# Writing Scandinavian folk music with VST's is f****** hard!



## rlundv (Jan 15, 2022)

Folk music have always had a special place within me, but making it with VST's usually sucks! Trying to become better at it, borrowing rythmic patterns and voicings from Norwegian hardingfiddle-music.

It turned out allright. Much love to ERA2 for pulling off this sound.



Newest piece with nyckelharpe:


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## clynos (Jan 16, 2022)

"It turned out allright." ...more like amazing


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## Bee_Abney (Jan 17, 2022)

It has a lovely melody and a great sound.

For more chaos to the sound (if you ever wanted that) you might like Karoryfer's Orcophany.


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## Henu (Jan 17, 2022)

Yep, the ERA 2 nyckel is pretty much the best there is. 

Really nice piece! For what it's worth, I'd add some embellishments and ornaments to some longer notes and make the shorts a bit shorter at times. The general playing style should IMO be a bit more "lively" as the players tend to decorate a lot of the melodies on the run and many times make the short a bit "bouncier" and light. Nevertheless, it's still already super-convincing, so I wouldn't stress too much about it.


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## rlundv (Jan 17, 2022)

clynos said:


> "It turned out allright." ...more like amazing


Thanks a lot!


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## rlundv (Jan 17, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> It has a lovely melody and a great sound.
> 
> For more chaos to the sound (if you ever wanted that) you might like Karoryfer's Orcophany.


Whoa, I've never heard about that VST before - gonna check it out!


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## rlundv (Jan 17, 2022)

Henu said:


> Yep, the ERA 2 nyckel is pretty much the best there is.
> 
> Really nice piece! For what it's worth, I'd add some embellishments and ornaments to some longer notes and make the shorts a bit shorter at times. The general playing style should IMO be a bit more "lively" as the players tend to decorate a lot of the melodies on the run and many times make the short a bit "bouncier" and light. Nevertheless, it's still already super-convincing, so I wouldn't stress too much about it.


Absolutely, 100% agree with this. I feel the tempo is a bit too slow. An yes, embellishments on a lot of notes - easy to hear after a couple of days of ears rest, but in the process of writing it, it felt done, so I left it out. Will work more on that in the next piece!


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## rlundv (Jan 17, 2022)

To make furter inquiry into the Scandinavian sound, I made this little minidocumentary. Maybe it can be a source of inspiration to someone here!


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## b_elliott (Jan 18, 2022)

beyd770 said:


> To make furter inquiry into the Scandinavian sound, I made this little minidocumentary. Maybe it can be a source of inspiration to someone here!



Thanks for sharing.

From your mini-documentary I was impressed to witness tuning the violin by humming into its f-hole to find its resonance "D". Nice.

Last night I started listening to Neil Gaiman's audiobook "_Norse Mythology_", so it was extra nice this morning to land on this thread to hear your music then watch the mini-documentary. It gives me a musical orientation.

Something Gaiman said in his intro to "_Norse Mythology_" got me hooked: the English days of the week (our Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) owe their roots to the Norse gods. Wednesday being (w)Odin's day.

I am feeling the Scandi vibe. Cheers, Bill


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## rlundv (Jan 18, 2022)

b_elliott said:


> Thanks for sharing.
> 
> From your mini-documentary I was impressed to witness tuning the violin by humming into its f-hole to find its resonance "D". Nice.
> 
> ...


Thanks for reaching out! Yes, it's a very neat trick - did not know about the air tone myself either. Ah, that is a good book indeed! Enjoy it with some Scandinavian soundscapes!


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## Henning (Jan 18, 2022)

Love the documentary. Very cool info in there. First time I listened to a bukkehorn. Have to keep this one in mind, great sound. 

Btw the nyckelharpa mockup is also quite good. Must have been a pain to program something like this


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## rlundv (Jan 18, 2022)

Henning said:


> Love the documentary. Very cool info in there. First time I listened to a bukkehorn. Have to keep this one in mind, great sound.
> 
> Btw the nyckelharpa mockup is also quite good. Must have been a pain to program something like this


Thanks man! Yes, it was a pain indeed. Listening to it now, it's a bit too slow and missing some ornamentation, but solid as I first try, I think. Will make more tracks with it soon


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## rlundv (Jan 18, 2022)

Henning said:


> Love the documentary. Very cool info in there. First time I listened to a bukkehorn. Have to keep this one in mind, great sound.
> 
> Btw the nyckelharpa mockup is also quite good. Must have been a pain to program something like this


Btw, there are good bukkehorn-samples in ERA2 as well!


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## Henning (Jan 18, 2022)

beyd770 said:


> Btw, there are good bukkehorn-samples in ERA2 as well!


Thanks for the info. Actually, I think of buying one and play it myself. Should be fun


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## rlundv (Jan 18, 2022)

Henning said:


> Thanks for the info. Actually, I think of buying one and play it myself. Should be fun


Even better!


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## b_elliott (Jan 18, 2022)

BTW another feature I liked in your mini doc was the scene with the lady dancing in the living room with husband? and another couple.

The first time I saw the use of old-time dance footage to a modern arrangement (1800s American folk classic) was Neil Young's _Oh Susanna_. 

I like his arrangement but have re-watched because the footage was unique -- just like yours.


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## rlundv (Jan 18, 2022)

b_elliott said:


> BTW another feature I liked in your mini doc was the scene with the lady dancing in the living room with husband? and another couple.
> 
> The first time I saw the use of old-time dance footage to a modern arrangement (1800s American folk classic) was Neil Young's _Old Susanna_.
> 
> I like his arrangement but have re-watched because the footage was unique -- just like yours.


Interesting! Have not seen that musicvideo before  I have a lot of old traditional material available, so will make this into a small series I think. Stay tuned!


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## rlundv (Jan 20, 2022)

I have started a new series in 3 parts on writing a scandinavian-sound based orchestral sketch.
Here is part 1, focusing on the piano-reduction.


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## cedricm (Jan 20, 2022)

What's the best price one can get on ERA 2 without cross/upgrades, and at what time of year? I'm quite sure I 'll end up getting it, but I'm in no hurry.


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## Bee_Abney (Jan 20, 2022)

cedricm said:


> What's the best price one can get on ERA 2 without cross/upgrades, and at what time of year? I'm quite sure I 'll end up getting it, but I'm in no hurry.


Maybe 10% off - or it might have been €20. Other than temporary crossgrade prices, I don't think I've seen it cheaper in the last year.

However, it is a license that be sold second-hand for a small fee (paid by the seller). So second-hand might be the cheapest route. That's how I bought it.

Hopefully someone else remembers something more promising.


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## Haakond (Jan 20, 2022)

beyd770 said:


> Folk music have always had a special place within me, but making it with VST's usually sucks! Trying to become better at it, borrowing rythmic patterns and voicings from Norwegian hardingfiddle-music.
> 
> It turned out allright. Much love to ERA2 for pulling off this sound.



As a fellow Norwegian; This mock-up was very good!


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## Robin Thompson (Jan 20, 2022)

I would imagine making any kind of folk music with VSTs is hard. The nature of the tool is almost diametrically opposed to the aesthetic- not unlike trying to use Photoshop to make a fingerpainting.

And yet, this sounds incredible. Great work and thanks for the inspirational followup videos!


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## Mr Frodo (Jan 20, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Maybe 10% off - or it might have been €20. Other than temporary crossgrade prices, I don't think I've seen it cheaper in the last year.
> 
> However, it is a license that be sold second-hand for a small fee (paid by the seller). So second-hand might be the cheapest route. That's how I bought it.
> 
> Hopefully someone else remembers something more promising.



I believe I bought it with a 40% discount last year. I think it was a surprise Best Service sale that included all the Era products, which happens occasionally. If you add Era II to your Best Service account wishlist, you'll be notified when it's in a sale.

It's a terrific library.

Edit: if you are willing to wait until Black Friday, Best Service does sometimes have good sales, although they can be shorter than some other companies'.


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## rlundv (Jan 20, 2022)

cedricm said:


> What's the best price one can get on ERA 2 without cross/upgrades, and at what time of year? I'm quite sure I 'll end up getting it, but I'm in no hurry.


Hopefully, some people in this thread can give you a better answer than me!


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## rlundv (Jan 20, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Maybe 10% off - or it might have been €20. Other than temporary crossgrade prices, I don't think I've seen it cheaper in the last year.
> 
> However, it is a license that be sold second-hand for a small fee (paid by the seller). So second-hand might be the cheapest route. That's how I bought it.
> 
> Hopefully someone else remembers something more promising.


Nice, I did not know about the second-hand sale.


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## rlundv (Jan 20, 2022)

Haakond said:


> As a fellow Norwegian; This mock-up was very good!


Tusen takk, Haakon! Håper noen mekker en hardingfele-VST snart


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## rlundv (Jan 20, 2022)

Robin Thompson said:


> I would imagine making any kind of folk music with VSTs is hard. The nature of the tool is almost diametrically opposed to the aesthetic- not unlike trying to use Photoshop to make a fingerpainting.
> 
> And yet, this sounds incredible. Great work and thanks for the inspirational followup videos!


Thanks a lof for then encouraging comments! I think a lot is done with the microtuning, embellishments and following the rythmic and structural forms. The sound of the samples can only take us thus far. Still, the ERA2 Nyckeharpa really delivers! New piece coming up soon


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## rlundv (Jan 20, 2022)

Mr Frodo said:


> I believe I bought it with a 40% discount last year. I think it was a surprise Best Service sale that included all the Era products, which happens occasionally. If you add Era II to your Best Service account wishlist, you'll be notified when it's in a sale.
> 
> It's a terrific library.
> 
> Edit: if you are willing to wait until Black Friday, Best Service does sometimes have good sales, although they can be shorter than some other companies'.


Crossing my fingers for a new sale too! Dark Era looks so promising :O


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## Mr Frodo (Jan 21, 2022)

beyd770 said:


> Crossing my fingers for a new sale too! Dark Era looks so promising :O


Dark Era might be my favourite library of all - its sounds are ideal if you want to quickly create a mysterious atmosphere. All of Eduardo Tarilonte's libraries are extremely well made.


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## rlundv (Jan 21, 2022)

Mr Frodo said:


> Dark Era might be my favourite library of all - its sounds are ideal if you want to quickly create a mysterious atmosphere. All of Eduardo Tarilonte's libraries are extremely well made.


Agree! Have just discovered them, so it's such a joy to play through the patches and get new ideas :D


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## Haakond (Jan 21, 2022)

beyd770 said:


> Tusen takk, Haakon! Håper noen mekker en hardingfele-VST snart


Cinesamples holder på med det nå, faktisk!


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## rlundv (Jan 21, 2022)

Haakond said:


> Cinesamples holder på med det nå, faktisk!


WHAT?? Har søkt overalt, hvor fant du info om dette?


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## rlundv (Jan 25, 2022)

Still practicing the Nyckelharpa-VST from ERA2 - took it for a new swing.

This time it was a bit easier to program, and I'm starting to get the hang of writing harmonies that what strings the bow can hit while playing the melody. Talked a lot with a hardingfiddle-player and got some good tips.

Resonance-strings are tuned differently than the hardingfiddle, and the main strings as well. A lot of the swedish one are tuned: ACGC, with the drone-string as C also.

Hope you like it!


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## rlundv (Feb 1, 2022)

Still practicing the norwegian sound, this time borrowing a lot from Grieg, and snuck the nyckelharpa inn as well!


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## Windbag (Feb 1, 2022)

beyd770 said:


> To make furter inquiry into the Scandinavian sound, I made this little minidocumentary. Maybe it can be a source of inspiration to someone here!



Thank you for this, and really nice work. Appreciation for and integration of traditional and ancestral music is a always noble endeavor, and you're doing interesting things with it.


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## rlundv (Feb 1, 2022)

Windbag said:


> Thank you for this, and really nice work. Appreciation for and integration of traditional and ancestral music is a always noble endeavor, and you're doing interesting things with it.


Thanks a lot!!


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## rlundv (Feb 10, 2022)

Full walkthrough of the process of orchestrating the piano-sketch!


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## José Herring (Feb 10, 2022)

beyd770 said:


> Folk music have always had a special place within me, but making it with VST's usually sucks! Trying to become better at it, borrowing rythmic patterns and voicings from Norwegian hardingfiddle-music.
> 
> It turned out allright. Much love to ERA2 for pulling off this sound.



This is actually a fairly good attempt. Sometimes when I have to do idiomatic music like this, I mock it up and then find some player that can record his own instrument. I had to do a Dobro piece and I just mocked it up as best I could then just had an authentic player record my melody. Then I had him improv a bunch of phrases that I could then arrange as well. It worked out great.


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## rlundv (Mar 4, 2022)

My newest attempt in the journey towards the Scandinavian sound with VST's. This time we used a real Kravik Lyre, and I played the virtual instruments.

Hope you enjoy it!


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## rlundv (Apr 26, 2022)




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## Robin Thompson (Apr 26, 2022)

rlundv said:


>



This fucking _rocks_. Make it longer!


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## rlundv (Apr 26, 2022)

Robin Thompson said:


> This fucking _rocks_. Make it longer!


Whoa, thanks a lot Robin! I might just do that :D


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