hardanger strings

[rutherford]

Hi,

Is there some trick to putting on/tuning up the lower sympathetic strings on a hardingfele? I can get them on but they keep snapping when I try to tune them. Or is this just how it is.....

Any help stringing and tuning this beast would be appreciated.

-r

[solveg]

They drive me crazy. i haven't broken any yet, when one goes out of

tune, I literally touch* a peg as if I was going to tune it and

think about it and the string changes pitch. You have to have easy

moving pegs and just barely touch them. As far as breaking, are you

tuning it right? Your kvart (don't know if I'm spelling that right)

string should match your highest sympathetic string, and your ters

(spelling again) should match your lowest sympathetic string, same

octave. But seriously, light, light hand.

 

 

Did you just get one? What do you think? If I remember right,

you're from Norway? I was just thinking that I hate the sound of my

violin now. I don't know if my hardanger is just a better

instrument than my violin, or whether it's the roundness and the

strange f-holes that make it sound so fantastic. Or those strange

strings... you barely put your fingers down to play. That wound

ters string just tears up my finger. My hardingfele is about half

the weight of my violin, too. I really, really love this

instrument.

[rutherford]

Thanks for the support solveg. I am borrowing the instrument from the local folk school where it has been lying around unplayed for a while. The pegs don't turn easily, and I think that I am just using too much force.

I'm not norwegian but am living here now and wanted to try playing a little. The instrument IS really, really light and fun to play. Tuning the understrings has me bummed though because I popped 2 in one evening. Now I know why they come in packets of 5!

[solveg]

It's because some of the hardingfeles come with 5 understrings! I

am so glad you're trying it. The sound of it is something else,

even just playing it regularly. I get kind of a sad, lonely feeling

when I pick up my violin after playing the hardingfele. The tuning

is horrible. I'm lucky I got a good one because the neck doesn't

move much. Still, I have to tune it a lot and it's a piece of work.

You should really get those pegs moving if you're going to play

this at all because you'll spend quite a bit of your time using

them. Have you been able to adjust to bending your wrist?

[solveg]

Actually, my teacher once told me there's a theory that the hardanger once came with 5 top strings at one point, too. That's because the strings are named not the name of the note but instead bas, ters, qvart, and qvint (one, three, four and five).

[rutherford]

hmmm... "mine" has 5 understrenger.. I asked kiddio's teacher for help and was told something about perfect thirds. I just figure my gosh tuning has to be one of the 200 different tuning options...perhaps it is 'elk herder' tuning..

-r

[maestramusica]

I mentioned this thread to a friend with a modern hybrid Hardingfele, and he told me he uses guitar strings (hi E's?) for the sympathetic strings, AND reminded me that there are lots of different tuning options for those strings.

The guitar strings are strong enough not to pop easily. Also, since he got his Hardingfele custom made direct from the maker about 2 years ago, I would think this was the advise of the maker. About the pegs themselves, I can't hazard a guess.

There is also a website specifically dedicated to Hardingfele information- the American Association or something- Google it- I know I found it about a year ago. In fact, here it is-

">http://www.hfaa.org/

">http://www.hardingfele.com/

Googling "Hardingfele" gives lots of sites with potential info.

[rutherford]

Guitar strings! That's genius. We are solidly into the peer gynt tuning here but i break the strings all the time. My husband has resorted to 'high strung' jokes and aquevit.

By the way, it was 24 C here with a beautiful sun. I sat on the beach all day (without the fiddle).

-R