#langeleik

[trec30]

Further progress on the langeleik build. Pegheads and sides glued up.  Soundboard, nut/bridge and wooden frets roughed out but not glued.  Not happy with the frets and will likely make another set.  

[calcographer]

Here’s me jammin’ on my Langeleik for any peeps who appreciate a good old fashioned folk song.

[trec30]

Well, finally got back to building and finished my first langeleik build.  Besides missing the beautiful ornamentation, this is different from the original in that it has a modern A scale but since the Gjovik Spelmannslag langeleik book also contains tunes in both G major and D major, I added a g natural fret in each octave.  I’m very happy with the sound.  Now back to figuring out how to play and practicing tunes.

[trec30]

Well, finally some more progress on the langeleik build.   Glued up the body and soundboard.  Made a new nut and bridge and a new set of frets out of cherry.   Much happier with these than the ones in the previous update.   Made the three little pyramids to hold the back peghead strings also of cherry,  And keeping with the theme, I made the wooden tuning pegs from the same cherry.  I had never made tuning pegs before and that took multiple attempts to get usable pegs.   Took the method from a Clifton Hicks youtube vid (thank you Clifton) on how he makes tuning pegs for his mountain banjos.  The frets are not glued down yet.   I have some ideas on how to do this, but if any one has a method or tips to share, I'm all ears.

[trec30]

Roughed out the pegheads for the new langeleik build.  Re-purposed wood again from the back of my neighbor’s 100 year old house when they built an extension last year.

[trec30]

Next project is to build a Norwegian langeleik.  Went to Gjovik, Norway for the Nordic Harp Meet last October.  Way cool.  Took lots of photos and measurements of this amazing old langeleik.  Worked out a plan for the build and am already creating sawdust.

[kpellinore]

http://www.musik.is/Paelingin/Langspil_and_Icelandic_Fidla.pdfContinuing with zither-type instruments in the monochord family...this is a langspil from Iceland, one of its two traditional instruments (the other being a  fiðla - a sort of fiddle).  This instrument is a whole lot like the Norwegian langeleik and apparently even more like a German scheitholt. (There are a bunch of instruments all in a very similar style that seem to have spread out and become variations on that theme). Like the langeleik in Norway, the langspil can by strummed or struck with a stick/plectrum, but it can also be plucked with the fingers and also played with a short bow. Like the langeleik though, it only has one melody string and any others are drones (there is no standard size and no standard number of string, but 3 is typical). The bridge is flat so the bow plays all the strings at once (like the Welsh crwth) but the player can only fret the melody note.

The history of the langspil in Iceland reminds me of the history of the Celtic harp (and several other trad instruments I’ve read about, doing this blog) in that because of religion, politics and changing times, at one point it had nearly died out but has been reclaimed and is being made again and played by people who want to reclaim their past culture, however there is no real written music and people now have little to guide them on how it was played historically.

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I wanted to add that if you are very interested in langspils (and the fiðla) and Iceland’s musical history, here is a great page to check out:

http://www.musik.is/Paelingin/Langspil_and_Icelandic_Fidla.pdf

[kpellinore]

No video for this, but very purdy music with the Norwegian langeleik and a harp (I do wish I could see the harp they are using!...Hey! A little research and hey presto - I found an image! It’s a very different sort of harp. Another night, I will look into it and post more of these guys.)