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)
- Hurdy-gurdy playing posture by Sanne Van Gend (Video)
- Warm up stretches before playing with Sergio (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:
- Nigel Eaton pt 1 – Rosin (Video)
- Nigel Eaton pt 2 – Cotton/String Pressure (Video)
- Scott Gayman – Cotton (Video)
- Neil Brook – Cotton (Video)
- Sanne Van Gend – Cotton – no twisting (Video)
- Sergio – Make your own Liquid Rosin (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 1 (Video)
- Scott Gayman – Coup 2 (Video)
- Scott Gayman – Coup 3 (Video)
- Scott Gayman – Coup 4 (Video)
- Scott Gayman – Coup gras (Video)
- Scott Gayman – putting them together (Video)
- Sanne Van Gend – Coups with visual wheel (Video)
- Francesco Giusta – Coup de 4 training sequence (Video)
- Nigel Eaton – Coups for different music styles (Video)
- Mr Hardy Music – Coup 1/3 – German (Video)
- Mr Hardy Music – Coup 2/4 – German (Video)
- Mr Hardy Music – Coup for Waltz – German (Video)
Maintenance tutorials
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:
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!” (Video) by Elektrovolt
- “Rectifier une roue de vielle” – French (Video) by Arnaud Lachambre