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Hello!
I've decided to make a large Scottish Smallpipe update! So I've uploaded the rest of Chapter 6:
The Waterboatman, Cartmel Fell and Speed the Plough. I also added RAF Squadron No. 21 by CD McTaggart and Delap’s Reel by CD MacTaggart. I put in Muineira de Pedrouso #3, which is a Spanish Gaita tune, but playable on the border pipes.

I've tidied up a little in the Tagelharpa section and added two more lessons, Flagpole Tree and Skomakarpolskan.

As a random thing - I'm sure you'll remember I'm into writing music out by hand, especially with quill and pointed pen. I wasn't happy with the rastrum I had, so I tracked down a vintage one and unboxed it. Rastrum unboxing. There is a third rastrum that I want to try, so watch this space on that!

The Card Game Crowdfunder is drawing to a close soon. The good news is that I chose the keep what you get option. Which is fortuitous as I'm only 29% funded. This is totally ok - I'll just adjust how many decks of cards I order. I have now filmed the four tunes from the cards: The Suit of Diamonds Waltz, The Suit of Clubs Waltz, The Suit of Spades Waltz. If you've not pledged to order your deck yet. Now is a good time to do so. If you have - then thank you! I'll be going to print with the cards next weekend. (I'll wait until the end, just in case there is a rush and I need to increase the order!) Pledge for your deck here! (They will be for sale after the crowdfunder ends too)

I also added Thingamajig, it's a slip jig. I added bowing to Vännens Långdans and a couple of videos. I also made a few tweaks in Nyckelharpa-4-A-Day. Some of the audio files weren't working.

The biggest thing has been organising all the courses for 2027. It's going to be a big year and it looks like this:

29th – 31st January 2027 – Trip to the Eric Sahlström Institute, Tobo, Sweden
A trip to the iconic ESI in Sweden. Experience the nordic winter. Swedish tunes with Josefina Paulson. English tunes with Vicki Swan.
15th – 19th February 2027 – Nyckelharpa Retreat Week, Halsway Manor, England, UK
This is a midweek course running Monday to Friday. Taking inspiration from Vicki’s Online Nyckelharpa Summer School it will cover aspects of technique, musicality, stylistic playing of Swedish tunes and repertoire.
2nd – 4th April 2027 – Spring Weekend for Beginners and Intermediates, Halsway Manor, England, UK
This weekend has two levels one for complete beginners with instruments provided and a second level for people who already play. Tutors are Vicki and Carol Turner.
10th – 12th September 2027 – Full Festival Weekend, Halsway Manor, England UK
Full Nyckelharpa Festival Weekend. Tutors TBA.

I think this update is now big enough and I shall send it!
More soon!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
We are now almost all the way through September! It's been an amazing and crazy summer. I have spectacularly failed to make my weekly updates. I'm going to try to go back to weekly again in October, but for today my goal is to make sure this one goes out in September. I might not have been managing to mail out the updates, but plenty has been going on.

I'll start with Summer School. Summer School was brilliant! I really enjoyed the updates as they went into WhatsApp. Next time I'll do both WhatsApp and the FaceBook group from the start. I'm going to do a short one week Winter School in December. Watch this space!
I added a few new things in Summer School since the last update went out including:
Study in A major - Noodles on the Floor and Viking Tune.

Then we went to Whitby Folk Week where we had a lot of fun with writing new change tune challenges. If you want to have a go at identifying the dances go to the Whitby Folk Week 2026 page. The music for these are all added to the site: Mr Brum's Drum, Whitby Minster, Old Keep  My Lady Shadyglade, Boreas and Chloris, Tawny Beak, Barham Up! (It's a mix of flute and nyckelharpa - but great on any instrument!).
I managed to add live versions to The Engle and The Quaff. Whilst we were at a ball last week we wanted a change tune for a tune - so Pingu was born and has been added.

Then we had the amazing Halsway Manor September Weekend with Magnus Holmström and Rasmus Hemström. If you came along the Watch-Again video is now up. If you're a subscriber, then it's in the Subscriber's extra section. I taught these two tunes that were new to the website: Polska ur Sven Johanssons Samling (No. 2) and Polska for a Sunny Day.

From Halsway we pretty much went straight to the Jane Austen Festival and played for three balls: The Farthingale Grand Regency Ball, The Rose Ball and TheTo Be Fond of Dancing Ball. After which was the Symmetry Dance 22nd September 26

Finally that brings us to my Card Game. I have made a game, inspired by a deck of cards from 1830. I am in the middle of Crowdfunding it. This video explains (in a humorous way what it's all about). Shuffle the cards, then turn them up and create a different waltz (almost) every time! I've added a lesson page for the Suit of Hearts Waltz. Playable on recorder, penny whistle, nyckelharpa, melodeon even bagpipes. (ie as many people as I could!) Easy enough for beginners. Fun for people who already play. Use it for sight-reading practise or just playing snap. A great stocking filler - but you need to get your pledge in so I can get it to you in time!

That's all for this update. There is more - but I really want to send this before we reach our destination today! Then I can start the next update!
Keep safe, keep playing!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
It's definitely well into summer now and I've been on the road for a good deal of it! Summer School is now well into its third week. It's been fun chatting with everyone in the WhatsApp. I've been managing to keep the daily updates going by filming a few in one go. I haven't managed as many feedback videos as I would have liked, but I am managing some! For the paid subscribers to the site Summer School is going to remain available indefinitely, so it's ok to be behind.

We've got quite a bit of dancing coming up and we've written some lovely new change-tune-challenges. I got into the zone and wrote 6 in one evening and Jonny wrote one in the van on the way home from a dance ready for the following days dance! They'll appear later in the month along with some other random tunes - but at least one of these is going to turn up in Summer School - so for the moment I'll keep them under my hat so as to not spoil the surprise!

I've been doing some work in the Scottish Smallpipe tutor, adding a few things in chapters 4 and 5 and I've added John Anderson My Jo, The Highroad to Linton and The Water Boatman.

I will try to get a new update out a little faster! If you're on Summer School then each day you should be getting the daily email. If you're signed up to Summer School and not getting the emails, get in touch because they are all going out!
😀
Vicki

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Hello!
As always we've been very busy and I've sort of lost track of what has been added! I added Halsway Session No. 8 and also the Maidstone Regency Dance. We had Symmetry on the 12th - but this video is yet to be edited.

The reason for it not being edited is that I decided to do a Nyckelharpa Summer School! I've have worked hard and I've worked fast on it. From Wednesday 22nd July I will be releasing a new "lesson" every day for 28 days. There will be a variety of things on these lessons, scales, studies, exercises and tunes. In addition to this I have also set out the Nyckelharpa-4-A-Day for complete beginners. So for complete beginners there is a pathway to follow that isn't exactly the same as everyone else, but it's all linked from Summer School.

Summer school is available for all my subscribers but if you use the signup form I will add you to the daily mail outs. I am making Summer School available to anyone that wants to sign up and they will have access to the course for the duration of the 28 days and then a further 2 months before it becomes paid subscriber only. Of course - I'm hoping that everyone who signs up might consider then becoming a paid subscriber.

So I am now going to send this out before time gets away from me! See you in Nyckelharpa Summer School!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
Where has the time gone! The solstice has been and gone and we're heading into July at a rate of knots!
We had Symmetry on the 16th it's ready for watching/playing along!
Jane Austen Midsummer Ball Alton
new dance added for Neil and Brooke/Chris.

We have these dance tunes on the nyckelharpa - but great on any instrument: Galopede and Jalopy-pede.
I decided to try to get all the flute videos I had prepared up and on the site, so these four lessons are now live:
The Good Old Way and Geordie Lad - 6-hole wooden flute
I taught Lady of the Manor in both F and D, so it's fine on both Boehm and 6-hole. (It's fine on Boehm in both keys, but I like the F version).
I also did Whisky Before Dinner by Jonathan Jensen. It's fine on either flute and is a cracking tune!
I've uploaded the Scottish Smallpipe Tutor Chapter 6 part 2. I have a bunch of Scottish Smallpipe videos to edit - but I've got a little behind on doing them as some unexpected recording work came that has required a lot of practise!
I'm going to send out this update now and hope to get another one along soon!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
It's been a really busy month so far (as usual). But I have fitted in as much as I possibly can. So this update is all a bit random!

Let's start with dances! We had our first June Symmetry dance on the 31st May, that's now up and ready to watch again/play-along with: Symmetry 31st May 26. Then we played for the Meryton Mob Ball 2026. That's all ready to watch/play along with. Our next dance was for Bonnets and Breeches and was called the Eve of Waterloo Ball. I filmed both us and the dancers, so you get to see both sides of the camera, the dancers all look stunning!

We gave a couple of concerts that were filmed. The Chester Medieval Concert was a lot of medieval music on our medieval instruments. I'm going to follow this concert up by teaching all the tunes I played. I'd hoped to do that before this update - but I didn't manage it. So here is the concert, the lessons will follow! Then we had the Ipswich Lunchtime concert. Jonny started that concert with his carnyx - that was definitely an entrance!

We added a couple of tunes to Wendy's page and Neil's Page.

I added Apples and Chairs in our waltzes, Trip to Gyllby and New Year's Jig in our jigs.
I decided to try to get all the tagelharpa videos I did earlier in the year in place, so these lessons are added in a new key: Femtiöringen - DAD, An Dro - DAD and also fixed the music to be in the correct key and of course - Perry the Partridge DAD

I have some flute ready to go - but haven't had chance to add the articulations - they will go up next time!

I did however spend a very hot afternoon filming lots of Scottish Smallpipes. Next job is to edit those videos. I also finally started chapter 6 of the Scottish Smallpipe tutor. So Chapter 6 Part 1 is added!

Last but not least He-Man came out at the cinema last week. I'm on the sound track, along side Brian May from Queen. (I didn't get to meet him). So of course I did a little video!

That's all for this week! Another update as soon as I can!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
The year seems to be running away faster and faster! I spent a good few days editing the Global World Nyckelharpa Day Långdans från Valö. We had an incredible 186 nyckelharpa players from around the world take part this year - amazing! Of course this put everything behind an then we had a few dances. So rather than spread these out into different updates I am throwing everything I can into this update so I can start a new update. I'm trying really hard to get out all the videos I've recorded! Then I can film some more!

I'm working my way through the missing tunes for the Book of Favourite Swedish tunes, so I've added Polska efter Magnus Teorin and Emelie's Polska.

I'm trying to locate and archive all our tunes, so I've Added videos to Italian Pants, Dot Dot Dot, Linnéavalsen, new tunes for this week are Sir Under de Coverley, Walgo, Rana Waltz. At the ceilidh last week we wrote four new tunes, so I've added Sheen's Polka and Mountain Capers. (The other two weren't played, so they can wait until they are!)

I had a bit of a spring clean in the #PlayfordinShorts area. Added live videos and articulations to The Milkmaids Bobb, Drive the Cold Winter Away, Upon A Summer's Day, Millison's Jig, Grimstock, Maiden Lane.

On the road we've had a very dance-y week! (And subsequent marathon video editing session!)
We had Symmetry on the 10th May and this video is ready for watching!
On Friday we were at Cecil Sharp House playing for ceilidh.
On Saturday we were in Cheltenham playing for a Ball
On Tuesday we had another Symmetry Dance. (So there are two for watching! I decided to put everything into this update so I can start afresh on the next one!)

In the dance pages there is always a trickle of new audio going into the audio section.
We filmed some tunes for dancing that got added to Brooke Friendly and Chris Sackett's page.
Three new dance tunes on Alan Wintson's page. Two new dances on Wendy Crouch's page. Two new dances on Neil Stuart's page. St Andrew's Assembly and Ben the Sailor was added into our miscellaneous page for dancing - curiously this is the second dance we've been asked from this manuscript, but we can't find a facsimile, so Jonny has to write it out by ear. We were also asked to play the proper tune for The Bishop - so we pulled that out and put it on the Thompson Collection page!

That is all for now! One day I'll catch up with myself! Thank you so much for supporting the website, the teaching and all our tunes and dances!
Next update soon! There is so much to add!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
I've been working on this update for over a week, but I figured, it's time to send it, finished or not. Then I'll start a new update! We're now two weeks past World Nyckelharpa Day and I started writing this just after the day. Then I was away for a week, then I started the Global edit... so here's the update as I wrote it!

World Nyckelharpa Day was an amazing day with lots going on, both in YouTube and in the Zoom. Check the page for all the things that can be watched again!
Our largest contribution was two new play-along sessions:
Vicki² YouTube Session - with seven tunes from the New Favourite Swedish Tunes Book.
Vicki & Jonny's Live Zoom Session with eight tunes written by harpa players and us. It was streamed into Zoom, went out on Zoom and we also recorded it at source. The version on the website is the Hi-Res slightly edited version.

That's enough World Nyckelharpa Day for this year. What's new on the site?

We had the Symmetry dance on Tuesday 28th April and there is now the Play-along video ready for watching. The audio files are also added to the dance section of the page.
Pamela's Pleasure has been added to Wendy Crouch's dance page.
We added videos and articulations to Hawaiian Contra, Seth's Jolly Contra, Hyde and Seek / The Japonica Jig and Hedingham Green. I added a full length All in a Garden Green in the #PlayfordinShorts series (and corrected a weird accidental!).

I added the score and parts to Jonny's Jolly Polska and moved it into the ensembles course.
I added February Water Waltz and Jaunty Waltz to our Waltzes.
I added The Hunting Groove and The Butterdish to the flute tunes.

The global Långdans från Valö premiers over in YouTube at 4pm today (UK time). So watch the video below! 186 nyckelharpa players, 19 countries, 222 musicians. It is the most epic video yet!

That's as far as I got with this update, it's the 13th May and and time for me to send this and start a new update going!
😀
Vicki

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Hello!
It's been all systems go for World Nyckelharpa Day this week. I have filled my computer several times over! I've now completed my major videos and just have a few little adverts left to do. It's going to be an incredible day on Sunday 26th April (this Sunday). For the price of a little donation (the donation will be split with the workshop leaders) you get all these things in Zoom:
11:30 The Zoom Cafe Opens
12:00 The Global Långdans från Valö
12:05 Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer - play-along session
13:00 Leif Alpsjö - tune workshop (40 minutes)
14:00 Arvid Furmark - tune workshop (40 minutes)
15:00 Sunniva Abelli - tune workshop  (40 minutes)
16:00 Esbjörn Hogmark - nyckelharpa talk  (40 minutes)
17:00 Musical Game (short, then it's time for a break!)
18:00 American Nyckelharpa Association Zoom Jam
20:00 Closing Concert by Josefina Paulson

We are so lucky that Josefina has agreed to do the concert for donations and she is so amazing! So you don't want to miss this!

So what videos have I done for the day?
360 from Bridgerton (it's 'that' cello track, or at least as much as I could get hold of!)
The Global Tune - this is the backup stream if you can't see it live in Zoom!
Sonata No. 7 by Roman from the concert at Halsway with David Chadwick
Yesterday by the Beatles!
Byss-Calle No. 21 of course I had to do Byss-Calle!
Vicki² Session - a Zoom session with a difference!
Harpas All Round - one of Jonny's catches

We had Symmetry last week and this video is now uploaded and ready to watch/play-along with

I had hoped that my next update would be not so nyckelharpa heavy - but I think I'll have to just make a solemn promise that my next update will include everything except nyckelharpa!

I completed all the lessons and videos for the 24 country dance tunes manuscript adding in Draumbill, Free Will, Sanguine Sally, Zaffre

That's all for now! Come to World Nyckelharpa Day on Sunday!
:))
Vicki

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Hello!
It's been a frantic month since my last update. The Halsway Spring Weekend was amazing! 36 nyckelharpa players in total - this was huge for Spring! We filmed the concert - so for all my subscribers you get to watch it too!

So what's new? In order:
I added Sticky Pudding Gong's Gone to the beginner nyckelharpa course.
I taught these tunes at Halsway:
Stigen
Den Slumpmässiga Slängpolskan
Wanton Dolly

Before we went to Halsway we had the Symmetry Zoom Dance. I got this video edited and uploaded! We also had the Cheltenham Playford Ball which was a lot of fun and we filmed both the ball and the workshop.

For April Fools Day I put out my 24 Country Dance Tunes manuscript as if it had been a manuscript discovered in the library at Halsway Manor. Visit this page to find out more about the manuscript and the prank! I added a couple more lessons to it.
The Engle
Xylocopa

More next week!
I have so many videos piling up! Ready for me to add articulations and lessons!
:))
Vicki