DB posts · Tellefs Blog

1

05.11.2024

Music theory for folk music - why

Open

2

14.03.2024

Glissotar - a new instrument with new challenges and possibilities

The other day, the Glissotar arrived at my door - a completely new instrument with many possibilities and challenges! It is a wind instrument of the same size, bore and mouthpiece of a soprano saxophone, but with any keys - the pitch is controlled by pressing a rubber strip down on a slot that goes almost the full length of he instrument. Have a look at

Glissonic.com

⁠

for a fuller description!

Musical instruments

Open

3

18.04.2023

Reel Date - and album with Irish and Norwegian traditions combined

On my latest album Reel Date, I combine tunes from two different traditions, namely Irish tin whistle tradition, and Norwegian hardanger fiddle traditions. The differences are many and obvious when you listen to these traditions, so what is my motivation for this album? How do I think?

On my latest album Reel Date, I combine tunes from two different traditions, namely Irish tin whistle tradition, and Norwegian hardanger fiddle traditions. I have been playing tunes in both these traditions on the normal instruments - tin whistle and hardanger fiddle - for many years, and in keeping with the respective playing styles. In both traditions, there is a large body of musicians that uphold the traditional ways of playing; to the extent I still play the fiddle and whistle, I count myself among them, though I am not on the level of the real masters of the traditions.

Reel Date

Tradition and Identity

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Musikk, identitet og musikkformidling. (With Even Ruud)

4

25.11.2022

Old recordings of Micho Russell - why publish?

Why bother with releasing those not-quite-up-to present day standards of audio quality and polished playing?

In December, we release a few old recordings with the legendary Irish musician Micho Russell, singer, tin whistle and flute player, and a great storyteller. The recordings were done during a couple of informal meetings back in 1978, with not the best of recording equipment, were Micho taught tunes to the few of us present. In other words, a situation not ideal for high-quality sound recording, and faultless playing. And it did not occur to any of us present that the recordings would ever be used for other purposes than remembering and learning the tunes.

Producing music

Open

5

20.05.2022

What is the connection between Jan Garbarek and Ånon Egeland?

..that is, apart from both being Norwegian musicians?

Ånon II

Tradition and Identity

publications/jan-garbarek-jazz-ethnic-romanticism-world-music-or-personal-expression, publications/hunting-for-the-gold-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow-identity-and-global-romanticismm-on-the-roots-of-ethnic-music

Tradition, Nationalism

Open

Jan Garbarek - Jazz, Ethnic Romanticism, World Music or Personal Expression?

6

10.05.2022

Tradition and copyright, part III

Is it important that traditional musicians register their work at the copyright societies?

I have touched upon the topic of traditional music(s) and copyright in two previous posts; on the last, I discussed why some traditional performers are reluctant to claim ownership to the music they make. I left it without any further discussion, but there is of course the question if also traditional performers _should_ claim ownership for music if they could? If musicians feel it is wrong to claim ownershop for a tune, even if they tecnically _could_, should that be a problem? If you really care for your tradition, I think you should. All public performances generate some money for the creator of the music, and if the creator is not known, or registered, the money will spred among all rightowners that are members of the copyright society. That means, that most of the money will be given to creators from other genres. As all musical genres to some extent rely on income of some kind to survive, it is not a good idea to let possible income to your own tradition go to musics that already are quite well off. If you do, you add to an already uneven situation, and lessen the chance for your own tradition to survive in the touch competition of attention in contemporary cultural life. In the Scandinavian countries, the typical traditional performer is not a professional musician living off income from their performances; therefore, not dependent on the modest copyright money possibly generated by infrequent public performances. Nevertheless, any musical activity today is part of an economy, and, also, the practical and aestheical considerations that are basis of the distribution systems of the copyright societies, are also influenced by their members, and the more visible traditional musicians are, the better chance they have to have a say in the practical distribution of the money accrued by the copyright society. Traditional musicians: make an effort to register your compositions and your arrangements at the copyright societies, and make good reports from all your public appearances that are entitled to generate money from copyrights!

⁠

@Tradition and Copyright, Part II

⁠

;

@Traditions and Copyright

⁠

Tradition and Identity

Open

7

30.03.2022

More on archives and recordings

Why play music when there are so many recordings available?

In the previous post, I cited the rather dystopian perspective on tradition from Lord's book:

entries/traditions-archives-and-change-blights-and-blessings

Farvel, farvel

Alvaleken

Tri hjarter på ei snor

publications/teknologien-og-tradisjonen-noter-og-opptak-nok-en-gang

Tradition, Traditional music, Archives

Open

8

06.03.2022

Alvaleken: Writing music, and writing about music

A nice surprise in the e-mail the other day, when Alex Monaghan informed me that Alvaleken by Mats Edén was no 2 on his favourite album list 2021 in FolkWorld. Reminded me how dependent we are on people who can write sensibly about music! Accidentally, this coincided with me proofreading the Alvaleken booklet we prepare for a physical release, and I was struck - again - by Mats Edén not only writing great music (like all the tunes on this album), but also writing interesting text about music.

A nice surprise in the e-mail the other day, when Alex Monaghan informed me that Alvaleken by Mats Edén was no 2 on his favourite album list 2021 in FolkWorld. Reminded me how dependent we are on people who can write sensibly about music! Accidentally, this coincided with me proofreading the Alvaleken booklet we prepare for a physical release, and I was struck - again - by Mats Edén not only writing great music (like all the tunes on this album), but also writing interesting text about music. In the booklet, he gives us part of his journey into folk music and Norwegian hardingfele music, as well as short comments on each tune. These comments vary between observations on tunings, inspirations for both the tune itself and the naming, the instruments used, and the relation between his playing and the written notation that also is included in the booklet. The album and booklet is available in digital form at

BandCamp

⁠

?, and will be available in CD some time later this year. As a teaser, here is Mats's story about the fate of one of his derest instruments:

Open

9

04.02.2022

Traditions, archives and change: blights and blessings

Are archival recordings good for the contemporary practice f traditional music?

The rich collections in our archives of traditional music is usually considered a blessing. and great sources of information of a long and rich tradition, to be used s insporation for contemporary artists that are dedicted to continue the tradition.

Making music

Tradition and Identity

publications/traditions-archives-and-change

Tradition, Folk music, Archives

Open

10

13.01.2022

Tradition and Copyright, Part II

Should traditional musicians claim ownership to tunes?

In an earlier post, I discussed briefly copyright and traditional music, from the perspective that copyright is constructed and understood mainly after the concepts of other musical genres than traditional music. There, I discussed problems in how the collection societies understand copyright and works. There are, however, more to this, namely how the traditional musicians understand what their music is about, and what the implications claiming ownership are.

entries/traditions-and-copyright

Making music

Tradition and Identity

Making music, Tradition and Identity

Open

11

11.12.2021

Is intonation (really) about intonation?

If intonation is not about intonation, what is it about? One answer is that intonation is about competence. At least it may seem so...

If intonation is not about intonation, what is it about? One answer is that intonation is about competence. At least it may seem so, when musicians talk about other musician’s ability - or lack of ability - to ‘play in tune’. The importance of playing in tune is also seen in the many tools available for adjusting pitch in computer apps for music production. For some people, this goes so far that they react physically when they hear music they consider out of tune.

Making music

Open

12

08.10.2021

Why can't Norwegian folk musicians play/sing in tune?

Two different views have been competing: 1) Folk musicians don't have the ability to sing/play in tune or 2) Folk music has its own intonation system, that differ from those in use in art music.

From the outset, two different perspectives on the question of the "old tonality" in Norwegian and Scandinavian folk music have been competing: 1) Folk musicians don't have the ability to sing/play in tune or 2) Folk music has its own intonation system, that differ from those in use in art music. The second view has dominated the research history in the field, while the first is still existing in surpringly many contexts. There is ample evidence that, in actual practice, there are many different intonation systems to be observed. But this does not settle the question of which of the two views are the "right" one. In fact, there is no set of facts that can make that decision for us, as that belongs to the realm of values or aesthetics. It is perfectly possible to hold the view that only one specific system of intonation is the only right or good one - a view that seem to dominate most of music education in the Westwern world today, but that is just an opinion among several other possible opinions, and not a law of nature. In my opinion, such a view does not fit with actual musical practice in the various genres of music in he Western world ('blues' is but one example) and the view may severely limit expressive possibilities of musical performance, if taken seriously. So why can't Norwegian folk musicians play/sing in tune? May be they dont like to; or that they dont agree to what 'in tune' means - or perhaps 'in tune' is not an important matter anyway? Maybe there are other qualities in the performance of music that are more important than to show how close to some abstract intonation ideal you are able to perform? And maybe there are other ways to describe intonation than as a fixed system of pitch intervals? More on that in a later post.

Making music

publications/svevende-intervaller-og-svevende-begrep

Open

13

09.09.2021

The mysterious "old tonality" of Scandinavian (and other) traditional music

What is "old tonality" and "floating intervals" about?

Scale systems and intonation have been widely discussed in the research history of Norwegian and Scandinavian traditional music, as long as the very concept of ‘folk music’ has existed. The tonal characteristics of the music have always been regarded as a defining trait: the mystery and values of the folk music are regularly attributed to intonation. Contrasting the prevailing equal temperament of contemporary keyboard instruments; folk music has been perceived as more natural and pure.

Making music

Understanding music

Tradition and Identity

publications/svevende-intervaller-og-svevende-begrep

Making music, Understanding music, Tradition and Identity

Open

14

21.07.2021

Welcome - new layout!

Welcome to a new layout of my blog! For some time, I have wanted to show how my various interests connect in many ways: how seemingly academic questions may inspire concrete musical activity; how practical problems with instruments may spur academic writing; how musical and academic activity connects with other areas of cultural and practical life etc etc. Many of my publications have started with some kind of problem I have encountered in practical musical (or other) activity, and some of my practical work are somehow influenced by thoughts developed in one or more of my texts. One way to point to such connections, is simply to make some links between my different blogposts, publications and productions. Therefore, I have made three sections here; one with the blog-posts, and then one with a list of some of my publications, and one with a list of productions where I have contributed in some way. These two new sections have a small annotation for each entry; several of the entries will be commented upon in a slightly more extensive text in blogpost. Also, you will find that several blogposts will cover aspects of the same theme; I’ll try to make relevant links between the blogposts as well.

Open

15

21.06.2021

»Norwegian bagpipe» – «Tune from Agder» – «Setesdal tradition»: The archivist’s headache

As briefly discussed in a previous post, it is slightly problematic to call the bagpipe I play «Norwegian» for several reasons; among them the fact that most of the constructive features of the instrument are found on pipes many other places. To say that instruments and tunes (or anything else) belongs to a certain place, may in many situations be difficult to defend, at least unless one is very clear about what exactly is the reason for the connection.

entries/norwegian-tunes-on-bagpipe-why-bother

Tradition and Identity

publications/den-norske-sekkepipa-historien-om-et-prosjekt, publications/geografi-og-musikk-arkivarens-hodepine-tellef-kvifte-english

Open

Den norske sekkepipa: historien om et prosjekt

16

08.06.2021

Norwegian tunes on bagpipe – why bother? Part III

What happens when music is transferred from one instrument to another?

What happens when music is transferred from one instrument to another? That was one of the questions I probably should have asked before embarking on the project I later called "The Norwegian bagpipe", mentioned in a couple of previous posts here. The original idea was simply to develope a version of the bagpipe that was suited especially to the Norwegian hardingfele music. But what does 'suited' mean? What qualities of the hardingfele music did I want to preserve, and what other qualities did not matter that much to me? Here is a short list: - the characteristic sound of the hardingfele. Obviously, this quality I could not get on the pipes. But then, it was the very sound of the pipes that attracted me, so that was not a real problem. - the peculiar two-part sonority of the fiddle - "variable drone" as some call it, where the one of the neighbouring strings to the melody string is added; sometimes with a double stop; sometimes shifting between the string below and the string above the melody. I made several suggestions for new constructions of the pipes to be able to mimick such harmonies, but without success. As it turned out, I had to be content with the fixed drones of the pipes. - embellishments: not a big problem; as I had played fiddle music for a long time, embellishments were already part of my so-to-speak finger knowledge. But I had to adapt it in one important way: - the rhythm of the bowing patterns: as the pipes delivers a constant sound, there is no simple way to punctuate the sound in a way parallell to that of bow-shift on the fiddle (at least not on the kind of pipes I used). Here, I tried to use embellishments to produce a similar effect; e.g like the "cut" used in Irish music. To me, this worked quite well, after some years of testing and modifications of both pipes and playing. Whether the project was a success in the sense that I now play credible fiddle music on the pipes, is of course dependent also on a number of other factors than those discussed here; food for another post at som other occasion!

entries/norwegian-tunes-on-bagpipe-why-bother-part-ii, entries/norwegian-tunes-on-bagpipe-why-bother

Den norske sekkepipa – ?

Making music

publications/den-norske-sekkepipa-historien-om-et-prosjekt

Tradition, Instruments, Identity, Bagpipe, Playing techniques

Open

Den norske sekkepipa: historien om et prosjekt

Bagpipes for the Norwegian Folk Tradition

17

08.06.2021

Norwegian tunes on bagpipe – why bother? Part II

If I really want to play Norwegian Hardanger fiddle tunes in the best possible way – why try to do that on another instrument than the Hardanger fiddle?

entries/norwegian-tunes-on-bagpipe-why-bother-part-iii, entries/norwegian-tunes-on-bagpipe-why-bother

Den norske sekkepipa – ?

Making music

Tradition and Identity

publications/den-norske-sekkepipa-historien-om-et-prosjekt

Making music, Tradition and Identity

Open

Bagpipes for the Norwegian Folk Tradition

18

08.06.2021

Norwegian tunes on bagpipe – why bother?

Why did I want to play Norwegian tunes on a bagpipe? This loud, and notoriously non-co-operative instrument that we find in surprisingly many versions around Europe, why should I want to try to tame it for a genre that this instrument never had been part of?

entries/norwegian-tunes-on-bagpipe-why-bother-part-iii, entries/norwegian-tunes-on-bagpipe-why-bother-part-ii

The Norwegian Bagpipe (?) Vol 2

Den norske sekkepipa – ?

Making music

Musical instruments

publications/den-norske-sekkepipa-historien-om-et-prosjekt

Making music, Musical instruments

Open

Den norske sekkepipa: historien om et prosjekt

Bagpipes for the Norwegian Folk Tradition

19

19.03.2021

What is the "right"way to hear the music? A note on sharing

In several blogposts, I have discussed how rhythm and meter in some specific passages of hardingfele tunes might be perceived in different ways ( by the way, this phenomenon is of course not only to be found in hardingfele music!).

In several blogposts, I have discussed how rhythm and meter in some specific passages of hardingfele tunes might be perceived in different ways ( by the way, this phenomenon is of course not only to be found in hardingfele music!). A possible question that I have only barely touched upon is: “Given two different plausible ways to perceive the meter, which one is correct?” If our point of departure is that music — especially dance music — is a shared experience, then this is a sensible question. But it is not that simple. What exactly has to be shared for us to talk meaningfully about a shared experience? I have in an earlier post referred to

Springdans from Olaf Frøysaa

⁠

, a tune in some kind of 3/4 meter, where the musicians do not agree on where the “one” in the bar should be. That is, that became known only after I pointed this out to them after recording — up to that point, they obviously shared the experience of playing the tune. Actually, it is not easy — if at all possible — to hear that they did not agree on the organisation of the meter. They actually sound very much together!

releases/egeland-eden-marin-vol-1

Understanding music

publications/artikkel-1

Open

20

07.03.2021

“Inferential ambivalence” – difficult words, but simple problem

I had many discussions with Jan-Petter Blom, and several of the discussions at some point resulted in a paper. One of my first internationally published papers was actually written as a discussion between the two of us, and presented, in

I had many discussions with Jan-Petter Blom, and several of the discussions at some point resulted in a paper. One of my first internationally published papers was actually written as a discussion between the two of us, and presented, in the form of a discussion, at the Society of Ethnomusicology conference in Los Angeles in 1984.

entries/farewell

Understanding music

Tradition and Identity

publications/artikkel-1

Tradition, Folk music, Rhythm, Meter

Open

21

09.02.2021

Farewell

A great scholar, dancer, musician and friend has left us; Jan-Petter Blom died recently at 93 after a long and productive life. Jan-Petter is one of the most influential – if not THE most influential – characters in research and education in the field of traditional music of Norway.

A great scholar, dancer, musician and friend has left us; Jan-Petter Blom died recently at 93 after a long and productive life. Jan-Petter is one of the most influential – if not THE most influential – characters in research and education in the field of traditional music of Norway, beside being an social anthropologist of international recognition. Always generous with his time, ideas, and comments; always critical but supportive; always eager to discuss, and always smiling!

entries/inferential-ambivalence-difficult-words-but-simple-problem

Understanding music

Open

22

15.01.2021

Asymmetrical meters and precision in performance

One of the mysteries of the Scandinavian asymmetrical meters of the polskas, springars, springleik etc is the great flexibility in the timing, not only in concert performances, but also in dance music performances.

One of the mysteries of the Scandinavian asymmetrical meters of the polskas, springars, springleik etc is the great flexibility in the timing, not only in concert performances, but also in dance music performances. In a paper I published in 1999 (sorry, only in Norwegian — email me for a pdf), I found that for a couple of dance performances I studied, two of the three beats in the bar varied in length within a standard deviation of 5% of the length of the bar. In many other genres, such a variation would be perceived not only as a deviation, but as outright sloppy and extremely amateurish. But the performances I studied were from a highly skilled performer, playing in straight and perfect dance rhythm.

Understanding music

publications/fenomenet-asymmetrisk-takt-i-norsk-og-svensk-folkemusikk

Open

23

29.12.2020

Concert life and Covid 19

Concerts as we used to know them before Covid19, are hopefully back some time during 2021 when vaccines start to take effect. The many infection control measures in 2020 have almost totally wiped out the normal concert life, and the concerts that after all were held, were in different ways influenced by the control measures.

Concerts as we used to know them before Covid19, are hopefully back some time during 2021 when vaccines start to take effect. The many infection control measures in 2020 have almost totally wiped out the normal concert life, and the concerts that after all were held, were in different ways influenced by the control measures. So also when I late in the autumn went to listen to Nordic Fiddler’s bloc in a concert in Rauland: It turned out that one of the members of the trio could not attend, as he was not allowed to cross the border from Sweden to Norway without staying in quarantine for far too many days to make it possible for him to take part in the concert. A disappointment not to meet the whole group; on the other hand, it gave us the opportunity to listen to excellent solo performances by the two remaining members of the group, Olav Mjelva and Kevin Henderson. But there was an even more remarkable effect of the Covid situation, that it took a while till I was aware of: Under normal circumstances, in a concert late in the autumn, there would normally be lots of coughing, sneezing and other sounds from more or less serious colds. Here it was dead silence, probably for two reasons: the strict infection control measures during most of the year means that very few people got a cold this year. And then there is the social control: no one dares to display any sign of infection in public these days, for fear of being seen as a potential source of Covid. The result: an unusual and very good concert experience. One of the few upsides of the pandemic!

Music life

Open

24

04.12.2020

What is a “one” – …continued

The late Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen (1943-2020) was famous not only for his ground-breaking drumming with many of the jazz stars from the second half of the previous century up till a few years ago, but also for his witty

The late Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen (1943-2020) was famous not only for his ground-breaking drumming with many of the jazz stars from the second half of the previous century up till a few years ago, but also for his witty remarks and shrewd observations. Jon’s style was unlike many others, in that he did not always give you clearly defined bars with one-two-three-four, but communicated time and groove with other means.

Making music

Understanding music

Making music, Understanding music

Open

25

15.11.2020

Hardingfele, tuning, and Farvel, farvel

It is well known that the hardingfele may be tuned in many different ways. So-called scordatura — tuning the strings in different intervals than common violin tuning — is common; with A-D-A-E being the most used tuning. But also tuning

It is well known that the hardingfele may be tuned in many different ways. So-called scordatura — tuning the strings in different intervals than common violin tuning — is common; with A-D-A-E being the most used tuning.

Making music

Musical instruments

Making music, Musical instruments

Open

26

28.10.2020

The Aesthetics of Distortion in Folk Music

Distortion is an important part of the sound palettes of much of the music we hear today, and there is a large number of pedals and plug-ins dedicated to innumerable forms of distortion available. Not (yet) too much exploited in folk music...

Distortion is an important part of the sound palettes of much of the music we hear today, and there is a large number of pedals and plug-ins dedicated to innumerable forms of distortion available.

entries/hardanger-fiddle-tuning-and-farvel-farvel

Making music

Musical instruments

Making music, Musical instruments

Open

27

16.10.2020

Good dance rhythm — what is it?

One of my favourite criteria for quality in music, is (when relevant) that the music is good for dancing, like in Per Midtstigen’s album Håslåtten mentioned earlier in this blog. As all dancers on all levels know, that quality is

One of my favourite criteria for quality in music, is (when relevant) that the music is good for dancing, like in Per Midtstigen’s album

Håslåtten

⁠

mentioned earlier in this blog. As all dancers on all levels know, that quality is important, and musicians differ widely in their ability to produce a good, driving groove that makes dancing the pleasure it should be.

Making music

Understanding music

Making music, Understanding music

Open

28

03.10.2020

Asymmetrical meters – how to think about them

There are several interesting features of the asymmetrical meters in Scandinavian traditional music. One is of course the relative length of each beat in the bar, how much longer the longest beat is compared to the others; or how much

There are several interesting features of the asymmetrical meters in Scandinavian traditional music. One is of course the relative length of each beat in the bar, how much longer the longest beat is compared to the others; or how much shorter the shortest is compared to the two other beats. I’ll write more about that in a later post! For now, it is enough to know that we may call the three beats L-M-S, for Long, Medium, and Short, respectively.

entries/the-mysterious-asymmetrical-rhythms-in-scandinavian-folk-music, entries/what-asymmetrical-meters-is-not-about

Understanding music

publications/fenomenet-asymmetrisk-takt-i-norsk-og-svensk-folkemusikk

Open

29

25.09.2020

What asymmetrical meters is NOT about

In this second blogpost on asymmetrical meters (if you are confused about the distinction between ‘rhythm’ ad ‘meter’, see the previous post) in Scandinavian folk music, I’ll use an example of what it is not about, but that nevertheless might

In this second blogpost on asymmetrical meters (if you are confused about the distinction between ‘rhythm’ ad ‘meter’, see the previous post) in Scandinavian folk music, I’ll use an example of what it is not about, but that nevertheless might easily be heard as such.

entries/asymmetrical-meters-how-to-think-about-them, entries/the-mysterious-asymmetrical-rhythms-in-scandinavian-folk-music

Understanding music

publications/fenomenet-asymmetrisk-takt-i-norsk-og-svensk-folkemusikk

Open

30

19.09.2020

The mysterious "asymmetrical rhythms" in Scandinavian folk music

I get many questions about the mysterious «asymmetrical rhythms» of Scandinavian folk music, and, indeed, this is a topic that has been at the center of interest for musicians, audience and folk music researchers for decades.

entries/asymmetrical-meters-how-to-think-about-them, entries/what-asymmetrical-meters-is-not-about

Music theory

Understanding music

publications/fenomenet-asymmetrisk-takt-i-norsk-og-svensk-folkemusikk

Open

31

13.09.2020

Playing «right» or having fun? What is (traditional) music about?

The question pops up in many connections, and in many genres. A common joke from my early days as a jazz fan was, upon listening to some really good stuff, to ask the rhetorical question «…but is it jazz?» All

The question pops up in many connections, and in many genres. A common joke from my early days as a jazz fan was, upon listening to some really good stuff, to ask the rhetorical question «…but is it jazz?»

releases/den-kaldsteikte, releases/results

Making music

Understanding music

Music life

releases/den-kaldsteikte, releases/results

Tradition, Scandinavian dance, Expression, Dance, Variation, Authenticity

Open

32

06.09.2020

The fuzzy concept of «musical instrument»

and the even fuzzier «typical traditional/national instrument»: the case of the sjøfløyte When the modular Moog synthesizers were introduced back in the 60ties, they were large and incredibly expensive devices that few could afford; as well as extremely complex to operate

and the even fuzzier «typical traditional/national instrument»: the case of the sjøfløyte

Understanding music

Musical instruments

publications/what-is-a-musical-instrument

Understanding music, Musical instruments

Open

33

01.09.2020

Hardingfele form and performance variation: a blog post for nerds

How the hardingfele tunes are constructed, is a mystery to many when they first discover this incredible musical tradition. While you can find many tunes of a common «4+4-repeat-4+4-different-theme-repeat» structure, there are a lot of tunes with no such simple

How the hardingfele tunes are constructed, is a mystery to many when they first discover this incredible musical tradition. While you can find many tunes of a common «4+4-repeat-4+4-different-theme-repeat» structure, there are a lot of tunes with no such simple and fixed form. A typical form is to build the tune of a series of small motifs; in a gangar tune motifs are typically no more than four beats long. Like many contemporary genres, hardingfele music is based on loops: the motifs are typically repeated a number of times before proceeding to antoher motif/loop.

Understanding music

Tradition and Identity

publications/on-variability-in-the-performance-of-hardingfele-tunes-and-paradigms-in-ethnomusicological-research

Understanding music, Tradition and Identity

Open

34

24.08.2020

Traditions and Copyright

Traditional music is usually defined as music outside the normal copyright system: traditional tune have, by definition, no composer; coming from an unknown source long ago. Many of the tunes in the Taragot catalogue are like this: no known composer,

Traditional music is usually defined as music outside the normal copyright system: traditional tune have, by definition, no composer; coming from an unknown source long ago.

Tradition and Identity

Music life

Tradition, Traditional music, Identity, Copyright

Open

35

18.08.2020

Hardingfele music: A solo tradition difficult to adapt to ensemble playing

Some genres of music are basically made for solo performances, like hardingfele music; others are possible to play in groups; still others are almost unthinkable as solo (think Carribean music and symphonic music).

Making music

Understanding music

publications/on-variability-in-the-performance-of-hardingfele-tunes-and-paradigms-in-ethnomusicological-research

Making music, Understanding music

Open

36

11.08.2020

Why is Sigurd Fjeldstad important?

Sigurd Fjeldtstad: an amateur fiddler, died in 1984, played mainly local dance music like waltzes, polkas, reinlenders etc – why should he be important to the contemporary music scene?

Sigurd Fjeldtstad: an amateur fiddler, died in 1984, played mainly local dance music like waltzes, polkas, reinlenders etc – why should he be important to the contemporary music scene? That is, except for being the source of all tunes on Ånon Egeland’s album

Egeland spiller Fjeldstad?

⁠

releases/egeland-spiller-fjeldstad

Making music

Understanding music

Tradition and Identity

Tradition, Aesthetics, Expression, Perfection

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37

08.08.2020

Egeland spiller Fjeldstad – and why I chose not to publish Fjeldstad’s own recordings

In week 33, beginning August 10th, the week’s discounted album on the Taragot BandCamp site, is Egeland spiller Fjeldstad: Ånon Egeland playing tunes after one of his most important sources, Sigurd Fjeldstad, and with Lucy Moffatt on chord zither. Sigurd

In week 33, beginning August 10th, the week’s discounted album on the

Taragot BandCamp site,

⁠

is

Egeland spiller Fjeldstad

⁠

: Ånon Egeland playing tunes after one of his most important sources, Sigurd Fjeldstad, and with Lucy Moffatt on chord zither.

releases/egeland-spiller-fjeldstad

Making music

Producing music

Tradition, Folk music, Aesthetics, Perfection

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38

06.08.2020

Camilla Hole, Halvemål, and the question of sax as folk music instrument

For some reason, the saxophone has never been regarded as a «folk music instrument» in Norway. The most common criterium for an instrument to be regarded as a proper folk music instrument, is old age, like fiddle/hardingfele and jaw’s harp.

Making music

Musical instruments

Making music, Musical instruments

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39

01.08.2020

Folk Rock – or Rock Folk?

This week’s discounted album on the Taragot BandCamp site is Folkemusikk 2.0 with Skrekk&Guro (not possible to translate in a meaningful sense to English…). Classified as «Folk-Rock», the band situates themselves in a Norwegian genre – with many references across

This week’s discounted album on the

Taragot BandCamp

⁠

site is

Folkemusikk 2.0

⁠

with Skrekk&Guro (not possible to translate in a meaningful sense to English…).

Making music

Tradition and Identity

Tradition, Folk music, Aesthetics, Folk rock

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40

30.07.2020

What is ‘folk music’?

According to Per Gudmundsson, the great Swedish fiddler, there are two questions that always are discussed during the very late nights or early mornings at festivals; «Is there a God», and «What is folk music»?

Making music

Tradition and Identity

Making music, Tradition and Identity

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41

22.07.2020

Recording with Egeland, Edén and Marin

This week’s discounted album on the Taragot BandCamp site is Egeland/Edén/Marin vol 1, so I take this opportunity to write a few words about the recording and the process leading up to it. Three legendary musicians in the field of

This week’s discounted album on the Taragot BandCamp site is

Egeland/Edén/Marin vol 1

⁠

, so I take this opportunity to write a few words about the recording and the process leading up to it.

releases/egeland-eden-marin-vol-1

Producing music

Open

42

21.07.2020

What is a «one»?

Very early in my career as a musician, I was told how to count the beats in a bar – one-two three-four (or one-two-three, or, considerably later, one-two-three-four-five-six-seven) – a fundamental and necessary skill in many situations. Where to place

Very early in my career as a musician, I was told how to count the beats in a bar – one-two three-four (or one-two-three, or, considerably later, one-two-three-four-five-six-seven) – a fundamental and necessary skill in many situations.

entries/what-is-aone-continued

Making music

Understanding music

Making music, Understanding music

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43

16.07.2020

«Extended techniques»

According to Wikipedia, «Extended technique is a term used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox or “improper” techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments.» I still remember my excitement when I a long time ago discovered Bruno Bartolozzi’s book

According to Wikipedia, «Extended technique is a term used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox or “improper” techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments.»

Musical instruments

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44

10.07.2020

A true Fiddler

…and composer, and artist, and teacher and…I’m working on a solo album with Mats Edén, the Swedish fiddler/composer etc who has been in the forefront of Scandinavian traditional music for some decades now.The idea for the album came from Mats

…and composer, and artist, and teacher and… I’m working on a solo album with Mats Edén, the Swedish fiddler/composer etc who has been in the forefront of Scandinavian traditional music for some decades now. The idea for the album came from Mats (like so many other ideas), and will contain a number of his own compositions in traditional style: polska, polka, reinlender, and halling; (hopefully) to be released some time during 2020. The production is corona-safe and low-cost, Mats recording with a small recorder in his home near Malmö in Sweden; me doing editing and mastering on various locations in Norway. Mats’ collection of composed traditional tunes is like an archive, and he also would like this album to have an archive-like sound. Without taking it too far – no wax-cylinder or 78rpm disc noise – the sound will be not QUITE as polished as is usual today. We have on several occasions the last years discussed the development of aesthetic preferences among musicians playing traditional music in Scandinavia. This album will also be a statement in this respect: Unpolished expressivity and joy of making music is the message; the philosophy simply that the greater precision in intonation to some standard, and the stricter timing to some defined grid, the less room for expression is possible. This is one of several paradoxes facing musicians in this genre today: the more they communicate technical competence in precise intonation and timing, the less room for projecting their personality in their performances.

Producing music

Tradition, Aesthetics, Expression

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45

08.07.2020

Restarting the blog – July 2020

After three years, I’m restarting my blog; this time in English, to also reach friends that dont read Norwegian readily. For those of you that DO read Norwegian, I have kept the old blogposts, in case you should find something

After three years, I’m restarting my blog; this time in English, to also reach friends that dont read Norwegian readily. The old blog posts in Norwegian are all deleted. May be some of them will reappear in English version if I find that something there is still of interest.

Understanding music

Tradition and Identity

Understanding music, Tradition and Identity

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46

20.10.2015

Lamslått – the recording

Lamslått is the first release on the Taragot label, and was recorded at Tor Magne Hallibakken’s studio in Hallingdal, January and May 2014.

Lamslått

⁠

? is the first release on the Taragot label, and was recorded at Tor Magne Hallibakken’s studio in Hallingdal, January and May 2014. I had produced many albums before this one, but making an album to be released on our own label was a new and exiting experience!

Lamslått

Producing music

Open