1	Fashioning the Hardanger Fiddle How Ron Poast Keeps a Norwegian Tradition Alive
2	History of the Hardanger Fiddle
3	Spelemenn and Kappleik The tradition of making Hardanger fiddles relies heavily upon the fiddlers, or spelemenn, who play them Songs have been passed down from one generation of spelemenn to the next, oftentimes keeping “in the style of” past masters Spelemenn can compete in both Norway and the United States at kappleik, or fiddle competitions, for prizes ranging from new Hardanger fiddles to monetary scholarships
4	Slåttar
5	What is a hardingfele? The Hardanger fiddle is often called the national instrument of Norway. A Hardanger fiddle is similar to a violin in size and shape, but there are many characteristics that make it a unique instrument A typical hardingfele is beautifully decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay and black pen-and-ink drawings, called rosing. It is topped with a carved head of a maiden or, more frequently, of an animal, usually a lion or dragon.
6	"“The Hardanger fiddle’s most..." “The Hardanger fiddle’s most distinguishing feature is the four or five sympathetic strings that run underneath the fingerboard and add echoing overtones to the sound. The traditional playing style is heavily polyphonic. A melody voice is accompanied by a moving "drone" voice.”
7	"The Hardanger fiddle is held..." The Hardanger fiddle is held differently than a normal violin; players are encouraged to find a comfortable position
8	Preserving the Art Today Ron Poast is one of three active Hardanger fiddle makers in the United States today The other two are his students
9	From a block of wood to a work of art… Ron invests over 200 hours in each Hardanger fiddle he makes
10	Here’s a look a where Ron does his work
11	Roughing out the scroll
12	Roadmap Ron fashioned this scroll stencil to help him save time
13	Be resourceful! Don’t waste! Ron saves every bit of wood that could be useful to making a Hardanger fiddle part Ron will begin to carve out this wood block after the outline of the scroll is stenciled on
14	"Ron can use a saw..." Ron can use a saw to cut from Stage One to Stage Two He has to carefully carve by hand to get from Stage Two to Stage Three
15	Scrolls
16	One Piece at a Time The front starts out as a flat piece of wood. Ron uses an instrument called a gauge to judge thickness in different areas of the piece. Then he can carve a front with perfect shape and thickness. The F holes are cut and fashioned after Ron carves out the curvature of the front piece.
17	Bird’s Eye Back Ron personalizes his Hardanger fiddles by using a beautiful Bird’s Eye Maple wood If you look carefully you can see the eyes on this back piece!
18	Inside Peek! Ron takes pride in every aspect of his Hardanger fiddles -- even the parts we don’t see! The sides have been lined with flat, thin wood that was heated in water and then placed in molds to cool It’s amazing that after only a few minutes the wood will retain its new shape!
19	Starting to Take Shape After gluing the front and back together it’s beginning to look more like a real instrument!
20	Room for Change “One reason we like the big space in the F holes is so people can insert money in there when they hear something they like” -- Ron Poast
21	Flashback Ron repairs Hardanger fiddles that have had more than their share of good use This tailpiece is from an old hardingfele that Ron is repairing The dark areas of this tailpiece are made of animal horn instead of ebony
22	Evolution of Design The designs on the left are some of the earlier models of fingerboards and tailpieces that Ron has produced The designs on the right are more recent models
23	Ebony Slab Ornate Fingerboard #1: A fingerboard slightly smaller than a violin’s is cut out of ebony #2: The designs are cut into the wood #3: Mother-of-pearl (white) and abalone (colored) are cut and inlaid #4: A lacquer secures the mother-of-pearl and abalone in the wood #5: Final product!
24	Detailed leaves Look at the incredible detail on the horn of plenty and the leaves!
25	Hanging Out
26	Rosing In this close-up you can see where Ron penciled on a Norwegian style of drawing, called rosing He will cover the back with one coat of varnish and then apply India ink on top of the pencil sketch The coat of varnish in between the ink and the wood will prevent the ink from running
27	"This is what the rosing..." This is what the rosing looks like after all the varnish coats have been applied
28	Older Model This older hardingfele has ink decorations on the edges instead of pearl inlay Ron’s designs have evolved over time, allowing him to develop a very personal style
29	New flair This design is one of Ron’s newer creations Despite the changing nature of his designs, he feels it is “important to keep within a certain realm of tradition”
30	Ron puts a dragon head on each of his scrolls
31	Finished Product! The final product is a beautiful hardingfele that can be played for many years to come!
32	Plan in Advance If you think you’d like to have a Hardanger fiddle some day then order one now -- Ron has a five year waiting list!
33	Stay Involved
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