I recently had a fantastic opportunity to have a nyckelharpa lesson with Aryeh Frankfurter when he and his wife came through Montana on part of their performance tour. The amount of information he gave me was enormous for a beginner. The main thing, I believe, is to play the instrument. I have a long road to travel as a nyckelharpa player, but I'm now pointed in the right direction.
I am also excited to build a second harpa. I was allowed to take a side-by-side picture of Aryeh's nyckelharpa and mine. He insisted I try playing his instrument. It was much lighter and although the same overall length, it was slightly narrower and seemed easier to hold for my small size.
My goal on this harpa isn't to recreate the other craftsman's design, but rather to incorporate those differences I liked and felt would improve my first instrument. Lighter and "smaller".
My sweet husband took me shopping for wood at Winsor Plywood, where I picked up some more alder, but also purchased some vertical grain fir to use on the top and bottom. The grain on the VG fir is very close and very straight, looking similar to spruce. It is also a slightly harder wood than spruce according to the Janka hardness scale.
And the grain of the fir can be seen here.
Design main changes I hope to incorporate:
- longer and narrower neck/ keybox
- shorter and narrower body with a thinner top and bottom
- bent-wood top instead of planed/carved
- minor adjustments to bridge, string nut and keys
This time around, I'd like to try steaming/bending the top instead of planing it to shape, so I'll be needing to build a steam box and a jig for shaping.
No comments:
Post a Comment