Fix Unclear Nyckelharpa Playing - Scandi Folk Nerd

[@ejeyre3959]

Just starting my journey with my nyckelharpa. I'm from Belgium so there's really nobody around who can help me practice :) I stumbled upon your KZbin channel yesterday. Super helpful!! Thank you so much, Emelie

[@EmelieWaldken]

There are many nyckelharpa players in Belgium ! I have a little (non exhaustive) list of teachers and courses on my website and there are several in Belgium www.emeliewaldken.net/courses--teachers.html Wishing you a lot of happiness with the nyckelharpa =)

[@ejeyre3959]

@@EmelieWaldken Thank you for your quick answer. I didn't know, but it is great news :) I am going to check out your website asap ! Thanks en love from Belgium

[@user3141592635]

I might belive, the "unclearnisness" critics say, is due to the stark transisions. I love them personally.

[@tim5cad203]

Bad timing is the same problem that I am having while playing the violin. I am getting a little better at it but its very hard to learn without an instructor. The techniques that you are showing are helpful for me. Thank you. Your hair looks beautiful BTW

[@EmelieWaldken]

Timing is indeed also a big topic on violin (and cello, and viola...), because there's also this synchronization between the two hands that needs to be just perfect for the sound to be clean. It's a long work, but it IS doable, I promise ! And thanks about the hair, it's rare I manage braided crowns so I was proud of that one.

[@tim5cad203]

@@EmelieWaldkenMy timing is getting a little better but I do find myself slipping once in awhile. I am not practicing as often as I should because I am a little nervous about picking up some bad habits that I know will be very hard to break later. I tried to do that to my hair once and it all fell out... :(

[@EmelieWaldken]

@@tim5cad203 Is that a way to say you have short/little hair ? ^^ (When I was little my grandpa kept saying he would take my hair and glue it to his bald head ^^) Well... I'd say better playing and perhaps getting bad habits than not playing !

[@tim5cad203]

@@EmelieWaldkenYa. When my kid was born I had noticed that her hair line was moving in the opposite direction that my was. I told my daughter that I was going to get that hair in a can and use it to fill in the bald spot. I know the stuff works very well because I saw it on an infomercial on late night tv back in the early 90's. She is strongly against it for some odd reason. Funny that I told my daughter the same thing. BTW any dads out there reading this Don't let your kid put make up on you....It won't turn out very pretty. :/ Just trust me on this....Don't want to talk about it.... True with the playing now that I think about it I have seen a lot of good player not holding the bow correctly. Mostly American folk music.

[@MiguelLopezFolk]

Thank you Emelie. I'm sure all this will help me to improve

[@tg_73]

Great video, thanks Emilie. I'd also suggest: 1. Hand synchronization can be easier if you are clearly feeling the beat. It can help to add extra emphasis when practising, and/or move your body to the beat. 2. In passages with string crossings, you can have synchronization problems if you've got a fuzzy sense of which note is on which string. You can try practicing the bowing/crossing pattern on open strings to focus on getting the bow arm sorted independently of the left hand.

[@EmelieWaldken]

Very good tips ! I pondered a while whether I would speak about rhythm/feeling the beat too, but it would have made a too long video (and it's more of a general musical thing, not specific to nyckelharpa). But yes, feeling the beat in the body is super important, even more so in the big chunk of folk music which is meant for dance ! And I should definitely talk about string crossings at some point !

[@noelplouffe6245]

Thank you

[@seriksson9721]

Patience and practice, it sounds good. Thanks

[@EmelieWaldken]

Always ;)

[@MusicBlackLotus]

Thank you for your informative videos!

[@fouellet1701]

Excellent tips, as always! Thanks for your advice. 😁 One difficulty I have is to balance the sound between strings, for example, the sound produced by the A string is louder than the sound of the next string down which is D on my instrument. I need to alter the bow pressure and speed in order to keep an even volume when switching string.

[@EmelieWaldken]

Well maybe there's some work to do on the strings (that would be easy, basically just change them, possibly try some different ones) or on the instrument. That is more complex, usually one very strong note on an instrument means that the instrument's body's tone is just that frequency. It then needs to be changed, which is not hard to do for a luthier. Start by changing your strings and, if the problem persists, go ask a luthier =)

[@fouellet1701]

@@EmelieWaldken : I use the popular Prim strings but I will try another D string soon, actually a 3/4 cello D string to see how it goes. This is not a high priced instrument, so it is quite possible that it reacts to some frequencies more than others. Thanks.

[@EmelieWaldken]

@@fouellet1701 I personally use Savarez strings but they're hard to find. Hope the cello string works !

[@fouellet1701]

@@EmelieWaldken Thanks for the tip. I do use Savarez and Aquila strings on my hurdy-gurdy, I will likely see if anything could fit the nyckelharpa. Here in North America it seems like everyone uses Prim. Savarez strings for instruments outside of guitars and violin are indeed hard to get! I get the Aquila directly from the manufacturer and it costs me a lot on shipping!

[@fouellet1701]

I think I found my problem! It seems like the D string resonates using the bottom part of the nyckelharpa's body and depending on how I hold my instrument, if the bottom is pushed against me, it muffles the sound. I need to work on the way I hold the instrument to let the body resonate as much as possible.

[@fiedelmina]

Good video for learners! IMHO it comes down to the one basic mistake many nyckelharpa-newbies make: They think it is a cheap and easy way to get to play a bowed string instrument, because they think the main work is in the left hand and the keys. And don't understand that it is the bow in the right hand that creates the music and really has to be practiced. Unfortunatly there are even a lot of recordings of basically very mediocre nyckelharpa players so that the newbies inspired by those people don't even realize that the sound could be much better.

[@EmelieWaldken]

You sum it up exactly ! Yes we are plagued by very poor examples (and too well-known) of nyckelharpa playing... working on that here, and I know you do too =)

[@Thomas.Wright]

As I like to say, "Before you can be great at something, you have to suck at it first."

[@EmelieWaldken]

We all start from zero and some do poorly long enough to become great !

[@Stibsyt]

So good to see you back and another clear and helpful video. I thought it was a Gewa, they're really good value aren't they! I shall keep The Unclear Sound in mind from now on when I play 😁

[@EmelieWaldken]

Thank you ! Yes the GEWA bows are really good, like they're not as amazing as the Condi, Georges or other bow makers', but they're really good and really cheap !

[@Stibsyt]

@@EmelieWaldken And you're so right about bows, I use a Matthew Coltman. It is the breath of the instrument👍

[@EmelieWaldken]

@@Stibsyt Thanks for the name, is a nyckelharpa bow we're talking about ? (I'm always on the hunt for nyckelharpa bows builders)

[@Stibsyt]

@@EmelieWaldken And sorry, yes, nyckelharpa bows 👍😁

[@yeoldfart8762]

I always figured that playing the nyckelharpa was harder than you make it look. Fun video!

[@EmelieWaldken]

Pretty much everything is harder than experienced people make it look ^^ I can't believe how effortless some people make cello playing look, when it feels so dang hard for me ! And hurdy-gurdy playing is even worse !

[@yeoldfart8762]

I played fiddle for years but it was always a big chore. If I missed one day it was like missing months or years. The cello was much nicer. Maybe it was because I could wrap my self around her like a guitar. I miss having a cello.

[@obsc3n3skull]

Great video, but I was hoping for instructions on how to make the G-string sound good. Mine sounds horrible on both my nyckelharpa

[@EmelieWaldken]

It might be the string itself ! I would need to see your keyboard and get more details than "sounds horrible" to be able to perhaps help you ;)

[@raidoskald8834]

👏👏👏🌺

[@hannafiddler]

Going to watch the rest tomorrow, but the intro alone made me cackle.

[@EmelieWaldken]

I know you know ! (Also yes I had fun with the editing, colours, etc.)

[@user3141592635]

Författa en ny Polska eller Shottis med din stora kunskap, Emelie. Emelie Polkka eller Emelie Shottis. Jag är inte sarkastisk, utan menar det på riktigt. Din Engelska är fantastisk fin. Jag har aldrig förr hört en annan Svensktalande person tala bättre Engelska. Du måtte ha bott i ett Engelsktalande land i flera år.

[@EmelieWaldken]

Jag är inte svensk ;) Mitt modersmål är franska. Jag lärde mig först engelska i skolan (specialt tvåspråkigt program) och sen svenska medan att bo i Sverige och hänga med musiker.

[@reineh3477]

@@EmelieWaldken så fransk... Finns nyckelharpa i Frankrike eller vad det något du upptäckte i Sverige?

[@EmelieWaldken]

@@reineh3477 De finns glest i hela världen men det finns nån tätare grupp i Frankrike ja. Men jag är inte Fransk heller ^^ Jag är uppvuxen i fransktalande Schweiz. Belgien, Canada och några till länder/regioner pratar också franska, inte bara Frankrike ;)

[@reineh3477]

@@EmelieWaldken sorry. Det är lite som om någon sade att de pratar tyska, Schweiz eller Österrike skulle inte vara min första gissning.

[@EmelieWaldken]

@@reineh3477 Nä men såklart, ingen fara, jag bara informerar =)