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Hello!
As usual it's been a lot of time on the road, but I've managed to do quite a bit of editing and uploading!
Catch Club this week is Trolllåten. A tune originally conceived to be played by four players and one instrument, it makes a fine catch! Last week we were at an in person Regency Ball and we sat the camera in front of us and captured our music - just like we do for Symmetry. So you can find the final video of the Meryton Mob here! (Playalong music included)
On the nyckelharpa we have Fredagspolska. It's a great 8-note polska, quite similar to Polska efter Båtsman Däck, but it goes nice and high and is just a little bit trickier. I love it!
On the Boehm system flute we have Stenselepolskan.
On Fiddleharpa this week we have Angelina the Baker. A really great jolly tune!
On the Swedish Säckpipa we have Säckpipslåt efter Jont Lars Olsson
More next week!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
It's been a very dancey week this week with both Symmetry and an in person Regency dance (more about that dance next time). I got very excited when I watched the latest episode of Doctor Who (Ep6: Rogue). It's set in a regency dance with lots of lovely costumes and two real pieces of regency music! The first was easy to identify - The Duke of Kent's Waltz. We play that quite often! The second one took a little bit of detective work. I started to write it out, figured out the style and then hazarded a guess as to which collection of Regency dance music I'd find it in and I turned out to be correct. It was  Paine's 1st Set of Quadrilles: No. 4 La Felecia - so an hour later I'd written it out and created a video with Jonny.

So what else is added to the site this week? We had the Zoom dance at Symmetry on Sunday and that video is now edited, uploaded and ready for people to watch. Enjoy! Our next Symmetry Dance is Tuesday 18th June - next Tuesday. Come along and watch, play or dance! The link is here and the dots are here!

I've been working on the Scottish Smallpipe tutor this week too and I've added Chapter 4 part 2 to that course. Slow and steady progress!

We have Henry Purcell again this week for Catch Club and Once in Our Lives.
On the nyckelharpa we have Polska från Glömminge. A really cool but slightly strange Polska. I love it!

More next week! We're heading off into medieval season, so who knows where this will take us!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
We've had a couple of days at home this week so I cracked out the camera and did a whole bunch of flute videos. It's a mix of Swedish tunes and dance tunes. So watch for those as they get published over the coming months! I'm hoping to film some more pipe lessons this week, so fingers crossed!

So what's new to the site this week? There's quite a spread, making up for so much time away!
In nyckelharpa news we have a silverbasharpa lesson! I play the tune on both nyckelharpa and silverbasharpa, but it is a silverbas tune. It's Polska från Mulseryd and it's a tune from Småland. Enjoy playing with gusto and as if you were an old style harpa player razzing all the strings!
I added a standalone video to Jonny's New Vals so you can play along with us in the lesson.
It was a request to have a breakdown of the rhythm on the flute version of Tierpspolskan. So I've updated that lesson and it now includes articulations and grace notes for the flute.
On the Scottish Smallpipes I've started adding Chapter 4 of the Scottish Smallpipes tutor to the site. Part 1 is now up!
As this is a non-dance week I am featuring one of our lockdown sessions that we did at Halsway Manor: Lockdown Halsway Bar Session 2
Catch club this week is an easy catch - The Bluebell Line. I love to do this tune with four players and one instrument. But this time you get a minus-1 video!
We have a a Symmetry dance on Sunday and the music is up. So come along live and play-along!
More next week!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
We had a really lovely week on the Isle of Wight this week. Filled with Victorian music and the Maypole. Below is a maypole's eye view! So what is new this week?
We had a Symmetry Dance on Sunday and the video is now edited and ready for playing and or watching along.
Catch Club this week is Cosy Cabin's Four. It's an easy catch written for the four new cabins for people to sleep in at Halsway Manor! We also have Gavells-Ella efter Sigvard Stolt on the nyckelharpa. We also have Gärdsbygubarnas Polska on the Säckpipa.
More next week!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
We're back home - but only briefly. We got back from The Netherlands on Sunday. Then had a lovely gig down in Dorset for the Ninebarrow walking week. We get to do another two of these in the coming weeks! We also had a lovely dance in Symmetry on Tuesday and that play-along video is now ready! So go along to the page and watch/listen/ playalong!

This week in Catch Club we have I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale.

What is new on the site this week? I've added the Playford tune Jamaica and with the adding of this tune and some sums I have this as the 700th different to be added (across all the instruments!)
We also have Hästkuttet, it's a Rejländer. But someone pointed out it was also a Scottish tune, so I did some digging. Visit the lesson to find out more!

On the Säckpipa we have Polska efter Jonas Hansson - I've done this tune on the nyckelharpa on this site, but now the säckpipa version is up!

More next week!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
We're still on the road, but have stopped at my cousin's for a couple of nights breather and the chance to catch up with the admin! Switzerland was amazing, such breathtaking scenery and now we're heading on up to The Netherlands. So what is new on the site this week?

I have made a new lesson for the concert that Jonny and I did for World Nyckelharpa Day and added all the music so you can play along with it! Click here for the concert and music.

We are back at Symmetry for a Zoom dance on Tuesday 21st. The music is up and ready for you to look at!

Before we went away I filmed a little technique video all about bowing. The idea was to try to help people get good tone: Bowing Basics.

One of the tunes we did at Halsway was Pollsa - Ur Sven Lorens Bruuns Notbok. I love this tune, very Byss-Calle like, but it's from Småland!

On the Scottish Smallpipes we have High Over Bunachton by Hamish Moore.

Finally Catch Club is back this week! We have March of the Daffodils - which is a nice and easy beginner Catch. It premieres at 10pm on Sunday as usual.
Enjoy!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
I have merged the Friday update for weeks 18 and 19... we were away at Halsway last Friday and then I kept my head down editing the Global Brudmarsch efter Jonas Johansson. We ended up with 104 nyckelharpa players from 15 different countries - which is a record and really amazing! The videos came in right up until the last minute - so this is the final count and accurate!

Adding content to the site has been tricky over the past couple of weeks with World Nyckelharpa Day, Halsway and now we are away on tour in Switzerland/The Netherlands. I had hoped to film a few things before we left last weekend, but time was against me. We now have slightly sporadic internet for the moment, but I wanted to get this update out!

So for this week we have Rheinlender från Småland ur samlingen Lekstugan and also a concert that Jonny and I filmed for World Nyckelharpa Day. The day itself was an amazing day - 10 hours straight in Zoom finishing with this concert. I was quite tired by this point, so it is a bit random at times!

I hope to get some things updated before we go home next week - but it might be another sparse update next week. Then I'll crack out the camera and get filming!

Enjoy and take care.
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
It's been a week or preparation for World Nyckelharpa Day. Lots of filming, lots of editing, lots of admin. The YouTube Playlist is massive - so put it on in the background and watch all the videos as they premiere throughout the day!

Don't forget about the The Global Brudmarsch efter Jonas Johansson at Midday on Sunday!

I worked hard on Byss-Calle!
Byss-Calle No. 26 – Rasmus Hemström & Vicki Swan
Byss-Calle No 44 by Anci Nordwall and Vicki Swan
Byss-Calle No 53 – Vicki Swan
Byss-Calle No. 33 – Didier François
Byss-Calle No. 45 – David Chadwick & Vicki Swan
No-one Escapes Perry the Partridge
Tunes and a Chat with David Chadwick, Kirsty Money and Vicki Swan
Vicki & Jonny’s session for World Nyckelharpa Day 2024 – The Playford Dancing Master
Canon for Vicki – Vicki, David, Kirsty & Leanne

Catch Club is a little different this week, it's at a different time to fit in with the World Nyckelharpa Day. The wonderful Lee Ann Bonacker wrote a canon which we've recorded. So it's Canon for Vicki this week.

The really important event though is the Zoom So how do I come along? I hear you say. Either drop a donation into World Nyckelharpa Day - or send me an email. My vision is that people can come along do the workshops and have a chat with other nyckelharpa players around the world! So if you can - drop in at some point in the day! Here’s the schedule to tempt you along!

Schedule - note these times are in UK times
(UK is 5 hours ahead of Eastern and 1 hour behind CET)
11:30 - The World Nyckeharpa Day Global Zoom Cafe opens
11:45 - The official Global Brudmarsch preparation starts
12:00 - 12:05 - The Brudmarsch gets played
12:05 - 12:45 - Play-along: Vicki Swan - The Halsway Top 40 play-along pdf. 
13:00 - 13:45 - Workshop: Alyssa Rodriguez to do a workshop
14:15 - 14:45 - Presentation: Anders Persson and Olov GIbson Live from Källunge
15:00 - 15:45 - Workshop: Kirsty Money to do a workshop
16:00 - 16:45 - Workshop: Regina Kunkel to do a workshop
17:00 - 18:00 - Talk: Esbjörn Hogmark talks about the UNESCO project
18:00 - 20:00 - American Nyckelharpa Association Zoom Jam
20:00 - 21:00 - Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer do a concert (with lots of different nyckelharpas)
21:00 - The World Nyckeharpa Day Global Zoom Cafe closes

More next week from Halsway Manor!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
There is lots going on right now! Halsway last weekend was amazing! The Halsway Parade was filmed from a Birdseye view this year! We have a pencilled in date for the Spring weekend already: Friday 28th-Sunday 30th March 2025. We're pretty sure it's going to be that date.

Catch Club this week is another easy catch called Bowl Barrow. I was aiming for some nice crunchy chords! We have two more Playford tunes to get you ready for our YouTube Play-along video for World Nyckelharpa Day - Let Monarchs Fight from Dioclesian by Henry Purcell, adapted by Fried de Metz Hermann and The Black Nag in A minor. On the fiddleharpa I've added a technique lesson in string crossing. It's the string crossing exercise for An Air for Aires. We had a Zoom dance on Sunday and that video is now edited and ready for playing along to.

It's World Nyckelharpa Day in just over a weeks time and I am busy editing videos, there is a lot going on and the YouTube playlist is looking pretty healthy. But the big thing this year is the Global Zoom Cafe. It's opening at 11:30am and is going to stay open for about 12 hours! We have workshops (Alyssa Rodriguez, Kirsty Money and Regina Kunkel), a session (The American Nyckelharpa Association) and a concert (by myself and Jonny). But the big thing that is very is exciting is that we are going to have a stream coming in from Källunge Church on Gotland - the very place where the stone statue is. This is not to be missed!

So how do I come along? I hear you say. Either drop a donation into World Nyckelharpa Day - or send me an email. My vision is that people can come along do the workshops and have a chat with other nyckelharpa players around the world! So if you can - drop in at some point in the day!
More next week - I have a lot of preparations to do before the day!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
This weekend we're back at Halsway Manor for the Spring Nyckelharpa Weekend. I writing this from the van M4. The van is brimming with instruments and stuff! So what is new this week? I've been working hard on the Saturday night concert and editing videos for World Nyckelharpa Day. I've now scheduled quite a few things. Next week will be sorting out some of the technical requirements for scheduling live-streaming to YouTube. (You probably figured out that the Global tune was never actually a real livestream but pre-recorded about a week earlier. I'll be doing that as a backup, but the plan is to actually stream from Zoom this year).

We had a Symmetry Zoom Dance on Sunday evening and that video is now edited and ready to play-along with. We have another Symmetry this Tuesday at 7pm UK time, so do pop on in! (Link is on this page).

Catch Club this week is another easy catch called Mardon's Marvellous Meal. I've published this one this week as to honour the wonderful Mardon Room at Halsway Manor. This used to be a store room and during the pandemic was converted into the dining room meaning we no longer had to vacate the Long Room whilst it was being set up for meals!

For World Nyckelharpa Day Jonny and I have filmed a Playford session. So this week I have added Hole in the Wall by Henry Purcell, which is a lovely tune! And also Buskin also by Henry Purcell! This is a more jolly tune. I've added a D-string version of the Global tune Brudmarsch efter Jonas Johansson.

There's going to be a lot of World Nyckelharpa Day over the next couple of weeks! So get your videos in!
:))
Vicki