Vals Efter Pål Karl // Harmony // Nordic Folk Mandolin Lesson

In this mandolin video lesson, I show you how to play the harmony for a traditional Swedish fiddle tune called Vals efter Pål Karl. This dance tune is a waltz from the region of Älvdalen, Dalarna.

The harmony is quite interesting, following the melody in parallel movements. The intervals mainly consist of thirds, fourths, fifths, and sixths. The tune is archaic and raw yet groovy in the A-Dorian mode. 

Our arrangement is a three-part arrangement with a melody and harmony part on the mandolin and the chords part on the octave mandolin. 

 I play the tune with my friend Lena Jonsson, a fantastic fiddle player from Sweden. 

There is an iconic recording of this tune on the album, "Längs Gamla Stigar och Färdevägar" by Simon Simonssons Kvartett from 1989. Ola Bäckström plays fiddle on this album, and his playing inspires my harmony.  

In Mandolin Secrets Academy you’ll find:

• Sheet music/tabs (PDF)
• Backing and play-a-long tracks (MP3)
• How-to-play-instructions