Nyckelharpa recordings in the US
Since originally writing this page many moons ago, the landscape has shifted greatly. These days, so much nyckelharpa music is available through streaming services, including Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, Google Music, and more. Buying physical CDs is less common, but many of us still love liner notes and the physical media on our shelves. Most nyckelharpa performers tour with CDs or have them listed for sale on their websites. Look up your favorite recording artists and you may be in for a treat! Buying direct from artists themselves gives them a much bigger profit than streaming their music. Plus, you own those songs forever. That said, we encourage you to listen to nyckelharpa music at every opportunity and by whatever means is most accessible to you.
Note: You may still find some rare physical albums on Amazon, eBay, and other vintage resellers- just beware of prices that seem unreasonable.
You can also try an online CD store such as RootsWorld
Written Music Resources
Laurie Hart of New York recently published a 400-page tune book that covers all the Nordic countries – including plenty for nyckelharpa players interested in the Uppland tradition. Give a Coin to the Fiddler includes 140 tunes in all!
Her description:
“My big Nordic tunebook, Give a Coin to the Fiddler, and its 5-album Scandinavian Fiddle Tradition series are available—a labor of love and a culmination of my learning, teaching, playing and dancing over four decades. The book is 400 pages long, spiral-bound, with 350 photos and 13 maps. The text includes practice tips, style tips, stories about tunes and musicians, essays about dancing, fiddle technique, music theory, history, and Nordic culture, with extensive glossary, indexes, bibliography and discography (which you can use to create a fantastic playlist on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube).”
