Passing on knowledge about my instrument and spreading my favorite tunes is a big passion of mine - and a very important part of what it means to me to be a FOLK musician. It's about sharing and spreading joy, lifting each other up, nerding around and just having an overall fantastic time together

So here's a little info about where me and my partner Björn will be teaching workshops in 2025 (only in Germany this time). Some are nyckelharpa workshops, some are open to all instruments. I'm also always available for private nyckelharpa lessons online, just so you know!

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21.-22.03.25 - Nyckelharpawochenende Süd - Balingen
- nyckelharpa beginners with Björn

09.-11.05.25 - Nyckelharpawochenende Nord - Proitzer Mühle
- nyckelharpa slightly advanced players with Björn

18.-20.07.25 - Bordun Sommercamp - Balingen
- nyckelharpa beginners & slightly advanced players with me
- ensemble with Björn

27.-29.06.25 - KlangRauschTreffen - Hösseringen
- minuet repertoire workshop with me & Björn

23.-26.10.25 - Spielkurs Lützensömmern
- nyckelharpa beginners & slightly advanced players with me
- ensemble with Björn

14-16.11.25 - Nyckelharpakurs Altenmünster
- nyckelharpa beginners with me
- nyckelharpa advanced players with Björn

find out more about these workshops on our website https://www.akleja.de/dates

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Today I want to offer a tune called "Nestling" to you! It was co-written by me and my partner Björn and it is about being brave and doing something you have never done before - something that might even have the potential to open a whole new world to you ... you never know! We decided to call it "Nestling" which is the same in English and German: a little bird, still in the nest, gathering the courage to leave it for the first time

I am playing the nyckelharpa here, Björn is playing a Nordic style cittern. The video was recorded live at Belgian Folkclub Muziekclub 't Ey - hope you enjoy

https://youtu.be/8nyPD0yaRoU

The nyckelharpa is a folk instrument from Sweden with a long standing tradition there. "Nyckelharpa" is a Swedish word, "nyckel" meaning "key" and "harpa" being a general term for a stringed instrument. Its key features (hah, see what I did there?) are the sympathetic strings and a keybox full of wooden keys. Some translate it into English to "keyed fiddle" "viola de teclas" in Spanish or "viola d'amore a chiavi" in Italian - although it is not a fiddle or viola ;)

How it works: I produce the sound with a bow on the strings, like on any other bowed instrument, but instead of touching the strings with the fingers of my left hand and pushing them down on a fretboard or fingerboard to play a melody, I press a key. The key moves a little wooden tangent to the string and tada, the note changes The magical sound of the nyckelharpa is created from its sympathetic strings (usually 12) which are enhancing every note I play on the four melody strings.

If you want to hear some nyckelharpa music, you're welcome on my duos bandcamp https://aklejafolk.bandcamp.com or search for "Akleja" wherever you like to stream music. More names you can look for there are Josefina Paulson, Hazelius Hedin, Emilia Amper, Väsen, Daniel Pettersson / Sotali, Erik Rydvall - there are so many FANTASTIC players out there!

The instrument pictured here was made by Mats Wester.