In the News

Anika makes the neighborhood news blog - My Ballard & PhinneyWood.

And also the Ballard News Tribune, a local neighborhood newspaper.

Plus the Skandia Folklore Society Newsletter for December.  The article is on page 4.

Hardingfele at PLU in Tacoma, WA

Anika had the opportunity to visit a music appreciation class at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and share the hardingfele with this group of college students.  She's accompanied by Martha Levenson, her first violin instructor and director of the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag.  They also played some other Scandinavian tunes.  Here is a video of their class discussion along with a little bit of playing. 

5th Friday Scandia Dance - September 2011

 Peter Michaelsen and Anika post performance at the Skandia 5th Friday Dance in September 2011

Anika and her mentor Peter did a half hour set of hardingfele tunes for the Skandia 5th Friday Dance in September.  Anika's now been playing this instrument for nine months.  Pretty cool music.

Here she is warming up the Telespringar Agderhusen.

Hardanger Fiddle - Show and Tell at School

Anika performed the hardingfele for the all school assembly at West Woodland's K-5th grade elementary in September.  She played while the 460+ students were being seated.  She also had some time to share the hardingfele with her 4th / 5th grade class.  The recording below is the show and tell session she had with her fellow classmates.  It's a little long but it's interesting to hear the student's questions and Anika's impressions on hardingfele and her time at the HFAA workshop this past summer.

HFAA Workshop - Dodgville, Wisconsin - July 2011

In July, Anika and her Papa attended the HFAA Hardanger Fiddle Workshop in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.  It was a fun adventure into a part of the world they haven't explored much - the mid-west.  It was record hot and humid and that was quite different than our unusually cool and gray summer we were having in Seattle this year.  Anika came home with some new tunes and enjoyed the time learning from other hardangerfele players.  Aside from Hardingfele, they had a good flight to Milwaukee, Anika enjoyed the fact that there are not many Mexican Restaurants in Dodgeville, and they enjoyed the unusual atmosphere at the Don Q Inn.  The pool at the hotel was a big hit.

Here are some impressions from Anika:

At HFAA camp the classes were all pretty good and the teachers and students were all quite nice. My teacher was Toby and he always had a lot to say about the tunes he taught us. I thought a lot more about how I played tunes after that. I loved seeing the different kinds of Hardingfeles and I learned the more common things about a Hardingfele, like the dragon heads normally don't have black tongues. I also loved the sound of so many hardingfeles. It's like a really rich cake that has just enough sugar and the perfect amount of frosting. I remember a couple of things people said to me like one woman said “You are the most patient kid I've ever met.” Another woman said “I was counting how many Hardingfeles there were and I figured out there were 35 ½ counting yours!” I also remember the other student who won the scholarship (Jason) who's grandpa gave him a Hardingfele for his high school graduation. The tune I remember most we learned twice because people didn't remember it that well. Peter, my teacher here in Seattle said he didn't know it when I played it for him. At the talent show I played a Gangar from Telemark. I really liked the Hungarian Music one kid played. It sounded hard and he seemed really good. I feel like this experience broadened my picture of the Hardingfele and I hope I'll go back to this camp again when I'm older.

HFAA Talent Show

Photos were gratefully provided by Harriet Gerber, Byron Wiley, and Papa.

Anika and Loretta Kelly.

The HFAA Workshop Scholarship Recipients for 2011 Darlene Lerwick, Anika Anderson & Jason Reimnitz

There were some new instruments to try out.

A nice cool cave to explore before getting on the plane after the hot week-end in Dodgeville.

Astoria, Oregon - Scanfest June 2011

The Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag was one of the performers at ScanFest in Astoria, Oregon.  This was a festival of all things Scandinavian.  Anika performed with the group and was able to do a few solos on Hardingfele.  The kids did great at the festival.  Three performances and a parade were a lot to do in two days time along with travel but it was a great experience for the group.

Happy girl with the Hardingfele

Anika's Impressions:

I had a great time in Astoria with my fiddle group, the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag. The first day was tiring since we had to get up at 8:00 and we had three performances in one day but we had a fun time. I was a little bit nervous every time I did a solo on my Hardanger fiddle. I hoped my mistakes wouldn't be that noticeable. One thing I've realized from playing the violin so long is that if you're performing and you make a mistake you just have to push on. It sounds bad if you start over. I'm going to Wisconsin for a Hardanger fiddle camp in two days and I'm excited about it. I hope I learn lots more tunes.

 

Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag at Scanfest

The following video is of the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag performing Honen at Scanfest

Photos from Oma's

 These are a few photos we took while visiting Oma's for a week-end in May.

 

 

While playing, Anika finds it hard to smile while concentrating.

Playing for Oma & John

 

 

Springdans NW Workshop April 2011

Anika attended Springdans NW, in Seabeck, Washington which is an annual Scandinavian fiddle and dance workshop sponsored by the Skandia - Folkdance Society of the Seattle area.  While there, Peter Michaelsen, Anika and some  Hardingfele player friends were able to put together a short set of Hardingfele tunes for the evening dance.  Thanks to Janet, I was able to get some videos of their impromptu quartet.

Peter and Anika - Springdans NW

A small version of the Lilla Spelmanslag who attended Springdans

Anika & Peter performing Halling eter Ola Dekko

Anika & her Hardingfele Teacher Peter performing a duet 

at the Skandia Dance in June 2011.

2010 Skandia Ball - Bothell, WA

The following is a video clip produced by Doug Plummer & NW Folklife and narrated by Don Meyers.  This is pre hardingfele but it features Anika and her quartet group from the Lilla Spelmanslag performing.

Anika's version of Hardingfele story

I have been wanting to play violin since I was little and after a few years I started violin when I was 7 and now I'm 10 so I've gotten pretty good at it. Last year my violin teacher told me I could try and win the use of the Hardanger fiddle for a year. I had only seen a Hardanger fiddle once or twice before and I was fascinated by it and I decided to apply for it. A few months later she told me that she heard I won it. My mom didn't want to believe it before we got the final word but I was quite certain my teacher was right. Finally a letter came in the mail saying I had won it! I had to wait for the maker of the instrument, Lynn Berg, and his wife to deliver it. When they came we had a nice afternoon with them but the Hardanger fiddle was the best part. When I started Hardanger fiddle lessons I got kinda frustrated about how annoying it was to tune and how I only knew one tune on it but it's gotten easier to tune and I have more tunes on it now so I'm happy with it.

Winter Performances

Here is another video from the West Woodland Elementary International Potluck in February 2011.  

She's played the hardingfele a couple of times during Lilla Spelmanslag performances, at the West Woodland Elementary International Potluck, and at the West Woodland Open Mic night at Egan's Jam House also in Seattle.

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This is Anika and her fiddle buddies at West Woodland

Anika is making the most of her opportunity to learn, play, and share this instrument with the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag, to audiences in the local Scandic community and also with her elementary school community. There are more performances planned this spring via the Lilla Spelmanslag.

Skandia Family Dance February 2011

Anika's first performance on the Hardingfele was at the Skandia Family Dance at the Lynnwood, WA Grange in February 2011.  Here is a video.  The video quality is kinda poor but better than nothing.

 

 

Lilla Spelmanslag - Seattle

Hardingfele lessons begin

Come January, Anika had her first lesson with Peter Michaelsen, our new hardingfele instructor and the greater Seattle community's go to guy for Scandinavian Music. We learned first off that this instrument is hard to tune. This instrument is new and it has not been played much yet so Michael spent the first half hour of the lesson tuning it and showing Anika how to tune it. The following week I accidentally broke one of the sympathetic strings while helping her tune. Oops... She also broke her violin shoulder rest that week. So, we had some challenges in the beginning. We quickly figured out how to get new strings for this obscure instrument and got the shoulder rest fixed and life was better.

Anika was frustrated with the hardingfele in the first weeks, due to the constant issue of tuning, Momma breaking a string, etc... I think she was also frustrated in that she knew just a couple of tunes to play where she knows probably 100 other tunes on the violin. She had some technique items to figure out on the hardingfele along with understanding the different tuning. Since then, hardingfele life has improved. She's beginning to figure out all the various fingerings and double stop techniques. Peter has been a very kind and patient teacher. I've enjoyed sitting through their lessons.

An Early Christmas Present

The maker of this hardanger fiddle, Lynn Berg and his wife from Eugene, Oregon were able to travel up to Seattle over the Holidays and he personally delivered it to our home on the Winter Solstice, 2010. The instrument is beautiful. It is full of mother of pearl inlay work and lots of ink decorations called rosing. We were all amazed that this gorgeous instrument was for Anika to play and enjoy for a year. What a Christmas present! Anika was able to learn a halling on her violin prior to the arrival of this instrument so she had a tune already ready to play on the hardingfele. After having a little tuning lesson from Lynn, she played her song and continued to noodle around with this new toy. It was a very enjoyable afternoon with the Bergs. Big smiles all around.

Anika & Lynn Berg

How did we get this obscure instrument loan?

Anika has been taking violin lessons since she was 7 years old. Her teacher, Martha Levenson teaches Scandinavian Fiddle tunes by ear and this combination of learning has worked well for our family. We enjoy folk music, we wanted an ear or suzuki type instruction for her and through random connections we met Martha. This started our adventures in Scandinavian music.

Anika was very eager to learn how to play the violin and from her exposure as a preschooler through the Musikgarten curriculum, she has very solid listening and music skills. Once Anika caught onto the basics of playing the violin, she started soaking up tunes like a sponge. She would come and play a tune or two with Martha at a few festival performances. The Seattle version of the Lilla Spelmanslag, a youth strings group was revived and that gave her further opportunities to play in a group with other string musicians, learn more about Scandinavian Music, and perform.

In the Fall of 2010, Martha heard about the Young Student Hardingfele Loan Program through the HFAA. Martha shared a hardingfele with Anika once when she was 7 so she was aware of what they were. Martha asked if she would be interested in applying and her answer was “sure.” So, we applied, not knowing if she had a chance or not and here we are, the first recipients of this amazing half sized hardingfele one year loan.

What is the Kid Hardanger Fiddle Blog?

This blog is about my daughter, Anika who applied for and won a one year loan of a half sized Hardingfele, or Norweigan Folk Fiddle from the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America. These instruments are unique in that they have four to five additional sympathetic strings located under the bridge. The sound of the hardanger fiddle is more full or complex than a standard violin or fiddle due to the sympathetic strings. This is the national instrument of Norway and is used mostly for folk dancing. You can refer to the HFAA web site for more detailed information about this unique instrument. Child sized or half sized Hardinger fiddles are very rare in the United States.

The purpose of this blog is to update the HFAA members on Anika's progress as she learns how to play the hardingfele.

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