Skänk en slant åt spelman | Give a coin to the fiddler

Fans who want authentic Swedish music with narrative imagery of Scandinavian folk culture and heritage are in for a treat in the new book from Laurie Hart. 

  • Give a Coin to the Fiddler, the Scandinavian Fiddle Tradition tunebook.

  • A Fiddler’s Hymn: “… I draw the bow and feel my heart fly.” 
    Fulbright scholar Laurie Hart of Ithaca, NY has produced a definitive tome of Scandinavian fiddle music, education and history that guides professional and amateur musicians and those searching for community in Scandinavian culture through traditional tunes that span centuries. Her collection comes from intensive study with Scandinavian teachers, her own research, and playing music and dancing in this tradition.
    The book is 396 pages and includes extensive background information, 140 transcriptions and maps.
    Laurie explained, “In 2002 I was off to Norway and Sweden with my family on a three-month Fulbright research grant for artists. I’ve now had four decades of joyous Nordic adventures at home in the U.S. and in Scandinavia, learning and playing tunes on fiddle, nyckelharpa, and hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle, Norway's national instrument /Ed).” 
    Many of the tunes could be considered standards in their geographic genre, indexed by style, country, region, names, title and source. Readers and musicians may find their Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish or Danish heritage mentioned and highlighted through selected tunes. Finding musical evidence of your family heritage in Scandinavia is a gift. The vast majority are traditional and only a few are by well known composers.
    “What is needed now is not more tunes but thoughtful curation, someone to sift through the thousands of tunes and dozens of dances and tune types, and make sense of it for the listener, player and dancer.”
    Tuning, rhythms, tempo, the “groove” and many more playing technique topics are taught with a musician’s cadence, easier at the beginning leading to more difficult challenges at the end.

  • An earlier recording of Wedding Marches & More by Laurie Hart with Laurie Hart, Stefhan Ohlström, Mattias Hammarsten, Gerd Stenlid et al.

  • Give a coin
    The Swedish fiddle tune “Skänk en slant åt spelman/Give a coin to the fiddler” is a good example. “It is also known as Leipzig’s krigsmarsch (war-march). It was reportedly played by a Swedish soldier on his clarinet in Leipzig in 1809, an act of defiance which angered Napoleon, who was nearby mounted on his white horse.” Historic vignettes are followed by practice, harmony, keys, fingering and a full score with plenty of space for notes and variations.
    Mystery and magic are also included in Give a Coin. Several tunes reference Norwegian gypsy and traveling folk, the huldra and näcken, the fiddle as the devil’s instrument. Playing in devil’s tuning, for example, involves retuning the four strings of the violin/fiddle from the usual GDAE to AEAC#.
    Additionally, Laurie has five different self-produced Scandinavian Fiddle Tradition CDs with tracks that match the tunes in Give A Coin. All materials are available at Lauriehartfiddle.com.
    Laurie taught herself to use Sibelius software to create musical notation and Affinity Publisher to bring together text, photos and music on the pages. Text is enhanced by photography and graphics, some dating back to the late 19th century.
    Laurie created many of the graphics herself and took some of the photos. She found the rest in libraries, archives and CD/LP liner notes, by scouring the internet in multiple languages, and by asking participants in these folk traditions to contribute photos. The extensive photography reveals cultural legacies, costumes, native dances, instruments and rural folk music.
    Give a Coin to the Fiddler is perfect for professional and skilled musicians and amateurs as well as those who want background regarding rural aspects of traditional Scandinavian life and musical community.
    Nils R.Caspersson