Tagelharpa’s

The tagelharpa is a three or four stringed bowed instrument that has been found around the baltic sea. Dating from around the 10th century, it’s a close relative of the Finnish Jouhikko, but also of the Welsh Crwth. This family of instruments is often called “bowed lyres”. Traditionally they are constructed out of a single piece of wood. Due to various reasons I tend to use another way of making them that results in a overall lighter, thus more resonant instrument that is not as prone to cracking due to wood movement. The traditional material for the strings is horsehair, it is however very sensitive to detuning, so i make my instruments with twisted strands of fishing line and strong sewing thread which holds it’s tuning a lot better.

All instruments can be tuned up or down one whole tone from their standard tuning, if you want to go lower than that you probably have to use thicker strings. If you want to tune higher it’s advised to use thinner strings to avoid putting too much tension on the instrument. There are a couple of exellent tutorials on youtube on how to make these yourself, but i can also provide an extra set.

Every instrument listed here is fitted with a curved bridge, unless said otherwise. A curved bridge enables you to play single strings or doubles. Opening up the opportunity to play traditionnal folk tunes. Though if wished, I can ofcourse make a flat bridge for you.

Listed below are the instruments I make of this category.