Hardanger Fiddle - Technique

Technique

The technique of bowing a Hardingfele also differs from that used with a violin. It's a smoother, bouncier style of bowing, with a lighter touch. The player usually bows on two of the upper strings at a time, and sometimes three. This is made easy by the relative flatness of the bridge, unlike the more curved bridge on a violin. The strings of the fiddle are slimmer than those of the violin, resembling the strings of violins from the baroque period.

Tunes and techniques of playing differ a great deal between different regions in Norway. This is likely due to earlier isolation of communities in the series of valleys and mountains consisting of Norway's geography.

Standard musical notation is rarely used by the traditional players. But to preserve the music, and to get classical players to play Norwegian music, there were people who systematically transcribed tunes. They used a system where the notes corresponded to the fingering on the instrument rather than to absolute pitch. It is usual for the players in Norway not to read music, but learn tunes by ear. It is actually surprisingly common for players to not even be able to read notes. In later years, however, some fiddlers use manuscripts as a kind of "second-hand" source, for refreshing their memories.