Study nyckelharpa

Especially when you're living outside Sweden, it's often hard to find a way to intensively learn to play the nyckelharpa very well. Sometimes you're lucky to have a teacher in you're own country, but more often you don't. Though, there are ways to immerse yourself in nyckelharpa! Besides private lessons and workshops you can also study nyckelharpa for a longer period.

Personally, I consider the year I went to the Eric Sahlström Institute (ESI) in Tobo, Sweden, as the most amazing year of my life. Immersing yourself with nyckelharpa (or fiddle), traditional Swedish folk music and dance with fantastic teachers and highly motivated fellow students is a wonderful experience. Time passes quickly but you learn a lot and meet so many amazing people. So, I can highly recommend a year at ESI!

Below you can find information on long term nyckelharpa courses/studies in Europe. For short term workshops/courses, please take a look at the workshop page.

Courses

Eric Sahlström Institute

Eric Sahlström Institute

Website: http://esitobo.org/
Duration: 1 year
Location: Tobo, Sweden
Main Teachers: Olov Johansson, Ditte Andersson, Sonia Sahlström, Niklas Roswall (arranging), and Mia Marin (violin)

The Eric Sahlström Institute (ESI) is a Swedish national center for traditional music and dance, with the nyckelharpa as special endeavor. The ESI’s educational programs in traditional Swedish music and dance offer the finest musicians and dance leaders in Sweden. ESI provides year-long courses in nyckelharpa, fiddle and dance. These courses offer the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of their compelling and rich tradition, to broaden repertoire and deepen technical skills. At ESI they teach their students to express themselves in the language of traditional Swedish music and dance.

European Nyckelharpa Training

Burg Fürsteneck (Photo by: unknown)

Website: www.training.nyckelharpa.eu
Duration: ca. 3 years
Location: Burg Fürsteneck (Germany) and Scuola di Musica Popolare di Forlimpopoli (Italy)
Main Teachers: Marco Ambrosini, Ditte Andersson, Jule Bauer, Didier François, and Annette Osann

The European Nyckelharpa Training (ENT) at Academy Burg Fürsteneck (Germany) and at the Scuola di Musica Popolare di Forlimpopoli (Italy) strives to enable the students to play the nyckelharpa at a rather high level in concerts and/or to teach it competently or play it for their private use depending on the personal emphasis.

KMH Stockholm (Royal College of Music)

KMH (Photo by: unknown)

Website: http://www.kmh.se/kmh-10000_en
Duration: 3 years (BA), 1-2 years (MA)
Location: Stockholm
Main Teachers: Olov Johansson, Torbjörn Näsbom, and Ditte Andersson

At the Kungliga Musikhögskola (KMH) in Stockholm you can study a Bachelor in Swedish folk music (performance) on nyckelharpa. Courses within the main subject are: 'Main instrument', 'Ensemble', 'Arranging', 'Playing to dance', 'Stage training', 'Concert practice', and an 'Independent assignment for exam'.