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 is a lot more stable.
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. There are a couple of exellent tutorials on youtube on how to make these yourself!
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 currently have in stock, happy shopping!
Bass Tagelharpa with sympathetic strings
This instrument is tuned to G2-C3-g3 and has 6 extra strings that run under the bridge. These are sympathetic strings that resonate with the instrument when the three playable strings are played. This tagelharpa is made of Ash, with a soundboard out of Sequoia, the bridge is made out of bone and the tailpiece is reclaimed Azobe.
The bridge on this one is flat, which makes it more suitable for a more “atmospheric” playing style. This instrument is for sale, and I can also make a variation of this instrument if you want.
Price: €770
Bass tagelharpa
This tagelharpa is tuned to C-G-C, it’s made from Ash, with a Spruce soundboard. The bridge is made from Black Locust burl and will nicely darken with age. The tailpiece is made from Oak that has been fumed with ammonia, turning it dark.
The string length is 56,5 cm, about the same string length as the morin-khuur/igil.
Price: €430
Medium size tagelharpa 2
The string length on this instrument is 43 cm, more in the range of a long-scale viola. It is tuned to F3-C4-f4, and made of Ash, including the soundboard.
The bridge is Black Locust burl and the tailpiece is reclaimed Azobe.
Price:€400
Medium size tagelharpa 3
The string length on this instrument is 43 cm, more in the range of a long-scale viola. It is tuned to F3-C4-f4, and made of Ash, the soundboard is Spruce.
The bridge is Black Locust burl and the tailpiece is reclaimed Azobe.
Price: €400
Medium size tagelharpa 1
This instrument is a prototype, but can be made if wished!
The string length on this instrument is 41 cm, more in the range of a long-scale viola. It is tuned to F3-C4-f4, and made of Ash, including the soundboard.
The bridge is Black Locust burl and the tailpiece is reclaimed Azobe.
This instrument is constructed very differently from the others on this page, normally the sidewalls are part of the “arms”. Here i chose to make the sidewalls from 1,5 mm thick Ash, instead of the machine tuners i used wooden pegs. All these weight reducing measures result in a 300 gram weight reduction compared to the other similar instruments on this page. As a result it’s sound has a bit more bass in it, giving it a more rounded sound.
Price: €430
