Hurdy-gurdy tuner: tekerő and G/C vielle
The tekerő or tekerőlant, the Hungarian hurdy-gurdy, had three strings in 20th-century tradition: the prím or melody string runs in the middle, the recsegő on the right rattles over a buzzing bridge set by a wedge, and the bőgő on the left is the low drone. This tuner opens on the tuning in A described by Bálint Sárosi: bőgő A2, recsegő A3, prím E4 (A – a – e1).
Tekerő and vielle open strings
Sounding pitches from the lowest string, at A4 = 440 Hz. Tekerő pitch traditionally followed the partner instrument, so these are conventions; the French vielle is shown for comparison.
| Tuning | Strings | Notes | Frequency (Hz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tekerő in A (Sárosi) | bőgő · recsegő · prím | A2 · A3 · E4 | 110.00 · 220.00 · 329.63 |
| Tekerő in B (Ethnographic Lexicon) | bőgő · recsegő · prím | B2 · B3 · F♯4 | 123.47 · 246.94 · 369.99 |
| Tekerő in A♭ (with E♭ clarinet) | bőgő · recsegő · prím | A♭2 · A♭3 · E♭4 | 103.83 · 207.65 · 311.13 |
| French vielle G/C (Altarwind) | gros bourdon · petit bourdon · mouche · trompette · chanterelles | G2 · C3 · G3 · C4 · G4+G4 | 98.00 · 130.81 · 196.00 · 261.63 · 392.00 |
Magyar Néprajzi Lexikon – tekerő, forgólant, tekerőlant (MEK)
How to use it
- Choose the tuning, lift the other strings off the wheel or mute them, and loosen the buzzing-bridge wedge so the rattle does not disturb the reading.
- Turn on the microphone, crank the wheel at a steady speed and start with the bőgő (A2 in the tuning in A).
- Tune the recsegő an octave above the bőgő (A3), then the open prím a perfect fifth above the recsegő (E4).
- Check the key: press the key a fourth above the open prím (A4); it must sound a pure octave with the drones. Then set the wedge again.
Help and explanations
Traditional players had no fixed pitch: the Hungarian Ethnographic Lexicon says the tekerő was tuned to the clarinet or another partner. A4 = 440 Hz is therefore only a convention here, and the same relationship is listed in B (B2 B3 F♯4) and in A♭ for an E♭ clarinet. For comparison, the selector also holds the five strings of a French G/C vielle à roue.
The open melody string is not the tonic
On the tekerő the tonic follows the drones and sits a fourth above the open prím: in the tuning in A the open prím is E4 and the tonic is A4, so the open string is the fifth of the key. A common mistake is to tune the prím to the tonic, or the recsegő and bőgő in unison; the recsegő always sounds an octave above the bőgő.
Older five-string tekerős had two prím strings on e1, a drone on a, the recsegő on a and the bőgő on great A; four-string ones had one prím and the same drones. The German Wikipedia prints another tuning as fis1 – b – B, but the Ethnographic Lexicon pairs an F♯4 prím with a recsegő on B3 and a bőgő on B2: B natural, not B♭.
The French G/C vielle, for comparison
The French vielle à roue is a different instrument, with two melody strings (chanterelles) and four drones: trompette, mouche, petit bourdon and gros bourdon. On Altarwind's G/C chart they are gros bourdon G2, petit bourdon C3, mouche G3, trompette C4 and chanterelle G4. The tuner shows both chanterelles on G4 in unison; Altarwind's factory setup puts the second one on G3, an octave lower.
The logic matches the tekerő: the open melody string (G4) is the fifth of the drones' key (C). Do not use the six-string French chart on a three-string tekerő. The sources give no string-by-string chart for a Hungarian tekerő in G or C, so use the chromatic tuner for those.
Tips
- Badly set cotton and an unrosined wheel give a rough tone and a jumpy needle: adjust the cotton and rosin the wheel before tuning.
- Gut strings move with humidity and warmth, so retune after a few minutes of playing. Do not tune far above the pitch the maker designed for.
- Key tangents are often adjustable. The tuner shows how each key sounds against the open string, but only move tangents if you know how to regulate them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you tune a Hungarian hurdy-gurdy?
In the tuning in A, the bőgő is A2 (110 Hz), the recsegő an octave higher on A3 (220 Hz), and the open prím a perfect fifth above it on E4 (329.63 Hz). Let only one string sound at a time and turn the wheel evenly.
Do I have to use A = 440 Hz?
No. The traditional tekerő was tuned to its partner, such as the clarinet. If you play with a clarinet or a fiddle, change the reference A or choose the tuning in B or A♭.
What is the standard French hurdy-gurdy tuning?
A common one is G/C: gros bourdon G2, petit bourdon C3, mouche G3, trompette C4 and two chanterelles on G4, or G3 and G4 in octaves. It is the French instrument's tuning, not the tekerő's.
How do I tune the buzzing string?
Loosen the wedge or switch the buzz off, tune the recsegő to A3, then set the wedge again. A rattling string can make the tuner read wrong.