Langeleik
Encyclopedia
The langeleik also called langleik is a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
stringed folklore musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
, a droned zither
Drone zither
Drone zithers or droned zithers are stringed instruments of the zither family that have few melodic strings and a greater number of drone strings. The oldest known form of drone zither is the Scheitholt....
.
Description
The langeleik has only one melody string and up to 8 droneDrone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
strings.
Under the melody string there are seven frets per octave, forming a diatonic major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
.
The drone strings are tuned to a triad
Triad (music)
In music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:* the Root...
.
The langeleik is tuned to about an A, though on score the C major key is used, as if the instrument were tuned in C. This is for simplification of both writing and reading, by circumventing the use of accidentals
Accidental (music)
In music, an accidental is a note whose pitch is not a member of a scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the symbols used to mark such notes, sharps , flats , and naturals , may also be called accidentals...
Since the instrument cannot play a chromatic scale
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
nor be easily tuned to other pitches
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
, it is very limited in its ability to play along with other instruments and/or more harmonically complex music.
The combination of the lone melody string and the multiple drone strings gives the langeleik a distinctively rich sound.
History
There exists a variety of box zithers in Europe. The German scheitholtScheitholt
The scheitholt or scheitholz is a traditional German stringed instrument and an ancestor of the modern zither. It falls into the category of drone zithers.-History:...
and the Swedish Hummel
Hummel (instrument)
The hummel is an old Swedish stringed instrument similar to an older type of zither and is related to the Norwegian langeleik. The name is thought to come from the German word hummel, meaning "bumblebee", referring to the droning sound created by the accompaniment strings.-History:The hummel is...
have been suggested as the predecessor of the langeleik. However, in 1980 a langeleik dated as early as 1524 was uncovered on a farm in Vibergsroa, Gjøvik, Norway. This instrument predates any documented occurrences of the scheitholt, the hummel or any other similar instrument.
The older Langeleik types vere tuned after Pythagorean
Pythagorean tuning
Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency relationships of all intervals are based on the ratio 3:2. This interval is chosen because it is one of the most consonant...
fashion, based on pure fifths and octaves, with variable smaller intervals. Thus, the pitches could easily be moved between more sombre "low" intervals and the more bright major ones. The fixed Langeleik with a recognizable major scale is dated to after 1850. After this change in tonation, many players had to change their melodies, or find new ones, as the older repertoire no longer fitted into the new system.
Types of langeleik
Early langeleiks are basically rectangular in shape, and often have an open bottom. They usually have five or six stringsStrings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
. They often had unique traditional scales
Musical scale
In music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...
other than the modern major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
(using 3/4 tones, etc.). Especially the third
Third
Third may refer to:*3 , such as the 3rd of something -see also Ordinal number *Fraction , such as 1/3*1/60 of a second, or 1/3,600 of a minute *Third World, economically underdeveloped nations...
and seventh
Seventh
Seventh may refer to:* Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution-Music:* Diminished seventh, a chromatically reduced minor seventh interval...
tend to be different; the third
Third
Third may refer to:*3 , such as the 3rd of something -see also Ordinal number *Fraction , such as 1/3*1/60 of a second, or 1/3,600 of a minute *Third World, economically underdeveloped nations...
is often neutral (between a major and minor third) and the seventh
Seventh
Seventh may refer to:* Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution-Music:* Diminished seventh, a chromatically reduced minor seventh interval...
tends to be lower than the modern leading tone.
Modern langeleiks are somewhat curved, being wider at the middle, as it is the experience of modern instrument makers that this makes the instrument sound louder. They are all tuned to a major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
.
Playing
The right hand holds a long plectrumPlectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
, and with this plectrum it strikes the beat, the basic rhythm.
The left hand utilizes only its index, middle and ring finger.
When a desired melody note is to be executed on the basic beat, the left hand only need to hold down the melody string, and the right hand will strike it with the plectrum.
When a note is wanted in between the basic rhythm, the index or middle finger needs to hammer-on
Hammer-on
Hammer-on is a stringed instrument playing technique performed by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This technique is the opposite of the pull-off...
or pull-off
Pull-off
A pull-off is a stringed instrument technique performed by plucking a string by "pulling" the string off the fingerboard with one of the fingers being used to fret the note.-Performance and effect:...
the melody string.
Tradition
Norway has several areas of culture, amplified due to its many mountains, valleys and fjords, some areas have their own version of springdans Polska (dance)#NorwayValdres
Valdres
Valdres is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal.Administratively, Valdres belongs to Oppland. It consists of the municipalities Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre, Vang and Etnedal. The main town in the region is...
and Vardal
Vardal
Vardal is a former municipality in Oppland county, Norway.It was created in 1837 as Vardal formannskapsdistrikt. According to the 1835 census the municipality had a population of 2,921...
are the only areas where the langeleik has a living tradition and thus more developed tradition, with more melodies available, especially of the more recent, more complex kind, made for arguably better instruments. The picture above is of a Valdres langeleik. It is also home of the valdres springar.
Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
is another distinct area of Norway, home of the Telemark springar. The Telemark langeleik is distinct from the Valdres kind in that the sound-box is thin and straight-walled whereas the Valdres-langeleik curves to a broader lower part, and it does not have a board at the bottom and thus is more dependent on a good table for amplification. Also the head looks all different.
Centers of Practice
The langeleik has had a renaissance, and while there are players in most part of Norway, there are not so many places -at least not well known- where the instrument is being played officially. This is perhaps mostly due to that it is a solo instrument.Gjøvik Spelemannslag (the [folk]musician guild of Gjøvik
Gjøvik
is a town and a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Gjøvik.In 1861, the village of Gjøvik in the municipality of Vardal was granted town status and was separated from Vardal to form a separate municipality...
) has a steady group of langeleik-players which meets every Wednesday. They also build langeleik there and a lot of other kinds of instruments.
Music
The types of tunes mostly played on the instrument are reinlender, vals, mazurka, gangar, springar and halling.See Gammeldans (old dance) and Bygdedans
Bygdedans
Bygdedans or village dance is the term most commonly used for a variety of regional, traditional dances of Norway. Bygdedans are the oldest and most distinctive among Norwegian folk dances....
(village dance) for more information.
See also
- Appalachian dulcimerAppalachian dulcimerThe Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
- Epinette des VosgesEpinette des VosgesThe épinette des Vosges is a traditional plucked-string instrument of the zither family, whose use was confined to two areas in the Vosges mountains of France approximately 50 km apart: around Val-d'Ajol and around Gérardmer.-Origins:...
- Hummel (instrument)Hummel (instrument)The hummel is an old Swedish stringed instrument similar to an older type of zither and is related to the Norwegian langeleik. The name is thought to come from the German word hummel, meaning "bumblebee", referring to the droning sound created by the accompaniment strings.-History:The hummel is...
- LangspilLangspilThe Langspil is a traditional Icelandic drone zither. Since old folk music has been gaining more popularity in recent years, more and more people are able to play this instrument...
- ScheitholtScheitholtThe scheitholt or scheitholz is a traditional German stringed instrument and an ancestor of the modern zither. It falls into the category of drone zithers.-History:...