The
nyckelharpa
is a Swedish keyed fiddle. It has four playing strings
and twelve sympathetic strings. Each sympathetic string
is tuned to a different chromatic note, making the
instrument extremely resonant in every key.Tangents
attached to keys are pressed against the playing strings
to change the pitch.Traditionally, the instrument is
tuned C-G-C-A and has tangents on the top three playing
strings, with the bottom string functioning as a drone.
Our nyckelharpas are tuned in fifths (C-G-D-A) and all
four strings are keyed. They have a range of three and a
half octaves, from C below middle C.