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Phew, We Actually Moved! 🎉

After days of boxes, labels, and that one mysterious piece of furniture that no one remembers what it belongs to, we can finally say it: we’ve moved! And yes, mostly without casualties (except for a few missing screws).

The most nerve-wracking moment? Without a doubt, moving the piano. It got more attention than any other piece of furniture — and rightfully so. With a mix of brute strength, precision, and a few prayers to the gods of gravity, it’s now proudly standing in the living room.

We’ve also been officially added to the street WhatsApp group — the digital equivalent of the village well, but with emojis. It feels good to get those first friendly waves and “welcome to the neighborhood!” messages.

The house itself is slowly coming together. My IKEA PAX wardrobe is fully assembled, but the BRIMNES bed still exists mostly in theory. For now, I’m camping in style — mattress on the floor. My goal is to build one piece of furniture per day, though that might be slightly ambitious. Help is always welcome — not so much for heavy lifting, but for some body doubling and co-regulation. Just someone to sit nearby, hold a plank, and occasionally say “you’re doing great!”

There are still plenty of (banana) boxes left to unpack, but that’s part of the process. My personal mission: downsizing. Especially the books. But they won’t just be dumped at a thrift store — books are friends, and friends deserve a loving new home. 📚💚

Technically, things are running quite smoothly already: we’ve got fiber internet from Mobile Vikings, and I set up some Wi-Fi extenders and powerline adapters. Tomorrow, the electrician’s coming to service the air-conditioning units — and while he’s here, I’ll ask him to attach RJ45 connectors to the loose UTP cables that end in the fuse box. That means wired internet soon too — because nothing says “settled adult” like a stable ping.

And then there’s the garden. 🌿 Not just a tiny patch of green, but a real garden with ancient fruit trees and even a fig tree! We had a garden at the previous house too, but this one definitely feels like the deluxe upgrade. Every day I discover something new that grows, blossoms, or sneakily stings.

Ideas for cozy gatherings are already brewing. One of the first plans: living room concerts — small, warm afternoons or evenings filled with music, tea (one of us has British roots, so yes: milk included, coffee machine not required), and lovely people.

The first one will likely feature Hilde Van Belle, a (bal)folk friend who currently has a Kickstarter running for her first solo album:
👉 Hilde Van Belle – First Solo Album

I already heard her songs at the CaDansa Balfolk Festival, and I could really feel the personal emotions in her music — honest, raw, and full of heart.
You should definitely support her! 💛

The album artwork is created by another (bal)folk friend, Verena, which makes the whole project feel even more connected and personal.

Hilde (left) and Verena (right) at CaDansa
📾 Valentina Anzani

So yes: the piano’s in place, the Wi-Fi works, the garden thrives, the boxes wait patiently, and the teapot is steaming.
We’ve arrived.
Phew. We actually moved. â˜•đŸŒłđŸ“ŠđŸŽ¶

đŸŽ» Spring Tunes: Three Inspiring Music Courses I Attended This Season

This spring was filled with music, learning, and connection. I had the opportunity to participate in three wonderful music courses, each offering something unique—new styles, deeper technique, and a strong sense of community. Here is a look back at these inspiring experiences.

đŸŽ¶ 1. Fiddlers on the Move – Ghent (5–9 March)

Photo: Filip Verpoest

In early March, I joined Fiddlers on the Move in Ghent, a five-day course packed with workshops led by musicians from all over the world. Although I play the nyckelharpa, I deliberately chose workshops that were not nyckelharpa-specific. This gave me the challenge and joy of translating techniques from other string traditions to my instrument.

Here is a glimpse of the week:

  • Wednesday: Fiddle singing with Laura Cortese – singing while playing was new for me, and surprisingly fun.
  • Thursday: Klezmer violin / Fiddlers down the roof with Amit Weisberger – beautiful melodies and ornamentation with plenty of character.
  • Friday: Arabic music with Layth Sidiq – an introduction to maqams and rhythmic patterns that stretched my ears in the best way.
  • Saturday: Swedish violin jamsession classics with Mia Marine – a familiar style, but always a joy with Mia’s energy and musicality.
  • Sunday: Live looping strings with Joris Vanvinckenroye – playful creativity with loops, layering, and rhythm.

Each day brought something different, and I came home with a head full of ideas and melodies to explore further.

đŸȘ— 2. Workshopweekend Stichting Draailier & Doedelzak – Sint-Michielsgestel, NL (18–21 April)

Photo: Arne de Laat

In mid-April, I traveled to Sint-Michielsgestel in the Netherlands for the annual Workshopweekend organized by Stichting Draailier & Doedelzak. This year marked the foundation’s 40th anniversary, and the event was extended to four days, from Friday evening to Monday afternoon, at the beautiful location of De Zonnewende.

I joined the nyckelharpa workshop with Rasmus Brinck. One of the central themes we explored was the connection between playing and dancing polska—a topic close to my heart. I consider myself a dancer first and a musician second, so it was especially meaningful to deepen the musical understanding of how movement and melody shape one another.

The weekend offered a rich variety of other workshops as well, including hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, diatonic accordion, singing, and ensemble playing. As always, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming. With structured workshops during the day and informal jam sessions, concerts, and bals in the evenings, it was a perfect blend of learning and celebration.

🇾đŸ‡Ș 3. Swedish Music for Strings – Ronse (2–4 May)

At the beginning of May, I took part in a three-day course in Ronse dedicated to Swedish string music. Although we could arrive on 1 May, teaching started the next day. The course was led by David Eriksson and organized by Amate Galli. About 20 musicians participated—two violinists, one cellist, and the rest of us on nyckelharpa.

The focus was on capturing the subtle groove and phrasing that make Swedish folk music so distinctive. It was a joy to be surrounded by such a rich soundscape and to play in harmony with others who share the same passion. The music stayed with me long after the course ended.

✹ Final Thoughts

Each of these courses gave me something different: new musical perspectives, renewed technical focus, and most importantly, the joy of making music with others. I am deeply grateful to all the teachers, organizers, and fellow participants who made these experiences so rewarding. I am already looking forward to the next musical adventure!

Printing multiple PDF files from console with lp

Recently I wanted to print some PDF files containing sheet music. The tedious way to do that, would be to open them one by one in Evince and press the print button. Surely there must be a more efficient way to do that?

$ ls -l --human-readable *.pdf
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 217K apr 15  2020 'Arthur original.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 197K apr 13  2020 'Canal en octobre.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee  14K apr 13  2020  DenAndro.pdf
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee  42K apr 14  2020 'Doedel you do.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee  57K apr 13  2020  Flatworld.pdf
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee  35K apr 16  2020 'Jump at the sun.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 444K jun 19  2016 'Kadril Van Mechelen.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee  15K apr 13  2020  La-gavre.pdf
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee  47K apr 13  2020 'Le petit déjeuner.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 109K apr 13  2020  LesChaminoux__2016_04_24.cached.pdf
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 368K apr 13  2020 'Mazurka It.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 591K apr 13  2020 'Narrendans uit Mater.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 454K apr 13  2020 'Neverending jig.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 1,1M apr 14  2020 'Red scissors.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee  35K apr 13  2020  Scottish-Ă -VirmouxSOL.pdf
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee  76K apr 14  2020 'Tarantella Napolitana meest gespeelde versie.pdf'
-r--r--r-- 1 amedee amedee 198K apr 15  2020 'Zot kieken!.pdf'

There are 2 console commands for printing: lp and lpr. One comes from grandpa System V, the other from grandpa BSD, and both are included in CUPS. The nice thing about these commands is that they know how to interpret PostScript and PDF files. So this is going to be easy: just cd into the directory with the PDF files and print them all:

$ lp *.pdf
lp: Error - No default destination.

Oops. A quick Google search of this error message tells me that I don’t have a default printer.

Configuring a default printer

First I use lpstat to find all current printers:

$ lpstat -p -d
printer HP_OfficeJet_Pro_9010_NETWORK is idle.  enabled since za 12 mrt 2022 00:00:28
printer HP_OfficeJet_Pro_9010_USB is idle.  enabled since za 12 mrt 2022 00:00:17
no system default destination

I have a HP OfficeJet Pro 9012e printer, which Ubuntu recognizes as a 9010 series. Close enough. It’s connected over network and USB. I’m setting the network connection as default with lpoptions:

$ lpoptions -d $(lpstat -p -d | head --lines=1 | cut --delimiter=' ' --fields=2)
copies=1 device-uri=hp:/net/HP_OfficeJet_Pro_9010_series?ip=192.168.1.9 finishings=3 job-cancel-after=10800 job-hold-until=no-hold job-priority=50 job-sheets=none,none marker-change-time=0 media=iso_a4_210x297mm number-up=1 output-bin=face-down print-color-mode=color printer-commands=none printer-info printer-is-accepting-jobs=true printer-is-shared=true printer-is-temporary=false printer-location printer-make-and-model='HP Officejet Pro 9010 Series, hpcups 3.22.2' printer-state=3 printer-state-change-time=1649175159 printer-state-reasons=none printer-type=4124 printer-uri-supported=ipp://localhost/printers/HP_OfficeJet_Pro_9010_NETWORK sides=one-sided

I can then use lpq to verify that the default printer is ready:

$ lpq
HP_OfficeJet_Pro_9010_NETWORK is ready
no entries

Printing multiple files from console

I found that if I naively do lp *.pdf, then only the last file will be printed. That’s unexpected, and I can’t be bothered to find out why. So I just use ls and feed that to a while-loop. It’s quick and dirty, and using find+xargs would probably be better if there are “special” characters, but that’s not the case here.

There’s one caveat: when the PDF files are printed one by one, then the first page will be at the bottom of the paper stack, so I need to print them in reverse order.

$ ls --reverse *.pdf | while read f; do lp "$f"; done

With that command I got 17 print jobs in the printer queue, one for each file.

Now that I know how to print from console, I’ll probably do that more often. The man page of lp describes many useful printing options, like printing double sided:

$ lp -o media=a4 -o sides=two-sided-long-edge filename

Jag lÀr mig spela nyckelharpa

In 2016 I did something unexpected: I picked up a nyckelharpa for the very first time.

Jag hade aldrig spelat ett instrument “pĂ„ riktigt” tidigare. Visst, jag spelade blockflöjt i skolan – men jag var usel pĂ„ det och hatade varje minut. So when I started learning nyckelharpa, it was a fresh beginning, a clean slate.

Varför nyckelharpa?

One of the biggest reasons I got interested in the nyckelharpa is because I love to dance – especially balfolk, and even more so the Swedish polska. Det började alltsĂ„ med dansen. Jag lyssnade pĂ„ mycket polska, och snart mĂ€rkte jag att mĂ„nga av mina favoritlĂ„tar spelades pĂ„ nyckelharpa. Before I knew it, I wanted to try playing them myself.

Vad Àr en nyckelharpa?

A nyckelharpa is a traditional Swedish keyed fiddle. It has strings that you play with a bow, and instead of pressing the strings directly, you use wooden keys that stop the string at the correct pitch. Det ger en vĂ€ldigt speciell klang – varm, vibrerande och nĂ€stan magisk. Jag blev förĂ€lskad i ljudet direkt.

Mina första steg

Jag började ta lektioner pÄ musikskolan i Schoten, Belgien, dÀr min lÀrare Àr Ann Heynen. Sedan dess har jag deltagit i mÄnga helgkurser och workshops i Belgien, Tyskland, NederlÀnderna och Storbritannien.
(Jag har inte varit i Sverige för kurser – Ă€nnu! Men det finns pĂ„ min önskelista.)

Det var dÀr jag fick lÀra mig av nÄgra av de mest inspirerande spelmÀn och -kvinnor jag nÄgonsin trÀffat:
Jule Bauer, Magnus Holmström, Emilia Amper, Marco Ambrosini, Didier François, Josefina Paulson, Vicki Swan, David Eriksson, Olena Yeremenko, Björn Kaidel, Olov Johansson, ElĂ©onore Billy, Johannes Mayr, Johan LĂ„ng, Alban Faust, Koen Vanmeerbeek, Eveline d’Hanens – och sĂ€kert mĂ„nga fler fantastiska musiker jag glömmer just nu.

Under kurserna har jag ocksĂ„ fĂ„tt mĂ„nga nya bekanta – och till och med riktiga vĂ€nner – frĂ„n hela Europa.
We share the same passion for music, dancing, and culture, and it is amazing how the nyckelharpa can bring people together across borders.

FrÄn hyra till egen nyckelharpa

Like many beginners, I started by renting an instrument. Men i 2019 kĂ€nde jag att det var dags att ta nĂ€sta steg, och jag bestĂ€llde min egen nyckelharpa frĂ„n Jean-Claude Condi, en lutier i Mirecourt, Frankrike – ett historiskt centrum för instrumentbyggare.

TyvÀrr slog pandemin till strax efter, och det dröjde Ànda till augusti 2021 innan jag kunde Äka till Mirecourt och Àntligen hÀmta min nyckelharpa. It was worth the wait.

En resa i bÄde musik och sprÄk

Att lÀra mig spela nyckelharpa vÀckte ocksÄ mitt intresse för svensk kultur. I kept hearing Swedish in the songs, and in 2020, I finally decided to start learning the language.
Jag började lÀsa svenska pÄ kvÀllsskola under lÀsÄret, och under loven fortsatte jag att öva med Duolingo. Sedan dess har jag försökt kombinera mina tvÄ passioner: sprÄket och musiken.

Jag lyssnar ofta pÄ svenska lÄtar, spelar visor och folkmelodier, och ibland försöker jag sjunga med. It is not only a way to practice, it is also incredibly rewarding.

Spela för dans

One of my goals is to be able to play well enough that others can dance to my music – just like I love dancing to other people’s tunes.
Det Ă€r inte lĂ€tt, för nĂ€r jag har lĂ€rt mig en lĂ„t utantill, har jag redan glömt hur den förra gick
 Men jag fortsĂ€tter öva. En dag, sĂ„!

Vad hÀnder hÀrnÀst?

Mitt mĂ„l Ă€r att en dag spela tillsammans med andra pĂ„ en riktig spelmansstĂ€mma i Sverige – och kanske Ă€ntligen ta en kurs pĂ„ plats i Sverige ocksĂ„.
Men fram till dess fortsÀtter jag att öva, att lÀra mig, och att njuta av varje ton.

Jag lĂ€r mig spela nyckelharpa. Och jag lĂ€r mig svenska. TvĂ„ passioner, ett hjĂ€rta. ❀

đŸŽ¶ Vill du ocksĂ„ börja?

Är du nyfiken pĂ„ nyckelharpa? Eller kanske du dansar balfolk och vill kunna spela sjĂ€lv?
Do not wait as long as I did — rent an instrument, find a workshop, or try your first tune today.
And if you are already playing: hör gÀrna av dig! Let us jam, dance, or just talk nyckelharpa.