Langeleik

Langeleik

The "langeleik" is a traditional stringed musical instrument from Norway.

The instrument has only one melody string, but it has additional drone strings (or "bourdons"). There are usually 7 or 8 drone strings on modern instruments, but older ones had fewer, most often four drones.

The frets under the melody string are placed such that it can only play a diatonic major scale. The drone strings are also tuned to the triad of the melody string (nominally C, E and G although really somewhere around A, C# and E). Since the instrument cannot play a chromatic scale nor be easily tuned to other pitches, 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.

The oldest known "langeleik" in existence is dated 1524. It is clearly related to other European instruments, but mostly to the German "scheitholt" and the French "epinette des Vosges", among others.

Types of "langeleik"

Early langeleiks are basically rectangular in shape, and often have an open bottom. They usually have five or six strings. They often had unique traditional scales other than the modern major scale (using 3/4 tones, etc.). Especially the third and seventh tend to be different; the third is often neutral (between a major and minor third) and the seventh 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.

Performers

Even within Norway, there are comparatively few performers of the "langeleik". Among the best known performers of the late twentieth century is Elisabeth Kværne. The Norwegian blues guitarist Knut Reiersrud also plays it on occasion.

ee also

*Appalachian dulcimer
*Epinette des Vosges
*Hummel (instrument)
*Langspil
*Scheitholt


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Langeleik — La langeleik est une cithare à bourdon typiquement norvégienne. C est un instrument ancien remontant au XVIe siècle et qu on utilise rarement de nos jours. Il existe également les appellations langhørpu et langspill . C est une cousine de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • langeleik — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Appalachian dulcimer — Other names Mountain dulcimer, lap dulcimer, fretted dulcimer, Classification Plucked string instrument Relate …   Wikipedia

  • List of national instruments (music) — National instruments redirects here. For the company, see National Instruments. This list contains musical instruments of symbolic or cultural importance within a nation, state, ethnicity, tribe or other group of people. In some cases, national… …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Norway — Part of a series on Norwegians Culture Arch …   Wikipedia

  • Hummel (instrument) — The Hummel is an old Swedish stringed instrument that can be compared to an older type of zither and is related to the Norwegian instrument, the langeleik. The name is thought to come from the German word Hummel , meaning bee , referring to the… …   Wikipedia

  • List of string instruments — This is a list of string instruments categorized according to the technique used to produce sound, followed by a list of string instruments grouped by country or region of origin. Bowed instruments * Ajaeng (Korea) * Anzad * Arpeggione * Banhu… …   Wikipedia

  • Musique norvégienne — Sommaire 1 Musique traditionnelle 2 Instruments de musique 3 Musique classique 4 Musique actuelle …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of musical instruments — The following is a list of musical instruments, categorized by section. Please add to List of musical instruments by Hornbostel Sachs number also. See also List of instruments by nationality and There are 482 musical instruments listed. This… …   Wikipedia

  • Eivind Groven — (October 8, 1901 – February 8, 1977) was a Norwegian microtonal composer and music theorist. He was from the fylke (province or county) of Telemark in southern Norway and had his background in the folk music of the area. BiographyGroven was born… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”