lot mate. Appreciate it!

@@brendanm6921 absolutely!! I hope to start my fist build by next weekend.

​@@PourMeAnother Awesome! Would be great to see it if you're happy showing it off.

@@brendanm6921 I am hoping to record the entire build process and post it.

Thanks! Great user name by the way, I'm a big Monty Python fan.

Thanks a lot!

Thanks, mate! Hopefully I can get more videos out of it in time, just have serious camera shyness and red light fever. But honestly man, all the support from this video means a lot so big thanks for contributing to that :D

Sorry to hear you're out of work. Is that due to Covid? I've been having to isolate because of Covid for a very long time and it sucks but it is what it is. As for plans of the instrument, I pretty much just figured out the measurements needed and then went for it with a fairly flexible approach. It's got an overall length of just under a metre long and a width of 25 cm. The scale length (distance between the bridge and tuning pegs) is 76 cm and the soundbox is 40 cm long and 5 cm deep. Sorry for not having a more in depth actual design plan but it is a very good instrument for tailoring to what you want. Hope it helps and feel free to ask more questions. Good luck with learning and I hope you get back on your feet sooner rather than later!

Thanks a lot! That's awesome, would be great to see it when it's done.

Thanks very much! My one is made out of all cheap materials and yeah, it would obviously be better if more money went into it but hey, it functions. Yeah, the tuning pegs on this one are purely working on friction meaning they are just put into the holes and the tension of the strings keeps them in place. This is the more historically accurate way of having them but it does come with some problems that are fixed by fancier mechanical tuners. They are more prone to changing under fluctuating weather conditions especially humidity. They are also really tricky to actually get into tune. And on top of that, they sometimes slip out of place. I find you can help with that last one by coating them with some waxless chalk. But it does need to be waxless as waxed will make them more slippery. Fixed mechanical tuners are much more reliable if you don't mind sacrificing a little bit of tradition and authenticity.

Thanks!

Thanks a lot! The idea basically just came from trying to see what I could make with minimal materials which I already had at hand. Sorry for taking a while to answer and sorry the answer isn't particularly spectacular haha!

Hey, thanks a lot! No, the bow is honestly not great. I only made it that way as I was basically trying to see what I could put together as cheaply and simply as possible. I'm also going to build a different bow pretty soon too. One that's more of a traditional style that's much easier on the hand. You're absolutely right, if I kept using this one regularly I reckon I'd probably develop some problems along the road. Thanks for the concern, always appreciate people like you!

Hey, thanks mate! It's 0.45 mm and I used 10, 14 and 18 strands for them. Although I definitely plan on experimenting with it to see what different feelings and tones I can get. When I restring it I think I might try a thinner nylon like 0.25 mm and make the bundles I use a bit thicker.

Hey, thanks a lot and it's great that you're interested in building one too! To be honest, it was somewhat experimental. I did compare design ideas with different builds that other people had made but it really was mostly making it to suit myself. It is a very flexible instrument in terms of how you build it. This particular one is just under a metre long, quarter of a metre wide and has a scale length (which is the distance between the pegs and bridge) of 30 inches which is the same as a short scale bass guitar. And yes, it does have a soundpost and bassbar. The soundpost is a little bit behind the bridge which gives it a mellower and more bass heavy sound. If you have it in front of the bridge and closer to the soundhole then it will sound much louder and have more high end to it which I plan on doing with a smaller instrument at some point. The bassbar is really just running along the entire length of the inside and is mainly there to enhance the sound of the lower strings and give the body of the instrument more structural strength. I totally get what you mean about being lost. I was very sceptical before I built this about whether or not I could make it work and I'm by no means an experienced woodworker. My advice is to just draw up a few different designs and work out what you think will work best. You can make it pretty simple and rustic like my one or go all out and do something really artsy if you're feeling bold. Other than that, the main thing is to just know what you're doing. Make sure you know exactly what size every single part of the build needs to be before you start building it, measure everything two or even three times before you start cutting/gluing and have a plan of action for dealing with things going wrong. And just go for it!

@@brendanm6921 Thanks a lot for the information ! I truly appreciate it ! Thanks to your advice and other research, I have made the whole instrument and am now waiting for the fishing line I have ordered !

You're very welcome and that's awesome! It'd be great to hear it if you're happy to do some recording :)

It's a very flexible instrument to build and how you go about it really depends on your own personal preference and how you plan on tuning it. But this particular one has an overall length of 90 cm and a width of 25 cm. The scale length (distance between the bridge and tuning pegs) is 76 cm and the soundbox is 40 cm long and 5 cm deep. Hope it helps and feel free to ask more questions.

The strings are 0.45mm nylon and if I remember correctly the C string should have 10 strands and the two Gs have 14 and 18. Good luck with the build!

Hey, that's a great comment. Thanks mate! I am indeed happy with it and ecstatically happy with the very overwhelming positive response it's gotten.

Thanks! It's literally just string, mate. I wanted to build it as cheaply as possible and string is cheap so string is what I used. Needs a new coat of rosin pretty regularly though but hey, it's a cheap rosin. I'm honestly really surprised at how it sounds and do wonder what sort of tone I could get from a much fancier bow.

Thanks a lot, Chris! For this song the tuning is CGG.

Thanks a lot! If it weren't for the bow, it wouldn't really work all that well. It's the bow creating a constant vibration of the strings that lets you play melodies without pressing down onto any kind of frets or fingerboard.

It's a shame RU-vid will only let me give these comments one heart react. This is an awesome comment and I absolutely appreciate it mate! Your instrument won't ever sound like mine and mine won't ever sound like yours. Even if they were identical instruments and the tuning makes no difference. We all play and sound our own way. Yes, the two Gs are in the same octave.

Haha no wory man ! You deserved a well writen comment 👍 yes that with the different sounds of the tagelharpas is true , i just wait now for my good microphone to shot good records ! Anything new on its way from your compositions man ? Chrs.

Hey, thanks mate! I basically had to make it for as cheap as possible so it's mostly all scrappy pieces of pine that were actually all warped and horrible to start with. The soundboard and back are a basic sheet board.

@@brendanm6921 Nice! It doesn't look cheaply made at all. I see in some of your other responses you put in a sound post. Did you glue it in and did you put it in before or after the you put on the sound boards? I'm looking to make one myself and i can never see anyone really mention the process of putting the sound post in so any help you can provide would be appreciated.

​@@Strellis Thanks, really appreciate that! And it's great that you want to build one too. The sound post is indeed glued in and I did so before putting the soundboard on. That doesn't really make it particularly fine tuneable but when you don't have a good tool for fitting it and moving it around inside the instrument, there's not much else to do. Good luck with your build and I'd love to see it!

From a purely traditional point of view, the bow hair actually should be loose. And the idea is to play all the strings at once. The bridge is also completely flat, not curved like other bowed instruments. It's basically a drone instrument. Of course, if you also play it and you've just had a different approach then that's cool too. As for making the bow lighter, yeah I think you raise a good point there. It was just a case of using what materials I had available with pretty minimal tools and seeing what I could do. Cheers though :)

Certainly an interesting request. Would be a good one to do once I build another one that can play in a higher key.

Hey, sorry for taking a while to reply. They're nylon fishing line 0.5mm.

Ні, оргаліт. Але все одно дешевий матеріал.

@@brendanm6921 я пытался из картона сделать и шо ты думаешь))))

Думаю , от у него же из картона вышло, а у меня не выходит , а это не картон))))

Привет, извините за поздний ответ. И извините, если я говорю это неправильно или неправильно вас понял, но существует языковой барьер. Да, я действительно построил его сам. Спасибо, что посмотрели!

@@brendanm6921 wonderful job!)