Hurdy-Gurdy Tuning
Tuning is an important part of the hurdy-gurdy. These tutorials on how to tune a hurdy-gurdy should help you deal with all aspects of tuning:
- Tuning guide for G/C and D/G with string examples
- Hurdy-gurdy specific temperament relative to equal temprement
- Order of operations for tuning tangents, nut, and bridge
Hurdy-Gurdy posture
Posture is important not only so you can coup and move around the keyboard effectively, but also so you do not hurt yourself from keeping your wrists, shoulders, and back in awkward positions. Always play with good posture and if something starts to hurt – stop immediately. These tutorials on how to hold a hurdy-gurdy should help:
- How to strap on a hurdy-gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Handle position for playing hurdy gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- How to hold your crank by Sergio González (Video)
- Healthy Posture habits for Hurdy Gurdy! by Sergio González (Video)
- Hurdy-gurdy playing posture by Sanne Van Gend (Video)
- Warm up stretches before playing by Sergio González (Video)
- Getting Started on Your New Hurdy Gurdy by Scott Gayman (Webinar Video)
Hurdy-Gurdy setup
Setup is one of the hardest parts of playing the hurdy-gurdy at the start. It is key to having a good sound come out of your instrument. Learning the trifecta of cotton/rosin/string pressure is as important as being in tune. These setup tutorials should help your hurdy-gurdy sound wicked:
Rosin tutorials
- Hurdy Gurdy set-up part 1 – Rosin by Nigel Eaton (Video)
- Hurdy Gurdy Rosin lesson by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Hurdy Gurdy Adjustment – Too much rosin by Sergio González (Video)
Cotton tutorials
- Hurdy Gurdy set-up part 2 – Cotton/String Pressure by Nigel Eaton (Video)
- Quick cottoning video for the hurdy gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Changing hurdy-gurdy cotton by Neil Brook (Video)
- Cotton – liquid rosin with no twisting by Folkskelet (Video)
Other tutorials
- Basic Maintenance and Adjustment for the Hurdy Gurdy by Scott Gayman (Webinar Video)
- Make your own Liquid Rosin by Sergio González (Video)
- Hurdy-gurdy maintenance by Neil Brook (Text)
Non-English Tutorials
- Changing the cotton on the hurdy-gurdy strings – French by Arnaud Lachambre (Video)
Hurdy-Gurdy Coups
Learning to coup on the hurdy-gurdy is the hardest aspect of playing, especially when you begin to combine coup patterns with a melody. Separating your hands into two separate motions is like juggling on a unicycle. Start slow and work on it a little bit every day! There tutorials on how to trompette/coup should help you train your crank hand properly:
Scott Gayman Coup Series
- Tirant adjustment for hurdy gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- No. 1 Coup Lesson for hurdy gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- No. 2 Coup Lesson for hurdy gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- No. 3 Coup Lesson for hurdy gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- No. 4 Coup Lesson for hurdy gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Putting the coups together by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Lesson in Coup Gras-Long Coup- for the hurdy gurdy by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Coups for a waltz by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Coup de 3 upside down by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Coups 4 to 3 practice by Scott Gayman (Video)
- Coup de 6 lesson by Scott Gayman (Video)
Other Coup Tutorials
- Coup de 4 – Hurdy Gurdy Intermediate Lesson by Sergio González (Video)
- Coups with visual wheel by Sanne Van Gend (Video)
- Coup de 4 training sequence by Francesco Giusta (Video)
- Coup de 6 training sequence by Francesco Giusta (Video)
- Coup de 8 training sequence by Iván Abal (Video)
- Coups for different music styles by Nigel Eaton (Video)
- Trompette workshop by Neil Brook (Text)
Non-English tutorials
- Coup 1/3 – German by Mr Hardy Music (Video)
- Coup 2/4 – German by Mr Hardy Music (Video)
- Coup for Waltz – German by Mr Hardy Music (Video)
Maintenance tutorials
Tangents
Having properly setup tangents is important for intonation as well as grace notes and trills. When you have more than 1 chanterelle you need to make sure they hit the strings at the exact same time while activated. The below tutorials will help make sure you have a proper setup.
- Why Tangent Alignment is Important by Scott Gayman (Video)
- There exists a tutorial on fixing the above problem, but as it an invasive procedure – we have been asked to not publish it widely. Someone could easily misdiagnose the problem and following the tutorial would make things worse. If you think you are in need of this, talk with an instructor first, and then email us for the link. Thank you to Phi for this tutorial video.
Make your own Chien
Sometimes you have an instrument with a chien that doesn’t sound quite proper, you lose the little dog and need a replacement, or you just want a different sound out of your trompette. It will take trial and error, so don’t expect to get it right on your first try! These tutorials on how to build a chien should help you get the perfect trompette sound:
- How to build a Chien by Barnaby Walters (Text)
- How to build a Chien by Barnaby Walters (Video)
Wheel truing methods
The wheel is the most important part of the instrument and needs to be perfectly round and smooth. If you are building a hurdy-gurdy, nerdy gurdy, or just have problems with your instruments wheel – these tutorials on how to true a hurdy-gurdy wheel should help:
- “Nerdy Gurdy Basic: How to finish the wheel!” by Elektrovolt (Video)
- “Rectifier une roue de vielle” – French by Arnaud Lachambre (Video)