Playing the Nyckelharpa

The Verlag der Spielleute publishing company recently published Playing the Nyckelharpa by Jule Bauer. Jule Bauer has had a deep and close relationship with the nyckelharpa for many years. She studied musicology and music pedagogy, and was the first graduate of the "European Nyckelharpa Training.”

She has been teaching both singing and the nyckelharpa since 2003 in Academy Castle Fürsteneck in Germany, the Scoula di Musica Popolare di Forlimpopoli in Italy, and the Conservatoire Intercommunal de Musique Deux Vallées in Milly-la-Foret, France.

This instruction book is aimed at beginner level Nyckelharpa players, providing a systematic, auto-didactic approach, dealing first with the history and construction of the instrument, and then progressing onto essential basics such as different instrument and bow holds. The player is guided step by step from the first bow strokes through proper technique in various keys and styles.

The book contains over 50 melodies which provide the player with an exciting and varied repertoire that is carefully chosen to support the learning progress. Numerous exercises help the player work through the 22 Chapters, with many pictures illustrating the content. In the appendix the author deals comprehensively with physiological concerns associated with playing a musical instrument.

All melodies included in the instruction book are written for nyckelharpas with three and four rows of keys, also for both tunings, the Swedish C-G-C-A, and the continental European, C-G-D-A. A special feature of the publication is that all melodies in the book can be downloaded as MIDI files from the author’s website, which allows the player to play by ear, or as a demonstration. The book includes a foreword by Per-Ulf Allmo.

The book is written in both German and English