Hardanger fiddle modifications

You’d better grab a cuppa for this one! This is a tale of a bridge, a nut and two tail-pieces…

My eight-string hardanger fiddle was made for me over 20 years ago and in those days there was little or no information about bridge construction or shape or about how the sympathetic strings ran between the tuning pegs and the tail-piece. So despite its wonderful sound I was left with a puzzle.

The way the instrument was set up the sympathetic strings ran from the tuning pegs through four tiny holes, then beneath the fingerboard and through another four tiny holes in the bridge from where they were looped directly to the button at the base of the belly.

The problem was that I had no idea how to change those strings if they ever broke - and after 20 something years the rust alone was giving cause for concern.

I also wanted a means to attach fine adjusters to the sympathetic strings - and that’s how it all began.

At the music shop I bought a one-sixteenth size tail-piece with built-in fine tuners - I thought maybe I could do a double layer thing with two tail-pieces each with four fine tuners. Good theory. But how to change those strings?

I also had a problem with the nut (the ridge at the end of the fingerboard nearest the tuning pegs) - after 20 years of wear I had buzzing strings as the grooves in the nut had worn down almost to the fingerboard. I sought the advice of a friendly luthier who suggested I either make a new nut or add a small wedge beneath the nut. He assured me it was an easy job - one I could do myself - or he could charge a small fortune for a new one.

I decided to have a go. I still had the third problem of the bridge and the tightly wedged strings. So. Three issues to resolve and they all had to be tackled at one time.

I took on the bridge first - a quick search on the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America and found some size and shape notes with drawings of hardanger bridges - one in the pattern of Sverre Sandvik, and one in the pattern of Olav Viken - two makers of hardanger fiddles:

I chose the former (sandvik version) and headed off to the shed to find some wood - and there I found an off-cut of some Tasmanian Oak which looked about the right density. I scaled the drawings and printed them. Then cut out and glued the sandvik one to the timber and used a fretsaw to cut the main outline. Then drilled holes at each end of the ‘D’ opening in the centre and cut out the shape, finishing with some fine files and a sander.

Some levering with a chisel removed the nut with surprising ease - it came away cleanly. With the hobby bandsaw I carefully cut a ‘U’ shape to the height of the string holes and then glued a thin shaving of jarrah (Western Australian mahogany-like timber) and re-glued it in place at the end of the fingerboard after a little re-shaping on the slow-speed sander. With the nut and the bridge, my hardingfele was now like a traditional hardanger fiddle.

I won’t go into the several hours it took to replace the soundpost after I dislodged it, but at last the fiddle was ready for re-stringing.

By looping the smaller tail-piece loop around the larger tail-piece I was able to get the smaller one to sit ahead of the main tail-piece, and began by attaching the sympathetic strings to the smaller one. Then added the top strings and the hardingfele could sing again.

Yes the tone is different - a little brasher - with the new bridge and nut, but the buzzing is gone and I have fine tuners on all strings. I have had to insert a small piece of felt between the two tail-pieces to stop a small vibration there, but I’m happy to have solved the main structural issues.

One thing remains - I think I need to make a single tail-piece with eight tuners - so the rig is a little shorter and this will enable me to position the bridge closer to the soundpost which is about a centimetre back from the ‘E’-string side of the bridge. And I have a piece of jarrah that looks just right for it!

Cheers
Jerry

 

Tunes from Full Circle

Well, I promised some audio from St Patrick’s Day - and some audio of the newly repaired violin, so it seems a good idea to combine the two

The first tune is Ashokan Farewell, written in 1986 by Jay Ungger, about the town of Ashoka - and farewell to the town as it disappeared beneath the artificial lake created by a dam - in much the same way that part of old Canberra was submerged to make way for the artificial lake. So I guess that makes Canberra and Ashoka sister cities. It’s a lovely tune. [NB: It was recorded at a high level - so you may wish to turn down the volume on your computer first]

The second tune is a kind of ‘wall-of-death’ version of a reel called Tongadale (not to be confused with a small Pacific Islands nation). As St Patrick’s Day gathered momentum, so did our music, culminating in a somewhat blistering pace that just seemed to get faster as the night went on

I hope you all had a great St Patrick’s day!

Cheers
Jerry

 

Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival

What a wonderful festival! The valley backdrop to the festival was spectacular, and despite the weather (there was lots of it) the Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival in New South Wales, Australia, debuted with a great line-up of artists, including Full Circle, Kate Fagan, Wheeze and Suck Band, Mothers of Intention, Craig and Simone, the Shiny Bum Singers and many more.

The place had a great atmosphere and did itself proud to the extent that the whole community came together to support this festival - their first in this town.

This bridge is the oldest suspension bridge in Australia! It’s amazing

You can see some photos from the festival on the Full Circle Band website here. Tony, the fiddle player from Mothers of Intention, and Rick Saur - one of the festival organisers came onstage and jammed with us - and that’s what a festival is all about!

We started off with a session in the aptly named Friendly Inn pub on Friday evening, then it was off to the Festival ground to catch a couple of concert spots, then back to the accommodation - which although a little out of town, was very comfortable.

Saturday saw us again sessioning in the session tent, the pub, then the session tent again, and then we played our first concert spot in the early evening to a great audience - who were quickly up and dancing, despite the muddy conditions. Then a quick drive to the Bowling Club for our good friends Mothers of Intention’s Karifolkie (karioke with live music). And so to bed…

Sunday saw me pull out the fiddle in front of the pizzeria, where we got a warm reception, and I was soon joined by other members of the band, plus various ring-ins from Mothers of Intention, and legendary fiddler Bob McInnes. This was a great way to warm up cold fingers before another concert spot in the main venue where we played to another wonderful audience, and it was clear that by this time word had spread about Full Circle and we had another enthusiastic audience which really rounded off the festival. This was the first for this town, and I certainly hope there will be many more to come!

And as you can see, festivals are good for fitness too!

Cheers
Jerry

 

Hardingfele music (hardanger fiddle music)

After doing a bit of a hunt for a hardanger bridge, I stumbled across Lennart Sohlman’s Swedish Fiddle site - and he has a delightful collection of tunes in sheet, abc and midi format from all over Scandinavia - from Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Want to buy a new hardanger fiddle? Wulffenstejn has a full price list But I think I’ll be happy with mine for quite a while yet.

And from the sublime to the … er… creative: This fellow makes instruments by finding ways to adapt existing ones into new forms, or, even new instruments out of old boxes, bits of PVC pipe and so on.

Cheers
Jerry