Kid Hardanger Fiddle: HFAA Workshop - Dodgville, Wisconsin

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.