The traditional tunes are played at dances, weddings, funerals, holidays and other occasions. These tunes include the springar, gangar and halling. Other tunes are lydarsl�tter (listening tunes), played at a slower pace than the dancing songs. Springar and Gangar are couple dances, usually done in 3/4 time. Springar is the traditional couple dance usually done at weddings and other festive occasions. Gangar is a slower, walking-style dance. The Halling is the most wild of all the dances. It is an acrobatic, flying style done solo by men. One particularly interesting tradition with the Halling is when a young girl is brought out into the center of the room with a hat hung on a long pole. At the conclusion of the tune, one of the young men will attempt to kick the hat off the pole by somersaulting in the air. I suppose that the dancer would get to kiss the girl if he is successful in kicking the hat.
Other dances, known as gammaldanser (old dances) can be played on Hardingfele. However, these dances are not entirely part of the Hardingfele tradition. These dances are mostly those which were brought in by immigrants and include the waltz, mazurka, polka, polska and reinlander. Gammaldanser are usually more popular among the younger crowd while the older dancers most likely prefer to dance to the traditional tunes.
One of the greatest and most famous Hardanger Fiddlers of all time was Torgeir Augundson, otherwise known as Myllargutten (the miller boy). Myllargutten was born in Telemark during the year 1801 and died in 1872. (2) Myllargutten was the greatest Hardingfele player in Norway during the year 1830 to 1850, and influenced the careers of many other top players, and perhaps indirectly influenced every Hardanger fiddle player after his time. (2) The famous violin player Ole Bull helped Myllargutten gain fame by arranging for Myllargutten to play in concerts with him. Myllargutten was one of the first hardanger fiddle players to play extensively in concerts around Norway and especially in Oslo. Myllargutten�s improvisational and emotional playing style can be heard in the styles of many of today�s top Hardingfele players. (10)
One of the more interesting instruments in the Norwegian music tradition is the Jew�s Harp (also known as the mouth harp or munnharpe). The Jew�s Harp consists of a metal frame with two parallel arms that extend from a round base. In between the base and arms is a lighter metal ribbon. The frame of the instrument is held against the teeth while the ribbon is plucked by the player� finger. The result is a vibration that echoes against the player�s mouth cavity and makes a �twanging� sound. (6, 7) The Jew�s Harp probably originated in Asia and came to Europe around the year 500 A.D. It is not known when the instrument came to Scandinavia. (7)
Norway�s Jew�s Harp tradition is different from the traditions in other countries. Normally it is used as a rhythm instrument, but in Norway it is used to play melodies. (2) The Jew�s Harp in Norway became very important in the 19th century. During that time, the Hardanger Fiddle was considered an instrument of the devil and was banned from use. Many fiddles were burned during that time. The traditional tunes played on those fiddles might have been lost forever were it not for the farmers and musicians who kept the tunes alive on their Jew�s Harps. When the Hardingfele became popular again, the new fiddlers turned to the Jew�s Harp players to learn the traditional fiddle tunes. (9)