Changing a Hardanger Fiddle Understring: Tips & Tools That Make It Easier

Changing a single understring on a Hardanger fiddle can be surprisingly complicated — sometimes much more involved than changing an entire set of understrings! Learning how to do it is a valuable skill for both Hardanger fiddle players and luthiers. If one understring breaks, you don't necessarily need to replace the whole set. Being comfortable changing individual understrings also makes it practical to replace them more frequently, before they become false or lose their tone, and to experiment with different string gauges to find the sound and response you prefer. In this video, I walk through the process of changing a single Hardanger fiddle understring and share some of the tools and techniques that make this dreaded job much more manageable. I'll demonstrate the use of: • A dental pick for manipulating and positioning the strings • A small magnet attached to a wire for guiding the string through difficult-to-reach places • An electric screwdriver with a guitar peg winder for quickly tuning geared tuning pegs The electric screwdriver trick is useful beyond Hardanger fiddles, too — it's a great way to speed up tuning on any instrument with geared pegs. Whether you're a Hardanger fiddle player who wants to be more self-sufficient with string maintenance or a luthier working on one in the shop, I hope these tips make changing an understring a much less intimidating job. Kitsap Violins https://www.kitsapviolins.com #HardangerFiddle #Hardingfele #Fiddle #Luthier #StringChange