Listen to the nyckelharpa
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the nyckelharpa makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the nyckelharpa belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
Nyckelharpa is a "keyed" bowed chordophone, primarily originating from Sweden in its modern form, but with its historical roots scattered across medieval Europe. It is similar in appearance to a fiddle or violin but larger (in its earlier forms essentially a modified vielle), which employs key-actuated tangents along the neck to change the pitch during play, much like a hurdy-gurdy. The keys slide under the strings, with the tangents set perpendicularly to the keys, reaching above the strings. Upon key-actuation, the tangent is pressed to meet the corresponding string, much like a fret, shortening its vibrating length to that point, changing the pitch of the string. It is primarily played underarm, suspended from the shoulder using a sling, with the bow in the overhanging arm.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a nyckelharpa sound like?
Listen to 5 recordings on this page. As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the nyckelharpa?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.322-71).
Sources & credits
- Sound example Nyckelharpa - SMV - X5662 by National Collections of Music, Theatre and Dance – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Sound example Nyckelharpa - SMV - X5361 by National Collections of Music, Theatre and Dance – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Sound example Nyckelharpa - SMV - X5860 by National Collections of Music, Theatre and Dance – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Sound example Nyckelharpa - SMV - X5624 by National Collections of Music, Theatre and Dance – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Sound example Nyckelharpa - SMV - M3522 by National Collections of Music, Theatre and Dance – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q182718 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Nyckelharpa – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Bernd Schwabe in Hannover – CC BY-SA 4.0