Hurdy Gurdy Adjustment

by S. R. Kelley

HOW TO KEEP YOUR HURDY GURDY ALIVE AND WELL

There are three major secrets to coaxing the Hurdy Gurdy to work well. They are cotton, shim, and Dog (buzzing bridge or chien). We will approach each in it's place.

First of all, you must provide yourself with a strap with which to immobilize the Hurdy Gurdy while you play. A guitar strap works nicely. Attach the strap to the button at the front of the hurdy gurdy and to the button nearest you at the back, the head being to your left. The hurdy gurdy should rest horizontally in your lap tilted away from you at about 45 degree with the strap tightly around your back.

Cotton: Look at each string to be sure that there is cotton where the string contacts the wheel. To apply cotton, pull from the blob of cotton a GOSSAMER web and induce the turning wheel to pull it under the string and wrap tightly around it. Look again. Too much cotton will result in a weakened or otherwise impaired tone. Too little cotton will cause the string to be worn in two. Use just enough cotton to protect the string. The best cotton is a long staple unbleached cotton of a slightly woolly appearance obtainable from weavers supply stores. Long staple white cotton has rather slippery habits. Pill bottle cotton may be used but it wears quickly.

After you are sure the strings have sufficient cotton you may begin tuning. Tune the Chanter strings one at a time to G. This will be the lowest G you can get without it sounding like a rubber band. When they are in unison you may tune the Mouche and the Bass also to their respective lowest obtainable G's. disengage the Mouche and the Bass from the wheel and you may tune the Dog and the Tenor to C, again the lowest. Recheck the strings for cotton after this.

Tuning can be remarkably tricky if the instrument is completely out of tune when you begin, so use care. Once the strings have been tuned they tend to stay pretty close so that it's not nearly so much trouble later.

The wheel must be resined once in a while but it takes very little. Use violin or cello resin that comes in the little wooden block and rub it against the turning wheel for about four or five turns. Then use the edge of the wooden block to polish it. Feel the turning wheel with your CLEAN thumb and if you feel bumps of rosin, pare them off with your thumbnail. Use rosin sparingly and try to achieve a perfect polish.

Now we will go on to the shims: Between each Chanter string and the bridge you will need shims, usually of folded paper. Thin strong paper is desired and is folded and or added to increase or decrease the thickness of the shim. Somewhat fanatic attention is required and you may find yourself altering the thickness of the shim by as little as one cigarette paper.

The purpose of the shims is to most finely adjust the exact pressure of the string against the wheel. This, combined with the quality of the cotton and rosin has everything to do with the production of good tone. The Chanters are very sensitive in this regard and must be continuously looked after. Fortunately, the drones need much less attention. If you find that the Chanters have a harsh and rough sound then they probably need thicker shims. If the Chanters sound weakly or intermittently, then the shims are too thick. If the Chanters have a sort of warble, then either the shims are too thick or the string is being impinged upon elsewhere, perhaps by a tangent, or perhaps too much cotton. If the Chanter warbles when playing a particular key, then possibly the tangents of that key are not tight enough. In that case try oiling the tangent with almond oil which will help the fit and protect from humidity changes. The tangent may be removed and a tiny bit of cotton be wrapped around the stem, then replaced. If all fails, replace the tangent. Sometimes even the best of us are completely mystified; one evening the hurdy gurdy will play beautifully, then the next day it will steadfastly refuse the finest of your intelligence and sensibilities, your choicest curses, and entreaties to any god we know of. It is unaffected by karma, hence mysterious.

After that comes the Dog: The Dog is actually not difficult, but it may seem so at first. Of course you must adjust it so that it sounds strongly when you wish and only drones otherwise. This is accomplished by turning the key in the tailpiece. A slight turn has a profound effect. This is something you must learn for yourself. Understand that while the left hand will learn rather quickly, the Dog is played by varying the speed and pattern of cranking with the right hand. It takes a delicate touch. This is no mystery; it only wants great patience and practice. Most of the time the hurdy gurdy is played in C. For this, use the Chanters, of course, and the Dog with the tenor drone. Sometimes adding the Mouche will seem fuller but mostly it tends to blur things. The hurdy gurdy may also be played in G by using the Mouche and the Bass drone. The Dog may be tuned up to the fifth, D, or you might try a cheater bridge so as not to stretch the string. Avoid getting anything that might act as a lubricant on the rim of the wheel. If you do you will see soon enough why you must wipe or clean it and re-resin. Oil the bearings with a drop of light oil once in a while. There is an oil hole for the front bearing in the top in front of the wheel. If the crank knob squeaks, oil it at the joint. When new (and periodically thereafter) the individual notes must be tuned by turning the appropriate tangents. They will not always be the same, as the strings are organic and subject to variation. The nut (top melody bridge) is movable to make the strings longer or shorter as necessary. The distance between the nut and the seventh lower note should be the same as between the seventh lower note and the bridge.

Strings used are :

Chanters: Viola da gamba bass A 2

Dog: Viola da gamba bass A 2

Mouche: Cello A gut or aluminum wound

Tenor drone: Cello G wound

Bass drone: Cello C wound

La Bella strings seem to be suitable.

The hurdy gurdy and the strings are sensitive to humidity and temperature changes so protect them from extremes. Hurdy gurdys are also very sensitive to exact tuning especially the harmonic notes of the scale. A slight disunity can produce bizarre sounds and may seem like it must be something else entirely..Or vice versa. When in despair, remember: It's good for your character.