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hardingfele

Hardingfele

Norway · 1600s
DancingSentimentalEpicDreamySad

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Description

Hardingfele refers to the Hardanger fiddle tradition of Norway—both the specially built fiddle and its repertoire of rural dance-tunes (slåttar) and listening pieces.

The instrument looks similar to a violin but has 4 (sometimes 5) bowed strings above, plus 4–6 sympathetic strings underneath that vibrate in resonance, producing a shimmering, bell-like halo. Players use cross-tunings (scordatura) tailored to each tune family, abundant double-stops and drones, highly ornamented fingering, and subtle bow pulses. Rhythms often carry the distinctive asymmetrical triple-time swing of regional springar styles, and melodies gravitate to modal colors (Dorian, Mixolydian) with flexible intonation.


Sources: Spotify, Wikipedia, Discogs, RYM, MB, user feedback and other online sources

History

Origins (17th–18th centuries)

The Hardanger fiddle emerged in western Norway (Hardanger/Voss) in the 1600s, likely shaped by Baroque violin-making ideas and local folk aesthetics. By the 1700s, it had spread to Telemark, Setesdal, Valdres, and other valleys, where distinctive regional repertoires and tunings formed around dance-types (springar, gangar, halling) and ceremonial pieces (e.g., brureslått—wedding tunes).

19th-century prominence

A "golden age" of local virtuosi and makers established the instrument’s prestige. Legendary fiddlers like Myllarguten (Torgeir Augundsson) brought valley styles to national attention, including a landmark 1849 concert facilitated by violinist-composer Ole Bull, which helped bridge folk and art-music spheres. Families of luthiers (notably in Hardanger and Telemark) refined the decorated, inlaid instrument with sympathetic strings that define its sound.

20th-century preservation and revival

Modernization and urbanization reduced rural dance contexts, but community ensembles (spelemannslag), archives, and competitions like Landskappleiken safeguarded styles. Collectors and scholars documented regional variants, bowing language, microtiming (the "swing" of springar), and tunings. From mid-century onward, a broader folk revival brought the hardingfele to stages, radio, and recordings.

Contemporary practice and crossovers

Today, tradition-bearers and innovators coexist. Masters maintain local dialects of style, while contemporary artists integrate hardingfele with jazz, ambient, and even metal and pop textures. Education, festivals, and a living network of makers and players sustain the instrument at the heart of Norway’s musical identity.

How to make a track in this genre

Choose tune-type and pulse
•   Pick a traditional form: springar (asymmetrical triple), gangar (duple walking tune), halling (athletic dance), or brureslått (ceremonial). •   For springar, shape a lilted 3-beat with unequal beat lengths (regionally varying patterns such as long–short–medium). Dancers feel this microtiming—let your bowing breathe with it.
Tunings, resonance, and tone
•   Use scordatura (cross-tuning). Common setups center on A/E drones; a classic “gorrlaus” variant for the top strings is A–E–A–C♯ (sympathetic strings tuned to a related chord/scale). •   Exploit sympathetic strings: sustain notes and open drones so the understrings ring. Aim for a bright yet warm tone with clear articulation.
Melody, mode, and ornament
•   Compose within modal colors (Dorian, Mixolydian, or major with flexible leading tones). Keep ranges singable and fiddle-friendly. •   Write phrases in short motifs suited to variation. Traditional structures often cycle A–A–B–B with evolving ornaments. •   Add grace-notes, trills, mordents, crushed notes, and quick finger-taps. Use double-stops and open-string drones to outline harmony without full chordal writing.
Bowing language and groove
•   Use short, danceable bow strokes with intermittent bow pulses (trøkk) to emphasize steps. •   Vary slurs vs. separate strokes to articulate motif shape, and lean into off-beat accents that energize the dance.
Arrangement and context
•   Solo hardingfele is idiomatic, but you may add second fiddle, langeleik, voice (stev/slåttetrall), or subtle percussion (foot-stomps) if desired. •   For ceremonial pieces, write processional contours and ringing cadences; for dance tunes, prioritize momentum and clear sectional repeats.
Notation and learning style
•   Notation can be a guide, but the style lives in ear-learning: microtiming, swing, bow pressure, and ornaments are best internalized from recordings and master players.

Best playlists

The Sound of Hardingfele
The Sound of Hardingfele
Every Noise at Once
Hardingfele
Hardingfele
Chosic
Best of Hardingfele
Best of Hardingfele
volt.fm

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in this genre
Influenced by
Western Classical
Western classical is the notated art-music tradition that developed in Europe from medieval Christian chant into the large-scale secular and sacred forms of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and modern eras. It is characterized by staff notation, evolving systems of modality and tonality, and forms such as symphony, sonata, concerto, mass, opera, and chamber music. Across its history, Western classical established an extensive theory of harmony and counterpoint, refined orchestration across strings, winds, brass, and percussion, and cultivated performance practices from a cappella chant to full symphonic and operatic forces. Its repertoire, pedagogy, and institutions (conservatories, orchestras, opera houses) made it a global reference point for compositional craft and instrumental technique.
Polska
Polska is a Nordic couple-dance music in asymmetrical triple time that crystallized in Sweden during the 17th century under strong Polish court influence (the very name means “Polish”). It is danced in turning couple holds and played most often on fiddle or nyckelharpa, with variants in timing and swing across regions such as Dalarna, Uppland, Hälsingland, and Skåne. Musically, polska is typically in 3/4 or 3/8 but with unequal beat lengths and a distinct lilt that differs from the even pulse of the waltz. Melodies are modal (minor, Dorian, Mixolydian are common), ornamented with trills, turns, and double-stops, and structured in short strains (often AABB) designed to fit dancers’ three steps per bar. Accompaniment ranges from bordun (drone) textures and spare chordal backing to contemporary guitar/cittern/accordion support.
Has influenced
Nordic Folk Music
Nordic folk music is the traditional and revivalist music of the Nordic region—primarily Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, with close ties to Sámi traditions. It centers on dance tunes (such as polska, springar, halling, hambo, polka and schottis), story ballads, and distinctive vocal styles like runo-singing and kulning (cattle-calling). Characteristic timbres come from regional instruments: the Swedish nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle), the Norwegian hardanger fiddle (with sympathetic strings), Finnish kantele, various diatonic accordions, jaw harp, willow flute, and goat horn. Melodic language often employs modal scales (Dorian, Mixolydian, Aeolian), drones, and ornamented fiddle lines, with flexible meter and asymmetrical triple-time feels in many local dance traditions. Modern Nordic folk ranges from historically informed performance to innovative ensembles that blend traditional forms with contemporary harmony, improvisation, electronics, and global influences—while retaining the dance-driven pulse, modal color, and narrative focus that define the style.
Nordic Folk
Nordic folk is a contemporary umbrella for the traditional music of the Nordic region—principally Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland—revived and reimagined since the 1960s folk revival. It draws on dance tune repertories (polska, hambo, schottische, polka, waltz), epic and ballad traditions, Sámi joik, and rural vocal techniques such as kulning and open “white voice.” Rhythmically, it is notable for asymmetric three-beat meters (e.g., polska and springar families) and groove-oriented bowing styles, while sonically it centers on timbres like nyckelharpa, Hardanger fiddle, kantele, jouhikko, willow flute, and drones. Modern Nordic folk spans acoustic tradition-keeping ensembles to experimental, amplified, and atmospheric projects that intersect with folk rock, ambient, and even metal—yet it remains grounded in modal melody, dance function, strong ornamentation, and place-rooted storytelling.
Folk Metal
Folk metal blends the power and riff-driven intensity of heavy metal with melodies, instruments, scales, and storytelling traditions from regional folk music. Typical arrangements combine distorted guitars, bass, and drums with fiddles, flutes, whistles, bagpipes, accordions, hurdy-gurdies, bouzoukis, and other traditional instruments. Bands often draw on myth, history, and local folklore for lyrical themes, ranging from epic sagas and battle hymns to drinking songs and pastoral ballads. The style spans a spectrum from aggressive and blackened approaches to upbeat, danceable, and festive moods, making it one of metal’s most diverse and regionally distinctive subgenres.
Viking Metal
Viking metal is a Scandinavian-born metal style that fuses the harsh timbres and riffing of black and heavy metal with epic, saga-like songwriting and Norse mythological themes. Compared to second‑wave black metal, it tends toward slower to mid‑tempo pacing, chanted or heroic clean vocals alongside growls, and grand, choir‑like arrangements. Folk instruments (fiddle, flute, nyckelharpa, tagelharpa, etc.) and modal melodies drawn from Nordic folk idioms are common, creating a windswept, seafaring atmosphere. Lyrically it focuses on pre‑Christian history, sagas, battle, nature, and pagan spirituality, favoring narrative storytelling and anthemic refrains over blasphemous or satanic topics typical of early black metal.

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