Låtfiol

The låtfiol is a type of fiddle-instrument endemic to Sweden. The word "låtfiol" translates to "tune fiddle"; however, the term is also used by Swedish musicians to refer to a standard fiddle (violin) when used for performing music, rather than providing music for dancers. When compared to a violin, a låtfiol features the same four playing strings, but typically tuned somewhat lower, closer to a viola, with multiple tunings likely being utilised. Furthermore, at least two additional sympathetic strings are built-into the instrument, for resonance, which a violin does not feature. According to Lennart Carlsson (see link below), handcrafted låtfiols with up to eight sympathetic strings were fairly common prior to and during 18th-century Sweden. The use of sympathetic strings makes the låtfiol more akin to the Norwegian national instrument, the hardingfele, also known as the Hardanger fiddle. The similarity in concept, construction, and the geographical proximity to the hardingfele does suggest some connection or influence; further research is needed to confirm this. Låtfiols typically resemble standard violins, visually, more so than Hardanger fiddles; the latter are far more ornately painted and intricately carved, with floral artwork, a double-purfling, mother-of-pearl inlays on the neck, chinrest and tailpiece, and typically four to five sympathetic strings. The hardingfele also features a more prominent scroll, usually carved into the shape of a mermaid, or the head of a lion or dragon.

The use of sympathetic strings is fairly common throughout Scandinavian folk instruments (besides Norway’s Hardanger fiddle), including the Swedish keyed fiddles, such as the nyckelharpa and the related silverbasharpa, among others; these added strings create extra resonance, atmosphere and volume while playing. Thus, with more strings than a standard violin, additional pegs on an extended scroll are required. The sympathetic strings are typically longer than the melody strings, and are connected to the furthest pegs atop the scroll, while they are strung underneath a heightened fingerboard, through a specialised bridge, and connected to small, modified fine-tuners (or hooks) on the tailpiece.