Keys meet bowed stringsSourced
The nyckelharpa changes pitch through keyed tangents
The Swedish nyckelharpa resembles a bowed fiddle but uses keys to operate tangents that stop the strings. The player changes pitch through this mechanism rather than directly stopping the melody strings with fingertips.
Keys can belong beside an instrument’s bow.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Nyckelharpa · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-05