Tjärnblom, Swedish for "woodland lake flower", is a Scandinavian-style string band featuring a beautiful blend of Nyckelharpa, Octave Mandolin, Harmonium and Cello. They travel a modern "Snoose Boulevard Highway" in a musical journey, and play a repertoire of both old and new Swedish, Finnish, and Minnesota tunes for dancing and for listening. They’ve performed across the state of Minnesota, and have appeared on Minnesota Public Radio’s A Prairie Home Companion show. The name Tjärnblom is in honor of the Swedish grandfather of one of the band members.
Our Instruments
The Nyckelharpa |
The Nyckelharpa is historically a Swedish folk instrument, now played around the world. In earliest form, it dates to the 14th century; followed by related instruments in the 17th and 18th centuries. We play the 20th century version, which has 16 strings. Three of these strings have 'keys' tuned chromatically for playing melody in a three-octave range. One of the strings is without keys; tuned to a low C it functions as a drone, chord or melody note. Twelve sympathetic strings which are tuned to the 12-note chromatic (Western) scale, resonate as the main strings are played. All forms of the instrument are played with a short bow.
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The Mandolin |
The Mandolin, Octave Mandolin and Guitar are all fretted instruments played by picking and strumming. The mandolins have 8 strings tuned in pairs; the guitar has 6 strings. They are played in many cultures, and musical genres, as both melodic and accompanying instruments.
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The Harmonium |
The harmonium is a type of portable organ that generates sounds by the pumping of foot pedals to fill the bellows, which in turn oscillate the reeds to create sound when the keys are pressed. Our instrument has two knee pedals which, when used along with the foot pedals, change both the character and volume of the sound, resulting in three distinct voices. Made by the Estey Organ Company in the first half of the 20th Century, it’s also known as a chaplain or field organ. These instruments have a rich history including being used in religious services on battlefields in WWI and WWII and by street preachers in the early 1900’s. Recently they have become popular instrument in Scandinavian folk music bands.
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The Cello |
The cello is a bass instrument member in the violin family. It has 4 strings pitched C G D A and can be played by bowing or plucking. The earliest cellos are found in the 16th century. The cello is found in ensembles in many musical settings including Nordic folk music.
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