You may have heard what they say in Norway is the difference between the two types of fiddle? "With a common fiddle you play on catgut but with a hardangerfiddle you play with all the cat!"
1:20 "They really could be Swedish tunes". That's because it is a Swedish tune. It's called "Halling efter Per Löf, Ekshärad". Even though the Halling dance and music form is from Norway, it has been exported to some parts of Sweden where it has become traditional. That being said, a trained ear can immediately hear that the melody and playing style is 100% Swedish. As for the Hardanger fiddle, it has its own music tradition and repertoire that is different from the rest of Norwegian and Swedish folk music. It is uncommon to hear a Swedish folk tune being played on a harding fiddle, like in this video.
The historical and tuning info was good but I would have preferred to hear it at the end. There was so much talking in between the two instruments that it was difficult to make a comparison between the two, which is what I came here for.
Look for a photo of the Jaastadsfele---it's probably the oldest surviving hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle) and it is _gorgeous_ looking. It still sounds wonderful too.
3:15 How is this Hardanger Violin Tuned? Well the 4 playing strings on the top are tuned up a step from Standard Tuning which produces a brighter sound. You can tune it like a Standard Violin but that may require some slightly thicker strings.
Even though it's an interesting guitar accompaniment, I think the guitar makes it more difficult to hear the difference - especially the Hardanger fiddle's special sound from the sympathetic strings, which really makes it stand out compared to a normal fiddle. Here's a great video of Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Guro Kvifte Nesheim playing a trad Hardanger tune: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HY8ceDvl8LU.html
Sure but proper skill can also overcome that, like on a violin. Plus, Norwegian music uses many microtones that are between the white in the black keys of a piano. If you add frets, then you make that impossible and Scandinavian folk music loses its soul.
