The Scandinavian Fiddle Tradition series
A tunebook–album series
My project Scandinavian Fiddle Tradition consists of 5 albums and a tunebook—140 traditional dance tunes from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, with their beautiful harmonies, chords, bowings, ornaments, drones and compelling rhythms. All 5 albums are available as CDs and downloads, and I've now completed Give a Coin to the Fiddler, the spiral-bound printed tunebook and PDF eBook.
I've created a resource I wish I had had when I began learning to play and dance to Scandinavian music. The 400-page tunebook contains all 140 tunes on the 5 CDs, with style and practice tips and background info on the source musicians, history and culture. Beautiful tunes at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels on fiddle, hardingfele and nyckelharpa are perfect for learning, teaching, harmonizing, performing, playing for dancing, and jamming.
The musicians & instruments of SFT's five volumes
Stefhan Ohlström is a Riksspelman ("fiddler of the realm"), a winner of the prestigious silver medal in Swedish traditional fiddling in 1983. Stefhan grew up in Uppland, lived in Västmanland many years, and now lives in Dalarna. He performed with Ceylon Wallin & other great musicians of the folk revival, and continues to teach & play for dancing in both Sweden & the USA, where he made his home for 15 years. What are the chances a riksspelman would turn up 5 minutes from my house? I was privileged to play with Stefhan regularly all those years, to enjoy his dry sense of humor, and to have his help in every aspect of this project, from new tunes and performing together, to photography, history, Swedish language and nyckelharpa repair. He is in demand for his beautiful & skillful harmony playing on fiddle & viola, which you will hear on all 5 albums.