I would really like to hear someone use this fiddle to play the Rohan theme from LotR. For many people this is the only time they’ve heard this beautiful instrument and all the covers online are with a violin.
damn now i want a hardanger....I am fiddler since before you tube existed, aside from its decor which delightful IF you are a pearlahcolic" ( i just made that up) i like the droning strings. what a voice it has I play dobro because friend dropped his dobro into my lap one day and said "don't think guitar, think banjo"....the rest is eccentricity, i ve never touched a hardanger fiddle,,,,,thank you Rachel, now i want one ( dear St. Nicholas....)
That’s interesting about the bow-hold and looseness of the bow. I was originally taught to play by a Shetland fiddler, and got lessons in classical (and more mainland Scottish fiddle techniques) later on. I spent a lot of time of bowing techniques with each different style/teacher. However, I have always preferred a much looser bow than most other classical violinists and trad Scottish fiddlers I’ve ever come across, and my pinky never touches the bow unless I’m in full classical mode (which I haven’t been for a good few years at this point, since I prefer fiddle and get more opportunities to play it). I somewhat wonder if my default bowing style it’s a holdover Shetland influence from my first teacher, which in turn has fairly strong Scandinavian influence.
How interesting! Yeah, it all comes down to personal preference for bow hold and looseness, but that's neat that you have a similar approach that I do!
I didn't recognize you when we were recently in class together at HFAA. But want to say that this video was especially helpful in orienting me on the hardingfele when I started in January 2022 and didn't even have an instrument yet. Thanks for making it, I think it saved me a lot of grief! Lise
As the name suggests it's a traditional fiddle from Hardanger in Norway. It's considered the national instrument of Norway, since it's used in a lot of Norwegian folk music.
So good video. A friend of mine who also plays the hardingfele explained that specific light bow technique and how it makes the resonance strings ring more... and I was reeeaaaally surprised, as I play nyckelharpa, another resonance strings instrument, and for getting these to sound to their maximum, the technique is... the exact opposite ^^ We "grab" the melody strings quite strongly (but extremely briefly) with each bowing and then immediately release. This starts the resonance from the understrings and then the release is important to not "crush" them again. It's a tricky technique but it really makes the nyckelharpa sound waayyyyy more and better, and with time I've quite adopted/adapted it on fiddle aswell... So yeah, imagine my surprise when I tried playing a hardingfele and it's all about NOT grabbing hard at all, ever ^^
Hi Emelie! Good to hear from you! Yes, in general, the bow speed is so important, but there are little "nudges" used at the beginning of bow strokes sometimes, just like in baroque playing. Almost like bell tones, if that makes sense. But yes, in general, the hardingfele doesn't need much weight at all!
when i was a child watching the two towers, i wanted to know the instrument that played the rohan farefare and i wished when i learned the violin was instead learn this instead
Can you play some lord of the rings music which featured this instrument, i believe for the scenes involving Rohan. Your subscriber numbers would increase ten fold.
@@nesvigr I believe if you play with your own instrument it falls under fair use. Lots of people play same music with violins, piano, trumpet, you name it.
Feel free to email me with any other questions! nesvigr@gmail.com. There are many differences between the Hardanger Fiddle and the violin and also some differences between the violin and fiddle, although it's mostly the style and approach to the music and not the instrument itself. (The Hardanger Fiddle is actually a different instrument than the violin).
Do you use a classical bow hold? And could you give any advice on the hold? Is there a traditional way? I'm learning playing violin myself and couldn't find any information about traditional ways of holding the bow. For now I'm holding it in my own way, but after some time it becomes uncomfortable.
Hi Varga, yes, in general I'm using a classical bow hold. I have another RU-vid channel about teaching violin, so you could check out our bow hold video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jAh99ic71_g.html Otherwise, I'm happy to give you a zoom lesson to get you off to a good start! I'm a classical violin teacher, as well as Hardanger Fiddle. Feel free to email me at nesvigr@gmail.com if you are interested. :)
