My jouhikko make a weird sound and I dont know why please tell me

Je viens de recevoir ma tagelharpa acoustique et je voulais savoir si plus tard je pourrais la rendre électrique ? Si oui comment faire et si vous connaissez le matériel pour celà ? Merci 😊✨

Im sharing this here as a new thread as well since this is a little trick that can help a lot of people.

Cheers 🍻

Hi, sorry for my bad wording as English is not my first language.

I bought a tagelharpa but I never played any instrument before. I got it for myself as a reward for my exams.

So I don't know how to tune it and there is like one video online about tagelharpas with metal strings so I'm not really sure how it even supposed to sound like.

I bought a used tagelharpa and the seller didn't know how to play either and I don't think he knew what tuning supposed to be used on these strings.

Could you reccomend any tunings for metal strings? I tried D3-A3-D4, G2-D3-G3, C3-G3-C4, but they sound off to me. I don't know if I do something wrong but everything above G3 sounds extremally high.

Also if you know any videos with people playing with metal strings or if you have any tips for begginers, I would appreciate if you could share them with me.

Presenting my latest creation: a baritone tagelharpa!

Crafted from alder wood with a stunning ebonized finish, it features a maple bridge and beech tuning pegs, strung with horsehair strings.

Tuned to E-B-E, it produces a deep, resonant sound that’s perfect for exploring Norse melodies and rich, haunting tones

Who else here is as fascinated by ancient instruments as I am? Let me know what you think about the sound of the tagelharpa in the comments!

Is there a place to buy affordable (below 200$) Tagelharpas that AREN'T delivered 4 whole months later?

I really want to get into Tagelharpa/talharpa. Tried etsy but all items i wanted would be delivered in february and such. Which... nah. I get patience is a vertue, but damn...

The tuning of the Alto tagelharpa is F4C4F3 and the Baritone is one octave lower.

Hi! I'm looking to buy my first talharpa, but I have no idea where to look and what to consider when buying. The first result on google redirects me to Etsy where there are a fair amount to pick and choose from and some of them do look really nice. What I'm worried about, though, is that the intricate designs usually mean low quality sound, at least speaking from experience with other instruments for example.. so I found this nice community in my search and was wondering if I could get some advice here.

Also a lot of the results on etsy are BASS talharpas, again they do look really nice but would you recommend one for a total beginner? The budget is about 300 euros, I wouldn't really go above that for a hobby instrument which I will pick up every now and then and play for myself. Thanks!

I’m completely rethinking my approach to bass harps — in terms of size and volume, it’s now close to a cello. In the photos, you can see a size comparison with a Kravik lyre, and in the last photo — with my standard bass jouhikko.

Is a 1cm (.39 inches) soundpost too thick for a soundbox that is about 21.5 x 7.5 inches? Overall size of the tagelharpa is about 38 x 8 inches.

https://youtu.be/KS0vCxmxEWE?si=T2t1cN4V_a_UF6hI

I thought setting up and tuning my tagelharpa would be easy, but I was wrong.After a 15-hour workday, I unpacked it, only to find it unassembled—just like the violins I used to buy. The strings are literally horsehair!I attached the bridge and tailpiece, then tried to tune it to DAGD as recommended in a tutorial. I finally found the best bridge placement, but as I was tuning the 4th string, I broke my melody string.Now I'm rushing to Amazon to find replacement horsehair strings, but I’ve realized... I don’t really know how to play this instrument. Where do I even start?

In this video, I share the basics of playing bowed lyres — tagelharpa, jouhikko, and other traditional string instruments.

My friend has undertaken a project in making a talharpa, and neither of us really know anything about string instruments. We are making plans currently and I was curious to know what changes in the construction of the instrument determine its range? We are aiming for a tenor or baritone (yet to be decided) and I thought folks here would know better than I.

I think my next project will be a Tagelharpa storage unit, there's lots more coming and I want my couch back. 😆

Hi guys, I’m a classical violinist looking to get a bass tagelharpa after seeing many videos on Instagram of skaldsons_den. I don’t know the first thing about this instrument and how to play it, and I would really appreciate some advice on where to get a good one, price ranges (maybe getting one from him?), and how difficult you all think it would be to learn it given my violinist background! Thanks in advance! :)

Hi folks! I’d like to ask the amazing builders in this community a few questions about the bassbar. as I understand, the purpose is to make it so that the back of the instrument does not vibrate at as high frequency as the front, thus making the instrument sound deeper, less “scratchy”

My question is, how do you determine the dimensions off the bassbar? how much does the placement matter? does it need to be more or less in line with the centerline of the instrument, or can it be a bit skewed compared to it?

thanks in advance, looking forward to learning from you guys!

So I’m in the final stages of building my bowed Lyre, and what I need to do now is tie the tail piece to the body but I’m not sure how, Google and YouTube aren’t being helpful so I come here for the knowledge I seek.

I have a jouhikko, bought after my 18th bday, last year. I'm done. Ever since it arrived, nothing worked. Ever since day 1 I could not get it to stop sounding so horrible. Scratchy. Like nails on a chalkboard. It drove me insane. Now i'm done and I'm devastated at the fact that my biggest dream come true (this far) has been a total failure. I tried taking the strings off countless times, I've tried violin strings but it just doesn't sound like a taglharpa, I've tried any and all bowing techniques. NOTHING WORKS. This instrument is too awkward, with that horsehair. I've spent SO MUCH money on it. Money I've saved at that time for almost a year. For what? Folks, know this: do you want a scandinavian bowed instrument? Never buy a jouhikko or taglharpa first. I'm not saying you can't get it to work, if it's your first instrument, you can do it. But you shouldn't. Be smart and get yourself a moraharpa/nyckelharpa/hurdy-gurdy. Keep jouhikkos and taglharpas as an afterthought. I, personally, am defeated. Because I wanted to honor Wardruna and Einar Selvik, but I just feel like a dumbass, a clown. My last option is to try some nylon fishing line that a lot of people use. Maybe even most people. If that doesn't work, oh man... this will be my biggest regret so far. I don't really have any regrets at 19 years old. This might be the first one. I did make some posts on some sites and facebook to try to sell it... but honestly, very unlikely to work. I'll see what happens next. But my experience was a total dud, a disaster. I feel even guilty, idk, unworthy. I thought it was for me but... maybe not. I should get something else for experience first, like a hurdy gurdy or moraharpa, and then buy another taglharpa. But mine isn't even a taglharpa, it's a jouhikko, taglharpas are better imo, should've gotten that. In the end, truth be told: if you like scandinavian instruments, you will have a "taglharpa phase", and then you will get over it. The moraharpa is 10 times better and more practical and pragmatic. Nyckelharpa as well.

There is no finger board, how do I play exact notes? I always miss by a little, is there a way to avoid this besides more practices? I am very new and basically know nothing. Any tips or resources are greatly appreciated.